Tell us what you did today on your Bearhawk Project

[Mark Goldberg]

Donna, your two Patrols sure look nice. Mark

[Flygirl1]

Hey guys, thanks for appreciating our hard work! I think the paint colors and schemes suit each of us nicely. We won't make the mistake of flying off in the wrong plane for sure!! Bill, the fairings are fiberglass. We started with aluminum, but it turns out neither of us are metalologists. I felt they were flexible enough to hold up to a bit of twisting so we attached them to the fuselage at the top of the fairing on the outside and to the landing gear at the bottom of the fairing on the inside. This will keep any gapping to a minimum when the gear is on the ground or in the air. I'll post that photo just as soon as I find it and let you know how it works. D.

[DRLPatrol]

I needed a little road trip yesterday and went down to see Donna and Dennis. I had not seen their planes since the wings were on. I am here to tell you they look even better than they do in pictures. One thing that does not show up in the pictures, the white paint is a satin finish and the colors are high gloss. Very nice effect. Well done guys.

Doug

[Chewie]

Remind me, what paint process was used?

[JimParker256]

Two gorgeous airplanes! You should be proud of what you've accomplished!

[Flygirl1]

Thank you all! Doug and anybody else that may care about the weight of their plane--FYI: I took the plastic off the inside and outside windows, winshield and off the prop and weighed it--1lb. That's how easy it can add up. Moral to this story--I'm taking off 1/2lb. on each main weight figures. ;-)

[Bdflies]

I thought I'd wait, to fuel the plane, until after weight and balance. Reading Donna's experience with seeping tanks, I decided to check out the fuel system sooner. So, I boldly put 15 gallons in each tank! I can report no leaks in either tank. I won't lie, however. I did find a primer line that wasn't tight enough... Nose high, she flows 23 gph, from 'both' and 21 gph from either left or right. If I read the flow charts correctly, 150% of my O-360 A1A's requirements is 22 gph. Yes, I did check the calibration of the flowmeter. It's spot on!
Now, I can button up the tank covers and carry on with the windshield fairings.

Bill

[Flygirl1]

Hey Jim, not to say yours will or are leaking, but the fuel in out tanks was in there for a few days before we saw the leaks and a couple of days after that a couple more. Again, these are so tiny if you have 100ll in the tank it might disappear before you notice, so not sure it would be a huge problem anyway. Also wondering which fuel flow sensor you have. We were 15 degrees nose high and with 5 gal's we had a fuel flow of 20.62 gph. We stopped at the 5 gal. in each tank because I thought the test was supposed to be with the minimum amount of fuel. But maybe it should have been done with the minimum amount of fuel until you reach 22 gph?? I think we'll have to do the test agin till we reach the 150%. D.

[Flygirl1]

We started both engines for the first time on Mon. Dennis needed a battery assist and had a small easily fixable oil leak. After the external battery was hooked up she lit after about 1/2 blade turn and ran great. Mine started ok but the Skyview screen went wacky and quit for a minute but came back on line. ( pretty sure it was due to a low voltage issue with the backup battery ). We were pretty sure we had oil pressure because we did that before hand with the plugs out. Anyway both ran great and we are just waiting for our DAR blessing to fly them. A huge milestone and if you can't tell, I'M EXCITED! This gets a 5 smiley face rating.

[Bdflies]

How exciting! You're getting real close to first flights!

I'm replying in a post, for Whee's benefit....

I have a "Red Cube" flow transmitter. I was all set to get a "Gold Cube", because of lower flow resistance in my no-pump installation. The tech guy at Sarasota Avionics assured me that the miniscule flow difference wouldn't be an issue in a low flow installation, like mine. Seems he was right. I did the flow tests with 10 gals per side. After the tests, I added 5 more per side. I have to de-fuel before doing the W/B. I'll try a minimum level test - at whatever point the front pickups are un ported.
It's been 6 days since I put gas in and still no sign of any seeping. I'm pretty sure they're not weeping fuel. How did you fix your leaks?

Congratulations on on your engine starts!

Bill

[Flygirl1]

A pro seal like product and smeared every welded rivet. That's what we have--red cube. At the moment I know I cannot take off in a steep climb with less than 5 gal in each tank on board, preferably more. Or at least I shouldn't.

Thanks, I truly was afraid when I pushed the button, nothing would happen, but it did and the Whirlwind Prop was so smooth. ;-) We just talked with our DAR and he should be here Mon or Tues!! D.

[Bdflies]

Donna, if you're running an O-360A1A, like mine, fuel flow at WOT is 15 gph, so you're good to go at 5 gallons per tank. The recommendation is 150% of requirements, but you're still flowing 137%. That's still a good margin. The issue of taking off and doing a max performance climb out, with 5 gallons per side, might be a whole different conversation.
Have y'all done taxi testing yet?

