KAVAN Alpha 1500 V2 - Instruction manual
Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of the ALPHA 1500 V2, motor-powered glider. You are about to embark on a magical journey into the fascinating world of electric-powered RC aeroplanes. The ALPHA 1500 V2 is manufactured of virtually unbreakable EPO (expanded polyolefin) foam. Packed with the latest 2.4GHz radio technology and powered with a mighty brushless motor and LiPo batteries, it will help you become an experienced pilot in no time. ALPHA 1500 V2 is not just an entry-level plane but actually a high-performance thermal glider that will please any Sunday pilot, newcomer, or even seasoned pro.
Features
- 100 % factory-made, partially assembled model
- Aileron, elevator, rudder and throttle control
- Easy handling and high stability, durable, virtually unbreakable high performance electric motor powered glider
- State-of-the-art 2.4GHz eight channel radio (RTF set only)
- Powerful brushless out runner motor
- Large wing area, low weight
- Lightweight LiPo flight pack (RTF set only)
- Fast charger for the flight pack (RTF set only)
Technical specifications
- Wingspan: 1492 mm
- Length: 985 mm
- All-up Weight: 780–810 g
- Wing Area: 21.8 dm²
- Wing Loading: 35.8–37.2 g/dm²
- Motor: C2217–1200 out runner
- ESC: KAVAN R–30B 30 A with BEC 5 V
Precautions
This RC model is not a toy. Use it with care and strictly follow the instructions in this manual.
Assemble this model following strictly these instructions. DO NOT modify or alter the model. Failure to do so, the warranty will lapse automatically. Follow the instructions to obtain a safe and solid model at the end of the assembly.
Children under the age of 14 must operate the model under the supervision of an adult.
Assure that the model is in perfect condition before every flight, taking care that all the equipment works correctly and that the model is undamaged in its structure.
Fly only on days with a light breeze and in a safe place away from any obstacles.
Safety precautions
General warnings
An RC aeroplane is not a toy! If misused, it can cause serious bodily harm and damage to property. Fly only on a safe place following all instructions and recommendations in this manual. Beware of the propeller! Keep loose items that can get entangled in the propeller away from the spinning propeller, including loose clothing, or other objects such as pencils and screwdrivers. Ensure that yours and other people’s hands and face are kept away from the rotating propeller.
Note on lithium polymer batteries
Lithium polymer batteries are significantly more vulnerable than alkaline or NiCd/NiMH batteries used in RC applications. All manufacturer’s instructions and warnings must be followed closely. Mishandling of LiPo batteries can result in fire. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions when disposing of Lithium polymer batteries.
Additional safety precautions and warnings
As the user of this product, you are solely responsible for operating it in a manner that does not endanger yourself and others or result in damage to the product or the property of others. This model is controlled by a radio signal that is subject to interference from many sources outside your control. This interference can cause momentary loss of control so it is advisable to always keep a safe distance in all directions around your model, as this margin will help to avoid collisions or injury. Never operate your model with low transmitter batteries. Always operate your model in an open area away from power lines, cars, traffic, or people. Avoid operating your model in populated areas where injury or damage can occur. Carefully follow the directions and warnings for this and any optional support equipment (chargers, rechargeable batteries, etc.) which you use. Keep all chemicals, small parts and anything electrical out of the reach of children. Moisture causes damage to electronics. Avoid water exposure to all equipment not specifically designed and protected for this purpose. Never lick or place any portion of your model in your mouth as it could cause serious injury or even death.
