Bearhawk video footage

[rv8bldr]

Love it!

Currently paused on my build to put up a hangar on my property. I ran out of space in the house and garage :-)

[JimParker256]

Yeah! Very nice! And you can really see the "cush" those tires provide on landing and taxiing.

[doss1]

You are so lucky, Baloo. Looks like God's country. I've been to Jasper/Banff area...probably my favorite place in the world. My wife and I are trying to get back out there asap. You are living the dream!

[Baloo]

Thanks Doss,

I am very lucky! All the videos that I have posted of the Bearhawk on my YouTube RyanVH are taken right in my backyard within 35min of my home airport CYPK near Vancouver British Columbia. We have a great playground, mountains, lakes, rivers, gravel bars and ocean with tons of islands to explore. If anyone comes up this way please feel free to get in touch I'll happily show you around.

we also have a great aviation community up here called the BC General Aviation Association which I am proud to help lead, www.bcaviation.ca

[schu]

So the BH would line up with the Light Touring class or the Heavy Touring class. Seems they get lumped in the with Maules in the Light Touring class. C170/172s were the winning aircraft in Light Touring class in 2016 with scores (combined takeoff and landing distance) less than 250ft. C180s win the Heavy Touring class with scores under 300ft. It would be awesome to see Blackrock, Battson or any BH pilot that is truly into STOL flying compete at Valdez just to see how it compares with the other "benchmark" airplanes.

I go to this event every year. You might get them to do light touring if it was a 4cyl bearhawk, but I think a 6cyl would be heavy touring or even stuck in experimental class. Either way, I wouldn't expect a bearhawk to win. While I agree that it's a great airplane, I don't think it's more airplane than some of the very light O-520 powered 180's nor do I think it's going to do better than the light 210HP C-170B's with stol kits and VG's. These are very capable airplanes flown by people that will have them off in what the airplane is able to do, and not a foot more.

If you had a very light 540 bearhawk, with VG's, fat tires (angle of attack), and really knew what you were doing then possibly, but there is only a few 540 bearhawks in the state, and those folks aren't interested in Valdez.

Honestly, if you were a builder AND wanted to fly STOL comps, you would probably find yourself in a cub clone or some other airplane that doesn't struggle with 50 foot takeoffs, bearhawk builders typically want range, speed, utility, then STOL.

As for me, I want an airplane that can do what a 180 can do, with a stick, and modern panel, without cessna parts prices. The bearhawk does that. After all, it was originally designed to replace a C170, not a super cub.

[Mark Goldberg]

Schu, we are going to prove your point right or wrong soon at the Texas STOL Roundup. There, they put the planes in categories mostly based on gross weight. The only other time my 4 place competed 3 years ago - it competed in the 2500 lb and up category. And with Wayne flying it beat all the Maules, C180 & 185's, and won first place. Combined landing and take off of 453 ft.
Wayne is at a big disadvantage also not having the ability to practice in my plane the way the otner guys can in their own planes. But on the positive side of things, my 4 place now has tbat 3 blade Hartzel carbon fiber prop which has much better take off thrust than the old prop.

The LSA and Patrol do not do aswell since they are competing with very light planes that are 40-60 mph slower in cruise (Patrol), or 20 -40 mph (LSA). Mark

[JimParker256]

The LSA and Patrol do not do as well since they are competing with very light planes that are 40-60 mph slower in cruise (Patrol), or 20 -40 mph (LSA). Mark

But even so, I believe Wayne came in 3rd (in both contests) competing in the "Bush Experimental" category at the 2016 TX STOL Roundup in Llano, with a combined distance of 462 feet in the pure STOL contest, and a combined 936 feet in the Obstacle STOL contest. I know that's not an outright win, but I was amazed at his performance, especially considering how little practice he had before the event! (Practice time = 0...) The guys who beat him were flying planes with max cruise speeds about equal to the Patrol's "loitering" speed...

And it doesn't show up in the standings, but I'm pretty sure Wayne was very close to 3rd place in the LSA Experimental class as well.

We're already excited about attending the 2017 TX STOL Roundup in Hondo later this year, especially since we had to miss OSH this year. We're planning to stay at a nearby campground for the entire weekend... We missed the Sunday flour bombing last year because we had to leave on Saturday afternoon!

[doss1]

Schu, we are going to prove your point right or wrong soon at the Texas STOL Roundup.

Mark, where in Texas is the STOL Roundup?

[doss1]

Thanks Doss,

I am very lucky! All the videos that I have posted of the Bearhawk on my YouTube RyanVH are taken right in my backyard within 35min of my home airport CYPK near Vancouver British Columbia. We have a great playground, mountains, lakes, rivers, gravel bars and ocean with tons of islands to explore. If anyone comes up this way please feel free to get in touch I'll happily show you around.

we also have a great aviation community up here called the BC General Aviation Association which I am proud to help lead, www.bcaviation.ca

Thanks for the offer as a tour guide, Baloo! Never been to Vancouver, but several times to Victoria.