Bill

[whee]

Haha. Thanks Bill! I really do appreciate it.

I'm enjoying seeing the pics these places coming together. Makes me want to get out in the garage more often.

[Flygirl1]

Bill, Dennis said the same thing on the fuel flow. No on the taxi test. The weather here has not cooperated and rather then put the cowls back on when the DAR wants them off, we'll wait. I just hope my taxi test doesn't turn into first flight, like some do. She's sitting there looking like a caged bird who wants out!! D. If anybody has any advice on first taxi or first flight, we'll take it. We've read up on it, but first hand info is welcome. D.

[Bdflies]

"First taxi and first flight"? Two subjects that probably qualify for individual threads.

I've done 3 first flights, only one being my own plane. I think the first question is whether or not to fly it yourself. There may be 'glory' in building a state of the art show plane, but there's nothing particularly special about flying it first, or being the second pilot. At the risk of stepping on toes, 10,000 hours of heavy jet time doesn't mean you're ready for that Bearhawk with a 6 cylinder Lycoming. If you're qualified (fairly high performance, taildragger, STOL) and current (how much have you flown in the last few years that you've spent building), should you fly it first? If something goes wrong, are you sure your decision process will focus on saving your bacon, at the possible cost of bending your baby? I'm getting close and I've been giving the subject a lot of thought. I'm qualified and current, but I just might watch the first flight. Haven't decided yet.

Bill

[Flygirl1]

I've struggled with that idea for two yrs. now. Someone with more experience in a glass panel would make sense here. But, if not me who??? Who do I trust with my baby?? I've had an engine out on take off once and I'm pretty sure I would save my bacon and fix the plane, but could somebody more experienced in things that can go wrong on first flights better understand what is happening and avoid any serious problems in the first place?? Yea, lots of ? in this matter. One thing I know for sure is i will NOT do high speed taxi tests. Too many horror stories involved with those!! D. DAR will be here Mon. and the forecast is good for the rest of the week. At least one of us will be first flight for sure. ;-)

[jaredyates]

The EAA has some good resources about first flight preparation. For example: http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=1281396978001 and http://eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=2681554330001
Also, consider participation in the free EAA Flight Advisor program. I am on the list as a Flight Advisor for the Patrol and meet the minimum requirements, though I'm more qualified and comfortable with the 4-Place. If you can't find anyone closer and would like to talk, please let me know.

[Flygirl1]

Jared, Thanks for the information!! Also the offer to talk. Mark G. Called as soon as he read my post and gave me all kinds of useful information, ( Thanks again Mark ). I'd like to go with Dennis on his, for some first hand experience of my own, but even if it was allowed, he wouldn't let me😊 I'll get his input when he gets on the ground. D.

[Chewie]

Winter's been rather annoying in our valley this year. My compressor drain froze multiple times and kids were even ice skating past my house on what's supposed to be a street.
But this week I said hello to my spar again and picked up where I left off, trying to remember how to reassemble the spacers and getting the angles drilled in position. One thing I found interesting - harbor freight drill bits aren't supposed to be high precision, but I had no idea they were so useless. Thankfully I tested a couple bits first before deciding to use them. The hole was so triangular that I couldn't even slide a rivet in...no joke.

[Flygirl1]

Today both planes received what I guess you could call their "birth certificates"!! Our DAR was impressed with the workmanship & handed us our certificates in short order.

Put the cowlings on and did some brake burnishing this afternoon, cycled the props a little and taxied around a bit. The P mags worked as advertised and the sky view seemed to work flawlessly with the cyl, temps all in the low to mid 300's and oil pressure around 75 for the duration which was about 15 min.

Did notice the rudder steering is way stiffer then either of us are used to. Meaning you need a lot of pressure to steer on the ground. Has anybody else noticed this? Turns work great with just a touch of break, but I don't think that is something that should be done on a regular bases.

Another milestone and the feeling is awesome. So keep up the good work people, it is so worth it!!

Donna. P.S Chewie--we feel your pain!! WX has been awful down here too. Lots of yard clean up after that last ice storm, but spring comes early to this part of the world. Also have seen what I thought was impossible--a drilled triangle hole!!

[Sebastian]

Seems like it has taken forever to get these landing and taxi lights cut in the wings and the brackets made. It's taken three full weekends, one to worry about cutting the wing and cutting it and two to build and mount the light brackets. I finished that today, now I have to make the lens for each light.
Today I also prepped the bottom windshield area for fiberglass of the bottom trim piece. I attached a few pics.

[Flygirl1]

Nice job! I was all bent out of shape just thinking about cutting air vents and pitot tube holes. Their going to look nice wigwagging!! D.