You'll do better with that question in the "Beginners" forum rather than the combat forum.

The Alpha is a great flying plane though. Top speed is around 45-50 stock, with a different prop it can hit 65. You can hand launch it, but it's hard and not worth the trouble. Most guys will tell you not to hand launch something that big, and it's rarely done. The plane weights around 6lbs. Cleaning, yep. Glow engines make a mess, but you can moderate that a bit with an exhaust deflector.