Bearhawk Aircraft Bearhawk Tailwheels LLC Eric Newton's Builder Manuals Bearhawk Plans Bearhawk Store

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Tell us what you did today on your Bearhawk Project

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • No problem whee, I'm not offended and would always rather folks feel comfortable with speaking freely than have them feeling like they can't say something because they don't want to hurt my feelings.

    There are several reasons for not elaborating on the servo installation here. First, I need to be sure that the installation works, lest I lead someone else down the wrong path. Second, if the forum was the best place for it, then this thread probably wouldn't be. The third is that I'd rather have the content in the newsletter. I think less about trying to sell more newsletters and more about trying to provide better value to the folks who have already paid for it, but I realize those two may be the same thing.

    The intersection of free information and monetized information gets sticky. This is something that I think about a lot, and have tried to find good balance with. That thinking leads me to believe that whether or not information is free to consume, it is never free to produce. In a setting like this, the information is generously donated by the folks who post it. It is also subsidized by other participants who pass it through an editorial process by speaking up when it seems to be wrong or unclear. It is also subsidized by the provider of the venue, which in this case is Bearhawk Aircraft and BH Services LLC. We have some really generous people who donate a lot of time and effort to help fellow builders, which is great. The minor costs of keeping the lights on (so to speak) are insignificant when compared to the value of these efforts.

    When we took over the Beartracks venture from its last publisher in 2012, I talked at length with several builders to try and make a good plan going forward. Some made the very good case that the newsletter content should be available for free, including back issues. (Safety updates, while included in the newsletter and sometimes elaborated on there, should always be free). Some made the very good case that if we are charging for the newsletter, we should not expect the writers to donate the content. We face the reality that as of now, the web hosting company, security certificate company, and domain registrars do not provide their services for free. Who should incur those costs, and at what stage in the overall information delivery process? We arrived at the following compromise: we halved the cost of the pdf newsletter from $16 to $8 per year. We started paying writers a small amount to offset their trouble, though it is never enough to really pay what the content is worth, at least to me. In an effort to increase the value of the back issue content without increasing the price, we manually input all of the past issues into a database-driven venue that allows for easier access and interaction. (This was a project of hundreds, not tens of hours). Keep in mind that while the content in that archive is far from perfect and very far from complete, all of it has at one point passed under the eyes of Bob Barrows and received his nod, and much of it has received similar approval from Mark. Mark sees much of what is on the forum and will speak up if he disagrees, but it is safe to assume that essentially none of the content here has Bob's oversight.

    The additional cost of producing the newsletter is in the effort it takes to rustle up content, assemble it, send it out for various approvals, and distribute it to the subscribers. Those things require about as much time as managing subscriptions, handling changes to addresses, etc. For the few folks that still subscribe to the paper version, we maintain an expensive color laser printer, buy stamps, envelopes, etc. The extra $10 per year doesn't cover the additional cost of the paper version of the newsletter, but being that we have so few people using that option, I'd rather subsidize that minor loss and not have to increase the yearly rate, which already seems so high.

    To give you some napkin-level math about the financial situation of the newsletter, half of all subscription fees go to paying the writers and the expenses related to internet delivery. (I'll add that when we can't get enough writers to fill an issue, then I have to write articles to make up the difference, though I don't pay myself for those articles). That leaves about $1000 per year. About half of this is consumed by subsidizing the other Bearhawk internet ventures like the message board, and in paying the expenses related to housekeeping for the LLC. The rest, if divided by the approximate number of hours devoted to the newsletter alone, pays me at a rate of around $5 per hour, unless it instead covers some one-time expense of the Bearhawk-related stuff, like expenses to keep the store going, etc. I don't ever actually pay myself that money, it just sits in the LLC's account, and somehow finds its way to some other expense as time goes on. I have the good fortune of having a very well-paid day job (at least as of now) and without getting into specifics, let's just say that a year's worth of Bearhawk work pays less than a couple of hours of day job work. I say this not because I'm asking for sympathy or compliments, but rather just to make the point that while, yes, money does change hands in the newsletter, the few things that I help coordinate in the BH community are labors of love. I do them because as a builder, I want for them to be done, and it seems that nobody else wants to do them.

    Comment


    • Jared,
      Thank you for all your time and efforts!

      Patrick

      Comment


      • Thanks Jared Volunteer labor is hard to come by, and is more passion than anything, thanks for keeping the dream alive.

        Comment


        • Originally posted by Launched View Post
          To me the splice measurement on BH4 plans are not clear. Do you have any insight?
          You can measure the splice plate with a ruler since its full-size in the plans. What most have done is make a photocopy of the plate from plans, cut it out, and glue it to the piece of metal as a guide and cut from there.

          Christopher Owens
          Bearhawk 4-Place Scratch Built, Plans 991
          Bearhawk Patrol Scratch Built, Plans P313
          Germantown, Wisconsin, USA

          Comment


          • Hi all,

            I decided to go with PAR36 4.5" LED landing and taxi lights from AeroLites on my 4pl Bearhawk. The trick was, how do I mount these so that a.) I can adjust them after assembly, and b.) the mount doesn't weigh a ton (or tonne for us metric types).

