The Alps sparked my interest when it first appeared here:

http://www.nitroplanes.com/alps-rc-glider.html

I didn't rush to buy it because there was very little info on it- just a couple of posts in the Kunlun thread. The price was right on the Black Friday sale, so I hit the "buy" button.

Here's what I noted:

-Quality, fit and finish are very good. Flying surfaces and fuse are straight, wing and stab are properly aligned and square to the fin. Covering is smooth and tight. On the minus side, this makes the aileron hinge so stiff that there's almost no down travel. Heat iron to the hinge line with the aileron in down position may fix this.

-The fuse is not fiberglass, but "high impact materials, HIP". It's rigid, heavier than glass, and may be brittle. Time will tell.

-The ribbed wings are fully balsa sheeted top and bottom. However, typical of other Chinese kits, the carbon (?) wing joiner tube is only suspended by ply uprights glued to the ribs. The instructions specify gluing the wings together for strength. (I plan to replace the joiner tube with a brass one, embedded in a ply "coffin box" as I did with my Mouton/Monton so I can keep the wings in two pieces while still retaining strength.)

-Kit hardware includes a 6 x 160mm steel wing rod, thinwall cf elevator pushrod, aluminum motor mount, the usual package of horns, clevises, servo covers, aileron pushrods, screws, etc. plus a fairly long strip of Velcro and servo lead grommets for the wing.

Overall, it's of much better quality than the Mouton/Monton but will probably fly faster due to the heavier weight of the sheeted wings, fuslage material and integral fin. It may fly better as a pure sloper, rather than a flat field electric flier. With its low parts count, pre-installed ply trays, complete hardware package, it should be a pretty quick build if it's built per instructions without any mods. Mine will have to to sit on the bench for awhile due to other projects, holidays, etc.

Jim

Great looking model for the price. Keep us posted on your progress with and be the first to do a report on this kit. You know we will be looking for a flight report on it. So far it sounds pretty good.

Have you decided on a drive system for it along with what radio and servos?

The nice sleek lines of the Alps sparked my interest when I first saw it. Hope it flies as good as it looks.

I haven't decided on a power system yet, but my original thought was to use one of two Suppo outrunners that I have on hand, e.g. the 2814-8 with an 11x6 folder, or 2217/8 with 10x6. Firewall mounting of the 2814 will be a tight fight for the motor leads, and the 2217 may not be strong enough. I may end up shopping for another motor at the AMA show next month. I'd welcome any suggestions you or anyone else might have for a suitable power plant. I don't need vertical OOS performance, just a reasonably strong climb out.

I'd normally put a Hitec HS-85 or 82MG in the wings, but will probably go with the HS -65HB for weight savings in this already heavy model. I've been flying my electrics with a JR XP9303 with Assan 2.4 module for the past year and a half or so with no problems, using their 4, 6, or 7 channel rx's. I haven't converted all of my planes to 2.4, so the module system allows me to switch to 72mhz when needed. I've also been using the Assan module in an Optic 6, my slope tx, for a few months longer than than the 9303, also with no problems.

My Alps probably won't be in the air by the end of January. Someone else who has this model may be able to share a flight report before then.

Regards,

Jim

Jim,

As Tink said, please keep us updated on your progress. She looks like she'd be fun on a slope, if thermal flying isn't her strong suit. Nice to have options!

Enjoy,

Rob

tinkerpilot, Rob,

Thanks for your interest. Will keep you posted.

Jim

Jim,

Always curious about new model that has not yet been reviewed adn see what the rest of the guys have to say about it as you go along. Will be interesting.

Good to have options............Will be watching.

tink

I bought one of these for the black friday ad's too... it looks pretty nice, I'll be watching what you guy's do...

One thing I may do, is once the servo extension wires are run for the ailerons, and the wing joined... I may drip gorilla glue in the middle to create a foam center... this will make it very hard to break the wings in half... it will also only add a very little amount of weight... but makes it very rigid....

I'm going to try making mine a "warm-liner"

Do you think I'll need more than 450 watts on a 3cell 2200mah?

SK

Have you been able to make any progress on this bird? I'm trying to decide if it's worth the money to get it.

No work on mine yet, still sitting in the queue. I got some feedback at the AMA show today from another Alps owner who was thinking of buying another one. He has the Monton too, but says the Alps flies better. I don't know what motor he has in it, but he's pushing 600 watts. One complaint- the plastic material is brittle, and cracking around the motor mount.

I guess it comes down to your flying style/preferences- warm liner with better soaring capability, or screaming hotliner.

Jim

Good to hear that feedback and that he would consider buying another one. Sounds like he's gone the screaming hotliner route.

I'm new to powered glider so I'm not up on what exactly constitutes a warm liner, hotliner, etc.

Thanks,

Jim

Can someone tell me what size spinner the Flying Alps takes? I'm just hoping that the nose is big enough to take a motor larger then 28mm.

Doubletap, the front end of the firewall measures 40mm, so I'd use a 38mm spinner. The 38mm x 35mm long which I have is a little too long to match the nose taper, so I'd try to get a shorter one.

I have a Suppo 2814 with 35mm o.d. which fits in the nose with just enough clearance for the motor leads when firewall mounted.

Fishjunky, I don't know it there's an exact definition to distinguish between "hotliner" and "warmliner", but it's basically the degree of performance of a powered glider. Hotliners are usually capable of vertical flight under power, with higher gliding speeds, compared to warmliners with more moderate climb outs (45+degrees?) and power off performance. Both usually have some aerobatic capabilities, contrasted to a thermal type electric sailplane which just uses power to get to altitude for power off soaring. Others can chime in with their definitions.

Jim

Originally Posted by JimO

Doubletap, the front end of the firewall measures 40mm, so I'd use a 38mm spinner. The 38mm x 35mm long which I have is a little too long to match the nose taper, so I'd try to get a shorter one.

OK, thanks for that Jim. I'm glad it's big enough to take a 35mm motor; the Mouton although a very nice flying model is limited to a 28mm motor which really limits the performance potential. I'm going to watch for a sale on the Flying Alps and pick one up.

Glad to help, Doubletap. Since I bought mine simply based on the attractive pics and dealer's/manufacturer's writeup, I know that any detailed info can be helpful to anyone thinking about buying one.

Here's a post (#158) from the Kunlun thread which provides a little more info on the Alps:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...s#post13138569

Since it's tail heavy, stuffing a large motor up front won't be a problem.

Jim

You guys fly/flew the Mouton and you use ASSAN radio systems...so you gotta be right about the ALPS. I will add it to the list.

Thanks,
JimNM