3 Seat Bearhawk (4 place)?

[kestrel]

I find that the forum split between scratch and kit build understandable, but doesn't leave a place for topics that apply to either. There also isn't a forum for modifications, so I'm posting in the catch all category.

I have a family of three and would like to be able to better carry things like bikes. Has anyone installed a single rear seat in place of the 2 person bench? I'm looking to create such a device and would like to learn what others know or think.

Thanks!

[Phil]

Bob or Mark may be able to answer this better than I, but I believe the cross tubes for the rear seat are structural. So even if you eliminated the back seat you'd still have the tubes to deal with.

[marcusofcotton]

I recall the back seat being optional, not structure needed for the aircraft. Why, some even haul engines back there with it out! Now, the necessary structure for the single seat might require a little head scratching.

Mark J

[Battson]

Ty, I have been thinking the same thing. Utilise the same mounting brackets as the normal bench seat, and have a single rear seat which leaves room for increasingly bulky baggage.
In our case, 3 people and dive gear for three would be most easily carried with extra space available.

I imagined welding up a seat to afix to the same 4 points, but with two bars going across the floorboards, then up to the seat-pan. Baggage can be placed across the top of those cross-bars.

[bearhawk2015]

The planes with out the cargo door are the only ones with the cross tube to worry about. The seat issue is a easy fix, just build a split seat back, one for each side. I can take either side of my rear seat back out . Or get a old Cessna rear seat with the split seat back and modify for your plane

[bestbearhawk1231]

As I understand it, the 4 place was originally designed without a back seat so Bob could haul overhauled engines to his customers and later designed the rear seat. That is one of the things that I liked about the aircraft, you have a choice between a heavy hauling 2 place or a real nice 4 place aircraft. I don't have my plans avalible at the moment and have not gotten that far, but I don't think it would be too difficult to design a single seat in place of the bench. If you were building it, you could add an additional tube under the floor so you wouldn't have to reach across to pick up the existing hard points. Since I am a single guy without kids, most of my flying once it is complete will most likely be done without the back seat so I have more options for strapping down the junk I feel a need to bring with. I am also planning on installing a removable cargo net between the front seats and the bench seat area just in case things work their way loose in flight.

[Mark Goldberg]

It would certainly seem doable to build a single rear seat. And it is true that the rear seat is not part of the structure of the plane. However, the rear seat can be an important structure which helps keep that passenger in as good as shape as possible in an accident. The engineering of how a seat is designed and how it is attached & seat belts attached - that is serious. I would run any idea by Bob before you start cutting metal. Mark

[rv8bldr]

Funny, I just put made and welded in my rear seat mounting lugs on the weekend, all the while trying to design a bike mount in my head :-)

It wouldn't be a big deal to make two extra mounting lugs (7/16" tube reamed and threaded) and put them in the middle of the existing rear seat mounting lugs, and then just make a single person seat to fit. The structure is designed for for a larger load than that/ In addition you would have a convertible 2/3/4 seat Bearhawk! How cool would that be ?!!

I think I will start another thread on bike mounts as this has been using too much of my (meagre) brain capacity lately and would like to collect ideas.

Cheers

[jaredyates]

Phil Johnson made a split rear seat if I remember correctly.

[kestrel]

Work is underway to split my rear seat. New center mount lugs were welded in the fuselage in this past weekend and the seat was nearly ready to be cut in half. ...I'm not doing the real work as I don't have the tools or skills.

[jaredyates]

Sounds like a good Beartracks article Tyson, take pictures as you go!

[James]

Best Bearhawk 1231,
I'm nowhere near getting to the fuselage next, but I second the idea that hearing how Bob transporting large lumps of metal in the prototype (+ the handy cargo door) is one thing that sold me on getting a Bearhawk.

Just wondering: how did Bob put in hard-points for securing his cargo? There's no obvious structural hard points on the fuselage framing as I'm looking at it, and the only completed aeroplane I've seen had the seats installed and the fuselage covered with trim.

Bonus question: how do you make the floor rated? I've only inherited lumps of 60thou aluminium.

Ok, thanks again for the help guys

James

[Battson]

Best Bearhawk 1231,
I'm nowhere near getting to the fuselage next, but I second the idea that hearing how Bob transporting large lumps of metal in the prototype (+ the handy cargo door) is one thing that sold me on getting a Bearhawk.

Just wondering: how did Bob put in hard-points for securing his cargo? There's no obvious structural hard points on the fuselage framing as I'm looking at it, and the only completed aeroplane I've seen had the seats installed and the fuselage covered with trim.

Bonus question: how do you make the floor rated? I've only inherited lumps of 60thou aluminium.

Ok, thanks again for the help guys

James

James, this thread is four years old and bestbearhawk1231 hasn't posted in a couple of years or been online for six months, according to his profile.
I thought I would tag him in this post to give you the best possible chance of receiving a reply to the part addressed to him.

[James]

Hey, thanks for that Battson, I hadn't realised it was an old post.
I'm still in the process of sketching out the scope of the project in my mind, so it might take a while (and a few more random questions on these forums) before I'm up to speed.

Thanks again mate, and well done on all the handy advice you pass on to us newbies following along in your footsteps :-)

James