            This is what I came up with. It is similar to the Duckworks kit I installed in my RV-8 15 years ago.

            I made a mount plate, two side angles, and two holder tabs, all out of .032 2024T3 . The distance between leading edge ribs is only 7", so I don't think there will be any issues with flexing of the plate.

            Once everything was primed, I riveted it together and then started the mounting process.

            First, I figured out the movement limits of the upper side angles where the set screw was going to go. I flattened the lightening hole flange in that area and drilled a #40 hole at the point where the light mount could be either at 0 deg (straight ahead), but still give me lots of down angle if I need to adjust it that way.

            I then drilled the bottom pivot holes (using a #40 drill) and inserted clecos. This allow me to now rotate the whole mount while marking the track for the set screw with a Sharpie.

            I dismantled everything, cut the set screw slot in the side angles with a Dremel, and installed K1000-08 nutplates on the ribs for the pivot screws and the set screws. I remounted everything and I now have a landing/taxi light mount that I can adjust for elevation easily after assembly.

            My description of the steps probably sucks, but I think the pictures are relatively self explanatory.

            Cheers

            You do not have permission to view this gallery.
            This gallery has 4 photos.
            -------------------
            Mark

            Maule M5-235C C-GJFK
            Bearhawk 4A #1078 (Scratch building - C-GPFG reserved)
            RV-8 C-GURV (Sold)

            Comment


            • Very creative! Another one for the scrapbook.

              ~Chris
              Christopher Owens
              Bearhawk 4-Place Scratch Built, Plans 991
              Bearhawk Patrol Scratch Built, Plans P313
              Germantown, Wisconsin, USA

              Comment


              • Very nice! After looking at your pictures I can see where this is definitely one place where scratch built has and advantage over quick build. You didn't have to work thru a 5" X 6.5" hole to do your insulation. It's awesome how clean and simple the bracket and install looks. GREAT!

                Comment


                • I was riveting my way down the right mainspar getting the attach angles on and suddenly realized I finally finished my first spar. We all know nothing is ever really finished but still... Can I say yippee skippee and still be a man?
                  Mark
                  Scratch building Patrol #275
                  Hood River, OR

                  Comment


                  • Mornin' all

                    I had been dreading the whole process of cutting the fuel tank filler neck holes in my wing skins. I was really worried that I would mess something up and cut the holes in the wrong spot (like that NEVER happens, right?) and wind up trashing some expensive sheets of aluminum. Well, turns out it was really easy and I did both holes in my left wing (I have an Aux tank) in a little over an hour and they both turned out perfect.

                    I was a little leery about using some of the methods I had read about, including the one about smearing some kind of liquid/putty/whatever on the rim of the filler neck and then pressing that against the inside of the skin. I didn't think that would be very accurate.

                    This is what I did (your mileage may vary, batteries not included, objects in mirror are closer than they appear...)

                    1. I took a square of paper and drew a 2" circle on it.

                    2. With spray contact cement, I attached the paper perfectly centered on the filler neck. I then put duct tape on paper facing up (towards the inside of the wing skin) along the side closest to the edge of the tank.

                    3. I then positioned the tank where it needed to be (vertically and horizontally) and then used a long wooden coffee stir stick to reach through a lightening hole and press the tape to the skin.

                    4. The tank was then removed. The duct tape easy overcame the stickiness of the contact cement, so the square paper template was now stuck EXACTLY where I needed to drill the hole. I drilled a #40 hole through the center so I could mark the hole on the top side of the skin.

                    5. Using a #40 drill, I worked my way around the hole and then used a Dremel tool and file bit to remove the waste in the center.

                    6. I used a spiral bit in an air die grinder to round out the hole and make it 2 1/4" in diameter (1/8" all the way around the hole). Why not go straight to 2 1/4" at first? In case I buggered something up; you can't put material back in :-)

                    That's it. Quite easy actually.

                    Cheers

                    You do not have permission to view this gallery.
                    This gallery has 9 photos.
                    -------------------
                    Mark

                    Maule M5-235C C-GJFK
                    Bearhawk 4A #1078 (Scratch building - C-GPFG reserved)
                    RV-8 C-GURV (Sold)

                    Comment


                    • Chewie
                      Chewie commented
                      Editing a comment
                      ... or bearhawk.tips

                    • jaredyates
                      jaredyates commented
                      Editing a comment
                      The forum administrator has left the building, but one of you is welcome to do it! Or better yet, get Mark to write it up for Beartracks, which will get it onto bearhawk.tips. I'd like to have a public part of bearhawk.tips where we could have things like this, but don't foresee having time to get it done any time soon. If anyone is interested, I can get you set up with the credentials.