Set contents
RTF set:
- 100 % factory-made, partially assembled model (4 servos, brushless motor, 30 A ESC, 8.5–6" prop)
- 2.4GHz 8-channel transmitter and 8-channel receiver
- 11.1 V/1300 mAh Li-Po flight pack
- Li-Po fast charger
ARTF set:
- 100 % factory-made, partially assembled model (4 servos, brushless motor, 30 A ESC, 8.5–6" prop)
You will also need the following accessories and tools (not included in the kit)
For the RTF set:
- 4× AA batteries for the transmitter
For the ARF set:
- At least a 4-channel transmitter and receiver, Li-Po flight pack 11.1 V 11–1300 mAh
Tools:
- Small Phillips and flat screwdrivers
T8FB transmitter controls
ALPHA 1500 V2: Servo reverse switch default position
| Channel | Function | Default |
| AIL (CH1) | Aileron | R (down) |
| ELE (CH2) | Elevator | N (up) |
| THR (CH3) | Throttle | N (up) |
| RUD (CH4) | Rudder | R (down) |
Transmitter
System: 2.4GHz FHSS
Frequency range: 2.400–2.4835 GHz
Output power: <20 dBm (Tx)/<4 dBm (BT)
Input voltage: 4.8–11.1 V (4× AA alkaline batteries or NiMH accumulators, 2S or 3S LiPo)
Receiver (2.4 GHz FHSS)
Frequency range: 2.400–2.4835 GHz
Output power: –
Range: ca 500 m on the ground, ca 1000 m in the air
Input voltage: 4.8–10.0 V
Dimensions: 48.5×21×11 mm
Weight: 7 g
Transmitter (RTF set version)
Loading the transmitter batteries
Remove the battery hatch located on the back side of the transmitter pushing the cover at the arrow mark with your thumb. Load 4 fresh alkaline batteries or AA size accumulators carefully keeping the correct polarity (marked on the bottom of the battery holder). Plug the battery holder cable into the socket at the bottom of the battery compartment keeping the correct polarity (+) red wire, (-) black wire. (The transmitter features a protection circuitry – if you connect the plug the other way around, the transmitter will not work, but will not be destroyed by reversed polarity.)
Charging the transmitter batteries
The accumulators have to be charged prior the first flight.
Checking the transmitter battery
Turn on the transmitter and check the LED on the front panel – both the red and green has to glow. These LEDs indicate the status of the transmitter, not the transmitter battery voltage. The low battery alarm is acoustic - once you will hear beeping you have to land immediately and replace/recharge the batteries. If the transmitter beeps immediately after being turned on, DO NOT try to fly at all.
Checking the servo reverse switches position
Set the servo reverse switches to the default position – CH1 and CH4 DOWN (R), CH2 and CH3: UP (N). Turn the transmitter off.
Charging the flight battery
Your ALPHA 1500 V2 is to be powered by a 3-cell LiPo battery pack. The LiPo battery supplied in the RTF Set features two connectors. One is for the balanced charge of the cells (JST–XH type) and the other one is dedicated to the discharge (XT60). The RTF set contains also a dedicated KAVAN C3 wall fast charger (230 V/50 Hz) designed for charging of the flight pack using the balance cable.
Charging the flight battery (RTF set)
- Connect the power cable to the charger.
- Plug the power cable of the charger into the mains socket (230 V/50 Hz). All the LED glow green and flash red indicating the charger is ready to charge.
- Plug the balance connector of your flight battery (JST–XH) into the corresponding socket on the charger.
- The charger starts charging. LEDs will start to glow red. If 2S pack is connected, Cell 1 and Cell 2 LEDs will glow red. If 3S pack is connected, Cell 1, Cell 2 and Cell 3 LEDs will glow red.
- Once a particular cell in the flight battery has been fully charged, the corresponding LED will glow green. 2S pack will be fully charged, if Cell 1 and Cell2 LEDs glow green. 3S pack will be fully charged, if Cell 1, Cell 2 and Cell 3 LEDs glow green.
- Disconnect the flight battery from the charger. LEDs will glow green indicating the charger is ready to charge another pack. Unplug the charger from the mains socket if you are not going to charge another battery.
Assembly
Wing
- Locate the steel wire wing joiner (note the "V" shape ensuring the correct wing dihedral) with the plastic adapter and slide both wing halves onto the joiner.
- Secure the wing halves using the wing joiner plate.
- Use the supplied Y-cables to connect the aileron servos and LED light cables:
A. A radio featuring only one aileron channel (like the T8FB supplied in the RTF set): Connect both two aileron servos (connector label "AILE") to one Y-cable and both two LED light cables (labelled "LED") to another Y-cable. The aileron Y-cable is to be connected to the aileron channel of your receiver (CH1 in the case of T8FB). The LED light Y-cable could be connected to any unused channel of your receiver (the LEDs are just powered by the receiver, they are not remote controlled by the radio).
B: A radio featuring 2 independent aileron servo channels: Connect one aileron servo and one LED light to each Y-cable. Connect the Y-cables to the respective aileron channels of your receiver (typically, CH1 and CH5 or CH6 – it depends on the transmitter and its setting – please refer to the instruction manual of your radio). - Secure the wing using two 2.5×15 mm screws to the fuselage.
Tail feathers
- Put together the vertical and horizontal tailplane and secure them using two 2.5×15 mm screws to the fuselage.
