The West Calder & District Model Flying Club

The Protech Alpha 180 ARTF Electric Glider by Martin Clements. 8/9/99

Notes on buying an Alpha 180
Bought it Friday, built it Saturday, Flew it Sunday. ( first flight 30 minutes , thanks to Gary from Falkirk , and some thermals ) Wow .Not bad -.

The complete model spec was arrived at by a consortium of Gary and Ron of Falkirk club and Marionville Models, Edinburgh, Scotland . Thanks guys, its turned out great.

Starting from nothing I ended up with:
1. A Protech Alpha 180 ARTF kit ( plastic fuselage complete with motor, see through covered wings and tail ) ~ £79.
2. Speed Controller - RCLINE MSC-20B ( with brake system) ~ £20 ( brake allows the prop to fold , and probably worth the extra)
3. Futaba Skysport 6 kit - complete with 6 channel transmitter ( T6YF), 2 servos ( S3003), R116FB receiver and mains recharger~ £100 ( only 3 channels are needed for the Alpha, but for that future model...well you know how it is)
4. 2000mAh 6 cell ( 7.2v) battery ( slightly bigger than the kit recommends) - ~£30
5. Mtroniks DPC4 - a 4A fast 7.2 V battery charger, which attaches to your car 12V battery ~ £20
6. A roll of Magictape ( to hold the wingtips in place , yes really it works).

Note, the whole glider will go back in its box if necessary , and reassembled in a few minutes.

Other things I found useful. - My 2000mAh battery takes 60 mins to recharge ( Ive allowed 90 mins to allow it to cool a bit) . So after a week I bought a spare battery

Notes on building an Alpha 180.
The box says 60 minutes, well it took me 5 hrs. ( still not bad). An experienced model builder would be quicker. However here are some points that would have made it easier for the complete beginner , like me.

Step 1. It says "Screw in the plastic clevices.. " - 1/2 way is fine ( not all the way, as you've got no adjustment left ) obvious really!!. Well it is now.... Beginning to get the picture.

Step 2 - " Fix the plastic control horn on the right hand elevator flap.. " - But WHERE exactly? The only way I could see to find out, was to fit the servos i.e. Steps 6.

Step 6 - fit servos - Well it says that the control rods are different lengths, mine weren't. Just fit the servos the same way round ( not as per the picture). -

Now back to steps 2,3, 4,

Step 5 - Fit the control rod to the outer hole ( you want minimum movement). Then step 7

Step 8 Now for a bit of soldering. I unsoldered the pre attached motor wire and soldered on the speed controller wires , fitting a 25 A car fuse in the circuit. Now plug the receiver lead into the motor channel. This also powers the receiver ( much to my surprise).

Step 9

Step 10. Fitting the battery.- This is the main influence on the CoG, so its as well to do a trial fit ( attaching the wings). I initially didn't bother and fitted the battery ( with Velcro) to the obvious fuselage cross members. The glider flew fine but the CoG was well forward of the recommended position. To get it back , I made an additional cross member from an old AOL CD ROM , and attached it with Epoxy . I found it needed to go underneath the longitudinal fuselage members to prevent the battery fouling the under wing.

Notes - Careful of the plastic release catch on the canopy. See how long it will last before it breaks off.


Notes on Flying an Alpha 180
STOP!! - heed the advice, get some help, Join a club. There are lots of modellers out there who are only too willing to get you in the air, and trim the model . Here are some from my log

July 99 - 1 hr on Joe Andersons Flying School simulator.

These are just a few .Thanks to all who have helped.

Verdict on an Alpha 180
It really seems a very easy model to build, and get you up and R/C flying very quickly and with the minimum of fuss and bother.

Martin Clements at the West Calder & District Model Flying Club site.