I sense a multi motor project, maybe another bomber 'B36'?...here's something to add to your adventure
CL flying has become nonexistent for me I have been experimenting with a variety of flying and surface contraptions mostly RF controlled. There were also a couple of programmed automation projects that could have made me a candidate for a Darwin Award (I digress).
My go-to ESC has been YEP form Hobbyking. They are lightweight, compact, flexible, robust and reliable. Suspect you would need 30 to 60A. Definitely need a programming card and tutorial on how to use it (no instructions included)
All functions you would want for C/L are there.
<https://hobbyking.com/en_us/catalogsearch/result/?cat=&q=all+yep+esc>
<https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=yep+programming+card+instructions>
Caveat Good luck plugging your timer into the RX port on programming card. (It could work)
Actually since the function of signal wire on RX or timer is essentially the same it should work just fine.