Currently there are around 65 Bearhawks flying, including Bob Barrows' original two prototypes (see News & Articles link above for Pilot Reports on these two aircraft). Of this total, 51 are flying in the US and the rest are scattered around the world mainly in South Africa, Brazil, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. If you want to see one of the Bearhawks now flying, please contact us. Bob Barrows has been selling Bearhawk plans since 1995, and has now sold over 1150 sets of plans making the Bearhawk design one of the most successful designs in the homebuilt world.
KIT NEWS:
We now have sold over 115 Quick Build kits to customers in the majority of states in the US, and also Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, and Australia. Alaska has been a great market for the Bearhawk because the Alaskan pilots need especially capable airplanes for the kind of flying they do up there. All these kit builders would welcome a visit to check out their kit Bearhawk projects. The one in Brazil is not exactly on the beaten path, but if you are in Cuiaba of Matto Grosso province you might want to stop by.
AviPro would be happy to put you in touch with virtually all these builders so you could ask them about the quality of the workmanship in their kits from AviPro, and the help available during every step of the construction process. There is also an egroup for Bearhawk kit builders where we exchange ideas and experiences. It has proven to be very useful. When someone has a question, an answer is usually provided promptly by multiple builders further along in the process, many times with pictures attached.
Mike Creek's first flight - Jan.17,2009:
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"Thanks to everyone for your congratulations and support.
I'll give some performance numbers, but keep in mind I was more
focused on engine break-in than recording numbers so these will
likely change some as I get more proficient in the plane. Field
elevation is 5100 feet. Outside air temps were in the low to mid
30's. Estimated TO roll with 50 gal and myself on-board was 200 to
300 feet as a rough estimate. Climb at 80 knots was 1700 to 2000
fpm. At 7500 feet, it was truing out at 147 mph (gps ground speed
averaged in opposite directions) at 2600 RPM and 8.50 tires (O-540).
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Some background:
I'm a low-time pilot with 1000 hours total time mostly in 182's. I
had some tailwheel time prior to going to AZ to finish the
endorsement. Somehow building had gotten in the way and I could
never get around to completing it until after the plane was signed
off. The nearest TW instructor with a plane is 240 miles from here.
The way it worked out, I was able to get 10 hours in TW planes in the
2 weeks before flying mine on it's second flight. Of that 5.5 hours
was dual instruction. Scott let me fly with him in 509 and that was
invaluble experience. Another builder also let me fly in his
Bearhawk which increased my comfort level a lot.
When it came time for the first flight, I was grateful Danny Sorenson came
over to fly it. While I would have been ok if everything worked
perfectly, Danny had made multiple first flights, including in Greg
and Brians Bearhawk and he has a lot of TW time so he could deal with
unforeseen issues, if any, much better than I could have. Besides, it
really reduced my stress level when I flew it for the first time
knowing that it had made a successful first flight.
The Bearhawk is easy to fly, BUT it is different from other planes I'd
flown (PA-12, Citabria, Air Bike, Super Cub, Decathlon, Husky,
Pitts). It has a lot of control authority and the p-factor on takeoff caught me off guard on my first few tak
e offs. Experiencing this
ahead my first flight made a world of difference for me.
I'll post more info as I fly and get more mature performance
numbers. Now I just need a few more weekends of good weather..."
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Latest Flying
Bearhawks: Here
are pictures of the most recent Bearhawk to fly from an AviPro QB
kit.
Giuseppe
Zanetti's BH flew on April 11, 2007. To our knowledge, this is
the first BH to fly behind a Continental IO-360. This BH is located
in Cuiaba' of Matto Grosso Province of Brazil.
Congratulations
Mr. Zanetti & Indio!!!" |
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| This
military looking BH was built by three generations of the Sorensen
family in Salt Lake City. First flights were done by Uncle Danny
who is an airshow pilot. |
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Dave
& Bobbie Roberts - 125BH flies on Mother's Day 2007
"I didn't ever get to full power. I eased the throttle in and
glanced at it just after liftoff and I had 2300 rpm - 19 in. manifold
pressure. With that and no flaps, takeoff roll was about 600 ft." |
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| Here
are some pics of Cal Brubaker's BH. It flew today May 21. He
is also in Salt Lake City. |
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Pictures
of kit Bearhawks under construction and flying:
Mark
Goldberg - Lots of pictures of the first Quickbuild kit out of the factory
in Mexico.
Thumbnail pictures
Peter Stevens - Pictures
of construction details of his Bearhawk.
Thumbnail
pictures
Robbie Staton
- Many construction pictures as well as pictures of his Bearhawk in flight!
Thumbnail
pictures
Kevin Seuferer and wife Donna Seuferer (pronounced Sifer, long 'i')
at "Planet Bearhawk"
www.bearhawkin.com - be sure to see
the construction page
http://www.bearhawkin.com/construction.html
Georg Himmeroeder - This site has a nifty online movie!
http://homepage.mac.com/ghim/Bearhawk/iMovieTheater61.html
Check
out these Bearhawk builders at mykitlog.com :
David
Weber - AviPro Bearhawk
Waller, Tx USA
John
Prince - Bearhawk QB
Kelley
Babin - Bearhawk QB Claremore, OK
Pete
Young - Bearhawk Waverly, MN USA
Richard
Ogletree - AviPro Aircraft Bearhawk Marietta, GA US
Ron
Jones - Avipro Bearhawk Walters, OK USA
Tom
Walter - AviPro Ltd Bearhawk Cedar Park, TX
Wayne
Massey - Bearhawk Plans/Scratch bulder Rochester, NY USA
Web
sites created by plans builders:
Russ
Erb - an aeronautical engineer and Bearhawk guru has put together a very
informative site documenting his own Bearhawk project and other plans builders
as well.
http://www.eaa1000.av.org/pix/erbpix/erbpix.htm
Click this link to his web site to order his CD.
http://www.qnet.com/~erbman/bearhawkcd.htm
Benton
Holzwarth - Bearhawk specific information, an archive of Bearhawk articles
and more.
http://www.siletzbay.com/Bearhawk
Del
Rawlins - Dels Bearhawk project and other useful Bearhawk information, pilot
reports, and downloads
http://www.rawlinsbrothers.org/planes/bearhawk.html
Eric
Newton - Bearhawk Construction Site: an extensive site with pilot reports,
construction and expense logs, FAQ's, and links to other sites.
http://mybearhawk.com