Tell us what you did today on your Bearhawk Project

[RatherBFlying]

Assembling aileron spar and ribs.

[Olm]

Let me tell about my progress. One aileron was assembled after about 3 month...
14721484_1267494276604259_334785738754314019_n.jpg26231825_1761687853851563_4323465416429174063_n.jpg26169349_1761687850518230_236094365167165725_n.jpg29066427_1835655883121426_5643926106022084608_n.jpg29386955_1845685105451837_8469903067964243968_n.jpg

[RatherBFlying]

Do the Patrol plans include lightening holes in the flap and aileron spars? My 4-place plans don't show any, I've seen pictures from various build threads that show it both ways, some with holes, some without.

[Olm]

Yes, there are the lightning holes in the aileron and flap spars of the Patrol. Probably this is the differense between the planes. I mean the 4-place and Patrol.

[Shoncollins]

Thought I would start making some templates today

[Shoncollins]

Started making up the control column the brackets are harder to fold up than they look but came out well

[Archer39J]

Finally finished the starboard skylight former. Used the steel wing formers to bend the aluminum u-channel sourced from my local metal supermarket. I threaded the fwd standoff to accept a #10-32 screw (NAS1801-3-6 specifically) and bent a steel bracket to accept the u-channel. The aft stud was wide enough I felt comfortable just popping a AN3 through it with some washers to secure the u-channel laterally. The aft brackets attach to the crossbar made from stringer material and are themselves fabricated from an L-bracket I pulled off a 737 galley. After almost being bit by my miter saw I decided snapping and grinding was the way to go, I really need a band saw...

Now to do all this again for the port side.

IMG_20180413_172540.jpg
IMG_20180413_172728.jpg
IMG_20180507_205637.jpg

IMG_20180507_174713.jpg
IMG_20180507_204228.jpg
IMG_20180507_162751.jpg
IMG_20180507_204251.jpg
IMG_20180507_174706.jpg

[Ray Strickland]

Next task: hang wings!

[Ray Strickland]

Wings hung with a little help from the W13 bunch...

[svyolo]

I finally got my new air tools up and running. My Makita compressor was DOA on arrival from where I bought it originally. Home Depot in Guam. I bought a California Air Tools compressor for HomeDepot.com. Very quite. The Makita would wake the dead.

Pounded my first rivets. Countersunk a few holes with a squeezer. Drilled a bunch of holes with an an air drill. Now just have to figure out how to do it correctly.

[svyolo]

Dave;
If you need a hand with anything big like hanging the wings and drilling, give me a yell.

[Archer39J]

Yeah same here!

[fairchild]

Working on perfecting the alodineing of the nose ribs. They are looking MUCH nicer now that I have diluted my alodine
3:1 with water. Nice pale gold color ! This was the first one I did -it was WAY too dark-- I scotchbrited it mostly off and re-did
but its all splotchy. Probably fine- just Fuggly. About the 3-rd one they were really nice looking -- like factory.
They will get green eco-poxy soon. Then the stiffener riveted on.
Tim

[JimParker256]

I recently purchased one of those California Air Tools compressor, and it is amazingly quiet, considering it will deliver up to 120 psi... You can barely tell it's running, unless you're standing right over it. The one I bought was a smaller portable model, used to air up the tires on the RV, take to the hangar to fill the airplane tires, etc. Now that my wife has heard (or rather – not heard) this one running, I've got the "green light" to replace the Craftsman unit that powers the shop. Still doing research on exactly which model I will get.

[Archer39J]

Started laying out my panel. 2 10" HDX Dynons are making things tight.

Panel1.PNG

[Bdflies]

Well, it's been HOT down here! Can't tell y'all how many times I wanted to fly, recently, but couldn't convince myself to work up the sweat to get the Patrol out. I had to 'vacate' the house before 8:00 this morning and the sky was cool and clear... So we went for a real nice flight. Dropped in to visit a good friend and chat about planes and stuff. As we visited, the wind steadily crept up. Not strong winds, mind you, but near exactly 90 degrees cross wind. Concern? Not even a thought... the Patrol has such great control authority and predictable behavior, it was nothing but fun. This isn't exactly a tale of what I did ON the Patrol, but rather a tale of what I did WITH the Patrol...
The flight was great, the visit was long over due and I did get to work up a sweat getting the plane back into the hangar...

Bill

[robcaldwell]

I recently purchased one of those California Air Tools compressor, and it is amazingly quiet, considering it will deliver up to 120 psi... You can barely tell it's running, unless you're standing right over it. The one I bought was a smaller portable model, used to air up the tires on the RV, take to the hangar to fill the airplane tires, etc. Now that my wife has heard (or rather – not heard) this one running, I've got the "green light" to replace the Craftsman unit that powers the shop. Still doing research on exactly which model I will get.

I have the 8 gallon California Air Compressor and absolutely love it! Replaced my ridiculously LOUD Craftsman with it. Can't run a paint gun with the California, but some small air tools. Soooo quiet.

[Bcone1381]

My struts and wings are drilled and mounted. Last week started the process of mounting the flight controls, by pressing bearing into place, and drilling hinges. Now I am waiting for a tool delivery (10 small c-clamps) to hang the flight controls. In the meantime, I painted some things that needed attention. I used the paint that came with the kit, applying it with am airbrush. I have never used one before and it worked pretty darn good for the small areas & pieces that I had. A table spoon of Part A and Part B paint measured with a syringe would last about 15 minutes of spraying.

I seldom set goals. I find that I I just go into the shop with a task, and work on it until its done with a quality I am excited about achieving. But I want to get all the big parts of the Kit installed before Oshkosh. If the ailerons and flaps get put on next week, I think we'll be there. The kit was delivered in March of 2017. I think I am a slow builder, but make up speed by putting a fair amount of time in the project. I have no idea if this is a three year or 5 year project. After the big parts are installed, it seems like the builder is making lot of decisions, where as up to know, Bob and Mark made the decisions for me by virtue of the design & Kit Parts .


IMG_5369.jpg
IMG_5375.jpg
IMG_5405.jpg
IMG_5483.jpg