- Attach the plastic quick links of the elevator and rudder pushrods to the outer hole in the respective elevator and rudder horns.
RC set installation
Now you have to install/connect your receiver, servos and electronic speed controller (ESC).
1. Remove the canopy. Lift the rear part up to disengage the magnetic lock.
2. Following you radio instruction manual connect the servos, ESC and LED light cables to your receiver – the table shows the channel assignment of the T8FB radio supplied in the RTF kit:
| Connector label | Function | Reciever channel (T8FB) |
| AILE | Ailerons | CH1 |
| ELEV | Elevator | CH2 |
| ESC | Throttle | CH3 |
| RUDD | Rudder | CH4 |
| LED | LED lights | CH5 |
3. Put your receiver into the fuselage under the wing seat. You can secure it using a strip of Velcro to the fuselage.
4. The flight battery pack is to be inserted into the nose of your ALPHA 1500 V2 and secured by the Velcro tape to the plywood battery trail - the exact position of the battery pack will be determined later during the Centre of Gravity position check.
Preflight check
Checking the current set-up
1. Assure that the transmitter is turned on (both the LEDs are on with the T8FB), place all the trims in their neutral positions and set the throttle stick into the lowest position. Connect the flight pack to the ESC – the red LED on the receiver must glow. If it blinks or does not glow at all, the receiver and transmitter require establishing their link by the binding procedure – refer to the page 6 in this manual.
2. Checking the control surface neutrals
Please check all the control surfaces are in the neutral position if the corresponding transmitter sticks and trims are in the centre position. If not, please release the particular quicklink and set the control surface to the neutral position. The elevator and rudder has to be flush with the horizontal stabilizer resp. the fin, both two ailerons have to be flush with the wing trailing edge. Once satisfied, re-attach the quicklink to the control horn.
3. Testing the Ailerons
A) Move the aileron stick to the left (looking from the tail to the nose). The left aileron must move up and the right aileron must drop down simultaneously.
B) Move the aileron stick to the right. The left aileron must drop down and the right aileron go up simultaneously.
C) Return the aileron stick to the centre (neutral) - both two ailerons will return to the neutral position.
4. Testing the rudder
A) Move the rudder stick to the left (looking from the tail to the nose). The rudder must move to the left.
B) Move the rudder stick to the right. The rudder must move to the right.
C) Return the ruder stick to the centre (neutral) - the rudder will return to the neutral position.
5. Testing the elevator
A) The elevator stick is located on the left side on the Mode 1 transmitter or on the right side on the Mode 2 transmitter. Pull the elevator stick down. The elevator must move up.
B) Push the elevator stick up. The elevator must move down.
C) Return the elevator stick to the centre (neutral) - the elevator will return to the neutral position.
6. Control surface throws
If you carefully followed the instruction in the previous sections of this manual, the correct default control surface throws has been set automatically. The control throws are set by the ratio between the length of the servo arm and the control surface throw - the actual throws set this way are listed in the column "Normal rate" in the table below. (The throws are always measured in the widest point of the particular control surface.) It is always better to try to reach the requested throws mechanically, adjusting the arm/horn length ratio - even if you have got a fancy computer radio. If you got such a transmitter you can use the function "Dual rate" (D/R) to get even more forgiving setup - please refer to the "Low rate" column. You can also do it mechanicaly - simply move the push rod Z-bends on the servo arms closer to the centre.
A. A radio featuring only one aileron channel
| Control | Low rate | Normal rate | Expo* |
| Aileron | 8 mm up and down | 12 mm up and down | 30 % |
| Rudder | 14 mm left and right | 20 mm left and right | 20 % |
| Elevator | 8 mm up and down | 12 mm up and down | 30 % |
B. A radio featuring 2 independent aileron servo channels
| Control | Low rate | Normal rate | Expo* |
| Aileron | 8 mm up/4 mm down | 12 mm up/6 mm down | 30 % |
| Rudder | 14 mm left and right | 20 mm left and right | 20 % |
| Elevator | 8 mm up and down | 12 mm up and down | 30 % |
*Expo – set to decrease the sensitivity around the neutral (Futaba, Hitec, Radiolink, Multiplex: -30/-20, Graupner: +30/+20 etc.)