[Baloo]

It's only a 25min BH flight to Victoria from where I'm at.

[schu]

I didn't mean for my comments to sound like the bearhawk isn't a great airplane, it is. But even if it did win in Texas, that doesn't mean it will here.

The bearhawk would need to have significantly more performance than a C-180 to make up the difference between a very good pilot, and the guys that win that class up here. The 5th place airplane last year was only 279 feet.

I suppose my point is that, the bearhawk isn't more or less enough of a C180 to make up the pilot difference. I suspect a very good pilot would out perform a good pilot in either airplane.

schu

[whee]

Yeah...because Alaska pilots are just that much better than everyone else🙄

Baloo, BC sure looks like a cool place to explore. I hope to make it up there someday. Thanks for sharing your videos.

[Mark Goldberg]

While Schu's comments might make one think he is a little too proud of the Alaskan pilots - his point is entirely correct. Pilot skill is really the biggest factor in these kinds of competitions. Bob Barrows is REALLY good in his planes. And he is very competitive by nature which he actually tries to discourage in himself as it leads to too much adrenaline - according to him. Unfortunately, this year's TX STOL Roundup conflicts with the Ohio Bushplane Asso group trip up East which Bob has participated in the last couple years. Hopefully next year Bob will be here and compete.

Wayne is at a huge disadvantage compared to just about all the other pilots competing as they own their planes and have tons of time to practice all year long. As Jim said - it really is a testament to both Bob's designs and also Wayne's skills that Wayne does as well as he does.

If I had my way there would be some component of the competition which would allow Bob's designs - especially the Patrol & LSA - to show their big advantage in cruise speed over the planes that beat them in the STOL stuff. Maybe a triangular course of a some kind. Maybe even a straight line 20-30 mile speed contest. If that were factored in - Bob's designs would shine.

I hope many of you come down to the event. Hondo is a nice little small town, and should be fun as it has been in years past. Mark

[Bdflies]

I'm a guy, which means I enjoy watching anything with a motor make noise and compete with other motorized things. I attended the STOL competition at New Holstein, a couple years ago and was very impressed with the pilot skills on display. It's obvious that one has to spend HUGE amounts of time practicing hitting that white line at precisely the right speed and angle. The takeoff has to be done right, but the landing is where the skill really comes in! Never tried it myself. Might have to do that. I'd never be competitive though, because I'll never spend hours and hours practicing to hit the white line. Just don't feel the need.
The planes involved, are a different story. I've been around C-170's, 180's and 185's a bit. Great airplanes. It's been a few years now, but I logged several hours in a Bearhawk with an O-540. I never (and I repeat) NEVER saw or felt any of Cyde Cessna's planes launch like that Bearhawk. But we're not really talking about stock 180's, are we? We're Comparing "very light" 180's with 520's or 170's with 210 hp, VG,s and STOL kits - piloted by folks who fly the regime day after day... Is there any prize money involved? If there is, then the planes will evolve like the cars of NASCAR have evolved. Hey, it's competition, so there's always going to be someone who figured out an edge...
If competing in these events really means anything (win on Sunday-sell on Monday!) then I have an idea: Mark could build a competitive Bearhawk! I'm thinking 4' extended wingspan, VG's, Keller's double slotted flaps, no interior, pilot seat only, maybe even no fuselage fabric aft of the wing. Extend the gear about 10" forward, to allow really clamping down on the dual calipers on each wheel. Build up a turbocharged IO-580 with dual electronic ignitions. 50" @ 3,300 rpm should do it. Put a nice 4 blade MT on the nose. One 20 gallon wing tank only. Put a Bearhawk sticker on it and give it to Wayne, so he can practice all year long. Betcha Mr Massey could compete anywhere....for a while. Then, Calhoun Cessna would hang a IO-720 on a 180...
Oh, it's great fun to watch the STOL competitions. Just like I enjoy NASCAR, for about 10 miutes. If a "Ford" wins at Daytona, my F-250 doesn't get any faster or more useful... It's entertainment for gearheads.

Bill

[Mark Goldberg]

Bill. I actually am having a friend build me a new Model B Bearhawk for a company demonstrator. Starting on it soon. While it will not be as extreme as you suggest above - it should be light. No aux tanks (-30 lbs), carbon fiber Trailblazer two blade prop (-15 lbs more or less), & Oratex (-10-15 lbs). It should have a 250-260 HP new engine from Lycoming depending on how good a price I can get from them. I would like to see an empty weight in the 1425-1450 range. We will see how it turns out. Bob's 540 powered BH prototype was in the 1300's. A 540 powered BH that light with the strong take off thrust of the Trailblazer - will be a very strong competitor with Wayne flying. MG