                    • rv8bldr
                      rv8bldr commented
                      Editing a comment
                      I'll send a Word docversion to you for the Beartracks, Jared

                  • Originally posted by rv8bldr View Post
                    I had been dreading the whole process of cutting the fuel tank filler neck holes in my wing skins. I was really worried that I would mess something up and cut the holes in the wrong spot (like that NEVER happens, right?) and wind up trashing some expensive sheets of aluminum. Well, turns out it was really easy and I did both holes in my left wing (I have an Aux tank) in a little over an hour and they both turned out perfect.
                    Nice technique! Congrats on the perfect hole!

                    Christopher Owens
                    Bearhawk 4-Place Scratch Built, Plans 991
                    Bearhawk Patrol Scratch Built, Plans P313
                    Germantown, Wisconsin, USA

                    Comment


                    • Two days ago we took the cowling off my plane. Found a new Gremlin. Although sad that I have another one, happy to report it’s the equipment and nothing to do with the builders or the kit/airplane. Tach went wacky during a flight in cruise. Trouble shooted & found the R- P Mag to be the culprit. Something in the coil or circuit board went bad and caused the #3 & #4 cyl to not fire on the bottom plugs, which apparently caused the signals to the Dynon Tach to mess up. The P-Mag tech had us do some things to test and came back with the fact he has seen this before, send it back. So if anybody has P-mags and your tach goes wacky, it should show up in a mag check. Sent it back, so I’m grounded again!! Hopefully it is the problem and this will fix it.

                      As far as flight reports the plane is still performing great. Getting 1200 or more FPM up on a 85 MPH indicated take off climb and cruising at 142 @ 75% power. Also either I am getting stronger or the flap spring is getting weaker, but pulling the 3rd notch at between 60/65 is not a problem. I’m really impressed with the landing gear. It’s holding up amazingly well in my opinion. ;-)
                      Last edited by Flygirl1; 05-13-2017, 10:37 AM.

                      Comment


                      • IMG_1704.JPGIMG_1699.JPGIMG_1691.JPGIMG_1698.JPGIMG_1696.JPG Painting of the wings is complete. It only too 5 weekends LOL. Now I will be working on installing the fuel tanks and finishing up some wiring in each wing. Here is a couple of pics.

                        Comment


                        • Flygirl1
                          Flygirl1 commented
                          Editing a comment
                          WOW. looks great. Can't wait to see the rest of it--airborne!!

                        • N3UW
                          N3UW commented
                          Editing a comment
                          WOW......want to take a vacation to the Seattle area and do some more painting!!!! Very nice.. Love the design.

                        • Sebastian
                          Sebastian commented
                          Editing a comment
                          Thanks for the comments folks. As far as the painting all I can take credit for is running a sander and finding a great painter. I got lucky and found him thru my EAA chapter. He gets lots of practice working in the sheet metal and paint shop at NASA. You get a lot of practice painting the Guppy. LOL

                      • This evening we took one of our roosters up to my friend Joe's place. I posted a video a while back of landing at his strip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCFEkLYMWOw
                        He's been grading ever since then and has made the runway a little longer, which is nice. It would have taken us an hour to drive, but it only took 15 minutes to fly up there. The girls got a serious case of the sillies on the way back.
                        Attached Files

                        Comment


                        • Bdflies
                          Bdflies commented
                          Editing a comment
                          Tell us more about the roosters!
                          Do you bring them visiting often?

                          Bill

                        • Flygirl1
                          Flygirl1 commented
                          Editing a comment
                          Jared, glad I'm not the only one who fly's birds in their birds! The neighbors @##@## cat killed my nesting bluebird the other day. The new babies found a new home at the Chintimini wildlife rescue ranch in Corvallis OR. So, I had the honor of giving them their "first flight". ;-) Donna

                      • Greetings all! What I did today is join this forum! Baby step 1. I've been researching the right plane for me and have decided that the Bearhawk is the one! I bought a kit that was started by Dan Christ in San Antonio and have brought it home to Slidell, Louisiana to start the process. I would really appreciate finding out who has the nearest completed 4 place so that I can come out and take a look at it. I haven't seen one before. Didn't need to, it's pretty obvious from all the reports I've read that it's a great heavy hauling plane! The end result will be a bush plane hunt in Canada / Alaska. I'll be reading the posts and starting to get a feel for where to start. Thanks!
                        Brad
                        You do not have permission to view this gallery.
                        This gallery has 1 photos.

                        Comment


                      • Hi Brad. No 4 place, but I'm flying a newly completed Patrol, in Grand Coteau. Still in phase 1, so Slidell is out of bounds, for now.

                        Bill

                        Comment


                        • Brad Ripp
                          Brad Ripp commented
                          Editing a comment
                          Thanks Bill, I'm sure somewhere along the line I'm going to have to come out and check it out!

                        • Deftone
                          Deftone commented
                          Editing a comment
                          Im in Lafayette, LA and have been to see Bill's Patrol, Its a beauty! Will definitely inspire your build (it sure got my butt back in the garage and working on my 4-place again)
                      Working...
                      X