Bearhawk Builders
    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:
    "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).
    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..."


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!!!"
     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.
   
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."
     Here are some pics of Cal Brubaker's BH. It flew today May 21. He is also in Salt Lake City.

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