Kohler expressed the opinion that a sailplane's performance is mostly determined by its wing, while the fuselage imparts character to the design.

The fuselage that he designed must have contributed to the performance, though, as the Alpha has a glide ratio two points higher than the HP-11 with the same wing.

[1][2] The Alpha fuselage is made from wood, with some fiberglass components incorporated.

The HP-11 wing is of all-metal and features a 26:1 aspect ratio, a 52 ft (15.8 m) wingspan and a NACA 65 (3)-618 airfoil.

[2] The Alpha had a number of owners and, according to Federal Aviation Administration registry records was most recently transferred to the Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum at Travis Air Force Base, in Solano County, California.