Grand Champion Plansbuilt

[rodsmith]

Not Bearhawk related but myself and the rest of Chapter 1373, Delta, CO are thrilled that our good friend, Lowell Manary, got the Gold Lindy for his Marcel Jurca designed Sperocco. Sorry I dont have a good picture to include, it is a 200 mph all wood design and the only one in the world flying. His competition included Scrappy! This has been a 30 yr project for Lowell but he also built an RV8 and modified a C175 into a taildragger with an O-470 continental during that timeframe. There is an article about it on page 31 of todays Airventure Today paper which you can access at issuu.com and search for EAA Airventure Today. After admiring Rob's Bearhawk at the Bearhawk booth this week I am surprised he didn't at least get an Outstanding Workmanship award, all but one went to RVs.

[noema]

https://inspire.eaa.org/2021/07/31/h...kes-it-better/

Nice! Riblett airfoiled it!

[Utah-Jay]

30 years and he got the wing is on the wrong part of the fuselage

Kidding aside, amazing accomplishment

[schu]

Frustrating that the worksmanship awards went to RV’s. They go together like lego bricks compared to a bearhawk. The fabrication skill of the angled panel and doors is more complex than building the entire fuse of an RV….

[BravoGolf]

At least for the aircraft owners I spoke with, the RVs are built at builder assist centers with 30K in paint. I think EAA has lost sight of the home built aircraft world. Rob’s airplane is beautiful.

[schu]

I went to the show, but the show itself did nothing for me.

There was a lot of people, and I truly did not care for the attitude of the RV guys I met at the show. They were going on and on and on about how fast their airplanes are. I thought of mentioning how I brought my wife, a cooler, food for a week, a 6 person tent, an inflatable mattress, ham radio gear, laptop, tarp, camera gear, clothing for a week, camping chairs, and most importantly coffee in my slow 170, but decided it wasn't worth it....

That said, our flight of three landing was fun ( https://youtu.be/Y5fZcPVra0Y ) and I also went up to St. Paul for a meeting and was cleared through the bravo and over KMSP, that was cool too.

Finally, I won't be going back, not even when the bearhawk is flying. I really don't care to have my airplane judged by the RV crowd, and honestly, Alaska is closer and much more enjoyable in July. I'll be heading for the Wrangells instead.

[Bcone1381]

I like the apparent RV completion rate. The Bearhawk line needs more completions. Colin Campbell is our example and deserves a trophy.

We can learn from the RV crowd, despite a perceived attitude. I go to OSH in part to see other Bearhawks, but I do not see many and always wish more showed up. I also always wish we had a list of locations of parked Bearhawk so they can be visited.

Back to OSH.....I came home this year with great ideas that I'm started implementing yesterday that will improve my workmanship. I'm better because of my visit this year. Schu...I want you to come when your ship is completed, and you can help others achieve more.

Second point....it would be neat to have a Utility Category and judge an aircraft according to Data, like useful load, Required flied length. Maybe even have part of the competition be a demonstration of its short field capability. You Know, Judge by its ability to carry a load, and ability to get into the bush might be the primary points. Maybe our group should start giving out trophies which recognize achievements that go beyond pretty paint.

[BravoGolf]

Brooks,

i like your idea; judge based on utility, payload, maybe payload and range, landing distance; not just show pretty. I guess I’m trying to get to how useful is the aircraft. At Oshkosh someone made the statement, “How many muddy Escalades have you seen?” But that’s not EAA’s mindset.

[jaredyates]

Personally, I never have appreciated the beauty contest. I'm rewarded with utility every time I use the airplane, and don't need any additional award. But if there's anything I've learned about Airventure it's that there is far more going on than I need to worry about. That is part of what makes it exciting year after year, even as my tastes change. The event serves people other than me and that is ok, I still get enough out of it to make the trip worthwhile.

[spinningwrench]

There is always something to be learned at Oshkosh from all classes of airplanes. I even picked up an idea studying a DC-3. The evening STOL competition was interesting although I think the screaming YAMAHA driven machines should not even be compared to a classic Super Cub. I doubt they go 50 hours between rebuild.

[Utah-Jay]

There is always something to be learned at Oshkosh from all classes of airplanes. I even picked up an idea studying a DC-3. The evening STOL competition was interesting although I think the screaming YAMAHA driven machines should not even be compared to a classic Super Cub. I doubt they go 50 hours between rebuild.

Steve Henry would likely win in a all being equal competition, but the Yamaha engines don’t make it a skill based endeavor

[Mark Goldberg]

That plane is trailered in to the events. That ought not to be allowed. Or at least be in a separate class of planes. Mark

[Utah-Jay]

Mark Goldberg, I 100% agree, I think Jonathan could handle them all in a working plane if you took the specialty planes out of the equation. Might be a tough ferry from NZ though

[zkelley2]

Completely agree. Honestly I think he should just build a literal rocket and be done with it. VTOL! Except you have to trailer to the launch pad and it has all the utility of a jetski, just like all the competition planes.

Stol isn't about who can takeoff the shortest with the most useless aircraft. An R22 will always win that.
The only reason STOL exists like it does is because in Alaska you can't hunt with helicopters. Outside getting closer to that sheep, no one needs to land in 150ft with a fixed wing. If your goal is to win a stol comp or land on a mountain for no reason, the Robinson is the aircraft that meets your mission.

These kit foxes and clones don't have the range or payload to do anything in the backcountry. I owned one, I tried. Not remotely up for the task.

[robcaldwell]

Near the Bearhawk booth in the homebuilt section was a company featuring their "builder assist" program. There were 3 or 4 airplanes in their booth. All were previous Oshkosh HomeBuilt awards winners... Hmmm....

[davzLSA]

builder assist aka hired gun??? Maybe???

[spinningwrench]

Rob is probably referring to Synergy Air a very popular RV completion center. I talked to them a bit, there biggest customers are airline pilots who come for a week at a time to work on their projects. Synergy continues the build at their request. Average price paid by customers is $85K. They claim to be mindful of the 51% rule.

[svyolo]

For the FAA it is easier to look the other way than to create regulation (thank god), If TWTT is actually allowed by regulation, I think they are just looking the other way with builder assist. For me I could care less. I like to build. Some would look at me as "cheating" as I am building a QB kit.

Believe it or not, I think "looking the other way" is a good thing. The last thing we would want is the feds trying to make what we do harder. Imagine if the FAA had the mindset of the EPA, IRS, or any other federal agency. We would spend 2 years getting permits to start building.