7. Testing the power system
KAVAN T8FB/R–30B: Check the throttle channel reverse switch (THR) is in the "N" (up) position on the transmitter. Now perform the throttle range calibration procedure as described in the KAVAN R–30B manual (refer to the attachment) and check the motor brake function has been turned on.
A) Turn on the transmitter, set the throttle stick to the lowest position, connect the flight pack to the ESC in the model (ESC has to be set to the "Brake OFF" mode – if your ESC features this option). If the prop rotated slowly, please check the position of the throttle stick and throttle trim.
B) Slowly move the throttle stick up, the prop should start to rotate clockwise (looking from behind). If it spins in the opposite direction, pull the throttle stick back, disconnect the flight battery and swap any two of the three cables between the motor and the ESC. The re-check again. Repeat the ESC throttle range calibration. Then re-check again.
8. The centre of gravity
A) The CG has to be located 55–60 mm behind the leading edge of the wing. Balance your ALPHA 1500 V2 supporting the wing with your fingertips 55 mm behind the leading edge for the first flight.
B) You can fine tune the CG position later to suit your requirements. Moving the CG forward the model flight will be more stable, moving backward the controls will be become more sensitive, also the thermaling performance might improve slightly. Note: Moving back the CG too much could cause your model would be hard to control or even so unstable that you would not able to control it at all.
Now you are ready to fly!
Flying
Choosing the flying field/weather
Flying field
The flying field should be a flat grassy area. There should be no cars, persons, animals, buildings, power lines, trees or large stones or any other obstacles that ALPHA 1500 V2 might collide with within the range of ca 150 m. We highly recommend you to join a local model flying club – you will get access to their flying field along with advice and help to make your first steps into model flying much easier and safer.
Weather
Calm summer evenings are perfect for the maiden flight. Your ALPHA 1500 V2 is a light thermal glider that is the happiest with wind under 5 m/s. DO NOT fly when it is raining or snowing, on foggy days. Thunderstorms are clearly not the right time to fly either.
Range check
Perform the range check as described in the instruction manual of your radio. Ask a friend to hold the transmitter, and walk away holding the model in a regular flight position in the height of your shoulders. The servos have to respond to control inputs (control stick movements) without any glitching or jitter, with the motor off and at full throttle within the range stated by the radio manufacturer. Only prepare to fly if the range check is 100 % successful.
The first flight
Now the most important advice in this entire manual:
During the first flight we recommend that you have the support of an experienced RC pilot.
There is no shame in asking for help – new full size aircraft are test flown by skilled factory test pilots – and only then are regular pilots allowed to take control. RC model control requires some skills and reflexes people are not born with. It is not complicated to gain these skills – it just takes some time; this will vary with your natural talent. Full size pilots start under the supervision of a skilled instructor; they learn to fly at a safe altitude at first, learn landing and take-off techniques, and only then are they allowed to fly solo. The same principles apply with RC models too. Please do not expect that you will be able to put your model in the air and fly it without any previous RC experience.
Many will have gained skills in controlling their favourite computer game character by hammering the control buttons or sticks. For model flying this skill will have to be unlearnt!
The sticks movements required to control your model are small & gentle. Many models including ALPHA 1500 V2 are happier if you let them "fly by themselves" for most of the time, with small and gentle stick movements to simply guide the model in the required direction. RC flying is not about stick hammering, it is all about small stick movements, and observing the effect of that stick movement. Only later is it possible to anticipate the effect of larger stick movements that can be dangerous to your model in the earlier stages of model flying.
Step 1: Hand launch and initial trimming
The model must be launched into wind every time. Throw grass into the air to observe the wind direction.
Turn on your transmitter.
Connect and put the flight pack into the battery compartment and secure the canopy.
Hold your model with the wings and fuselage level (refer to the drawing) – it is better to ask a friend to launch your model than to do everything by yourself – you can then concentrate on the controls.
Give the model full throttle and launch your model with a gentle push straight and level. You will feel the point at which the model is trying to fly naturally. Do not give it too strong a push. Do not throw your model with nose up, or greater than 10 degrees down. The model must have a certain minimum speed from the very start to stay airborne. It is not enough to just "put" your model in the air.
If everything is OK ALPHA 1500 will climb gently. If your ALPHA 1500 loses altitude, pull the elevator stick very slightly towards you (just a little!) to achieve a steady climb.
Step 2: Flying
Keep your ALPHA 1500 V2 climbing until she reaches at least 50 m in height, then throttle back the motor just to maintain the level flight. The real flying fun begins now.