Virtual Bearhawk STOL contest?

[whee]

Yeah, I know and agree...social media is flooded with "STOL" and "Bushflying." It's silly and somehow irritating so I hesitate to ask but I'm going to anyway.

Does anybody have an interest in a just for grins takeoff and landing contest? I'm thinking the rules would be something like: 1. The plane has to be some model of Bearhawk. 2. It must be loaded to 75% of gross weight. 3. Video footage that shows both the takeoff roll and the landing roll in a manner that provides adequate evidence of rolling distance must be uploaded to youtube.

There will be no prize other than being named top dog in the BH community.

Any interest? I need some motivation to fix my airplane and relearn how to fly the thing.

[jaredyates]

No prize? How about a special edition winner's Bearhawk hat?

[zkelley2]

I generally abhor the modern STOL crap. Doubly so when it comes to youtube/the internet. So I'm out.

John you need some motivation? Standing invite, come up anytime and we'll go flying.

[schu]

Dude, don't be a debbie downer! Everybody knows that real bush pilots make videos on youtube showing off their STOL drag skillz.

[svyolo]

How about a real bush flying STOL contest, with a "Monte Carlo" start. You start by field dressing a 1500 lb moose. Load it in the airplane. First pilot with meat on a BBQ, at least 100 nm from the carcas, wins. You can do the same with King salmon. And a caribou. Call it the bush flying Ironman Triathlon.

[zkelley2]

I don't fish for Kings anymore, just reds and silvers, but if we do that I think I already win. I've got 25 reds and 3 silvers so far this year, a bou and a moose. Damn moose was over a mile from the airplane. Talk about a workout packing that thing The 25 reds were from a boat, but the three silvers were via bearhawk.

I can post a picture of my freezer if that'll suffice! Haha.

[svyolo]

The contest hasn't started yet, but you wound well practiced. You are the favorite. LOL

And I am jealous.

My buddy's son got a state record Elk a few years ago with a bow in Idaho. 9 miles from his truck.

[zkelley2]

Well I can't legally go kill another of either this year, so it's going to be just silvers from here out.

Could go for a bear, but I truly do not need or want anything more.

[whee]

I generally abhor the modern STOL crap. Doubly so when it comes to youtube/the internet. So I'm out.

John you need some motivation? Standing invite, come up anytime and we'll go flying.

Yeah, I hear that and totally agree. I hate the idea of contributing to the fad but I was thinking it might generate more flying content around here which would be a good thing. Plus, I need an excuse to work on my spot landings and short takeoffs. I got into the rut of “good enough” so I stopped practicing and now I haven’t flown since...February I think. But my favorite flying season is coming up so I’ll probably get motivated here pretty soon.

I appreciate the invitation to fly AK. That is something I’ve wanted to do forever but then I learned about the swarming bird sized mosquitoes you guys have up there.

[zkelley2]

Eh you can deal with the mosquitoes. There's none now.

[whee]

If there are none now then I'll remember that for the future. Fall is my favorite season for flying anyway.

[zkelley2]

Well the downside is fall means more rain and a lot more MVFR and IFR weather.

[Bcone1381]

I think you should do it. (I'm currently building, not flying GA aircraft. If I were flying, I would do it.)

I like STOL contests. I like Spot landing contests. (I like Self improvement contests, but when I do them alone I never trust the judging.) It seems to me like a virtual contest like you suggest would put into practice an old Hebrew Proverb that says "As Iron sharpens Iron so does one man sharpen another."

Tell us something, If you went out and did a series of 10 spot landings using fundamental STOL techniques, how many would touchdown with +/- 25 feet of the target line? Can you get to the point where all ten are with in 25' and 7 of 10 are within 15 feet of the target line? What is a good number to shoot for?

[kestrel]

-25 ft can be VERY expensive when short matters... ;-)

[rodsmith]

Jon, what needs to be fixed on your plane?

[whee]

We found an issue with the custom forged pistons so we had to have new ones made, cylinders machined and now I need to put it back together.

[whee]

I think you should do it. (I'm currently building, not flying GA aircraft. If I were flying, I would do it.)

I like STOL contests. I like Spot landing contests. (I like Self improvement contests, but when I do them alone I never trust the judging.) It seems to me like a virtual contest like you suggest would put into practice an old Hebrew Proverb that says "As Iron sharpens Iron so does one man sharpen another."

Tell us something, If you went out and did a series of 10 spot landings using fundamental STOL techniques, how many would touchdown with +/- 25 feet of the target line? Can you get to the point where all ten are with in 25' and 7 of 10 are within 15 feet of the target line? What is a good number to shoot for?

That proverb sums up my reasoning pretty well. Plus I though it would be fun. But not much interest and that’s ok, it all good.

I’m not sure if your questions are directed at me or if they are rhetorical. If they are directed at me, I can’t answer them with any certainty. My personal opinion is that I should be able to hit a mark +10 -0 every time. I never got that good in the BH so I never went into anything short.

[AKKen07]

Jon I’d love to participate when I have a plane to do so! I have no heartache with the new versions of sport flying regardless of what they call it - it looks like good fun aviating! I think it’s a good idea.

[Battson]

The standard config for this kind of thing is loaded as lightly as possible. I suggest using those rules - less work for me!

Many people won't have seen our latest results, competing against the long wing Maule:

[AKKen07]

Beautiful, Another notch in the belt!

[schu]

Two things I notice, the maule has more flaps, and the bearhawk has more wing. Just looking at it, it was obvious those aren't stock wing tips. When are you mounting the performance stol flaps?

[Battson]

I have been working with a friend in the USA who's been testing the Performance STOL flaps. There are advantages for sure, however STOL contests are not one of them in my opinion. They would be more advantageous in a 'real world' bush flying scenario, IMO.

[John Bickham]

Just put my airworthiness application in the new computer based AWC Portal system. Waiting for DAR??
It will be a while before I could be proficient enough to compete. Me thinks Jared will need help with postage for that hat going to New Zealand.

[whee]

The standard config for this kind of thing is loaded as lightly as possible. I suggest using those rules - less work for me!

Many people won't have seen our latest results, competing against the long wing Maule:

Nice flying Jono! Looks like your results were 113’ 10” for best takeoff and 162’ 9” for best landing.

[Battson]

How do we account for wind, Jon?