Bearhawk 4 place weights

[way_up_north]

Hey guys

I was wondering if anyone has been compiling a list of of completed bearhawks and their weights. Is this in the beartracks somewhere?
I was also wondering what the factory bare bones quickbuild kit weighed off the truck to use a benchmark of what a good starting weight would be.If you were flying with a lawn chair and a motor..

Thanks
Michael in Toronto

[Battson]

Try the finished Bearhawks section of the forum for a few examples. Maybe also try a search, there's been some big discussions before. Hopefully the search will find one.

[svyolo]

I tried to find this months ago as well. There are a few threads here that builders chimed in with their weights.
I think the low number I remember was an OEW of 1360 lbs for a 540 powered kit 4 place. The high is well over 1700. You can drop 150-200 lbs off for a 360 powered example.

A kit plus a lawn chair and a motor? Good question. I don't have the answer yet but I am working on it. I am keeping track of the weight I add, and subtract, from the kit. Neither is a very long list.
Right now I think I am about -5 lbs from what came with a kit. I was doing better but gave in to my indulgences and decided to add a skylight which will add 15-20 lbs.

Bob's 2 prototypes were lighter than the above weights, but he didn't have a starter or electrical system in either. He basically had the lawn chair, engine, airspeed and altimeter. But he probably skimped a little here and there on the whole build, which also adds up considerably to what you can do to a kit. There just aren't that many ways to cut weight on a kit, and if you do you probably should have scratch built.

I am hoping for right around 1350 lbs with a 540, but that is just a guess. I am pretty sure I won't be over 1370, at least until I add bigger tires later.

[Mark Goldberg]

Really building light requires a lot of discipline. No long bolts with many threads showing. Thin washers. The light planes are built saving grams here and there. Minimal paint. Not so much weight savings in big chunks.

O360's weigh 100 - 125 lbs less than a 540 is my understanding. Mark

[whee]

This is the thread I have saved.

https://bearhawkforums.com/forum/bearhawk-general-discussion-news/21260-empty-weight-and-cg-data-collection

[Chris In Milwaukee]

If you grab a copy of the 2019 Bearhawk Calendar from the BearhawkStore.com, each month's poster plane has the empty weight listed with it. jaredyates may also have some older calendars with the same. If you're just looking for some comparative numbers.

[swpilot3]

For what it's worth, I can't tell the difference if I'm carrying a few extra 100 lbs or not. The BH flies the same! It's certainly not the most limiting factor for the BH. The CG is. From my understanding a lot of the 360 powered planes run out of CG before there's ever a weight issue. Where those lbs are located is much more critical than how many lbs there are.

Get the CG as forward as you can, so you can take advantage of taking extra lbs with you.

Do those with flying BH's find this to be the case for you also?

[Ray Strickland]

Yes. The 4-place with a 360 must be loaded carefully to reach gross weight without rear CG problems and to minimize load on the tailwheel.

[Battson]

For what it's worth, I can't tell the difference if I'm carrying a few extra 100 lbs or not. The BH flies the same! It's certainly not the most limiting factor for the BH. The CG is. From my understanding a lot of the 360 powered planes run out of CG before there's ever a weight issue. Where those lbs are located is much more critical than how many lbs there are.

Get the CG as forward as you can, so you can take advantage of taking extra lbs with you.

Do those with flying BH's find this to be the case for you also?

My plane is 100 lbs heavier now than when I weighed it for first flight. It performs better now and gets off the ground faster with the added weight. We added weight with over-size wheels and larger wing tips, among other safety gear, STOL mods, and other mods. For STOL weight is not the whole story.

The plane is an entirely different machine at gross compared to minimum weight. It takes practice to fly it well at both ends of the range.

It's well known that CG is the biggest factor for us.

[Glenn Patterson]

We came in around 1470 but we have the 26" tundra tires that are very heavy. The engine is a Continental IO-360G 6 cyl with a MacCauley C203 CS prop. Aircraft fabric interior, spartan panel w/ Dynon D180. I think the paint was laid on too heavy that may have added 20lbs. Follow the system instructions of the paint manufacturer. We built in gap seals, added Hall Bros vortex generators, 30 lb battery, flying tail mod, stinger tail wheel & custom dual 3 into one stainless exhaust with a pair of heat cuffs. A lot of weight could be saved by using aluminum framed baggage doors & doors. C of G is great