First day out

[Nev]

Both Grant and I received our final sign offs from CAA a couple of days ago, and today I flew south to meet him. My first passenger was my son Joel, and a mutual friend Jason accompanied Grant. This was my first time landing off airport, but with good weather and Grant's vast experience to guide me, it was a very fun morning.

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[Pbruce]

That’s just fantastic! Stunning pictures, guys. Thank-you for sharing these inspiring images. Looking forward to many more!

[flashf16]

Outstanding!

[alaskabearhawk]

Amazing...and thanks so much! I needed a mental boost today after spending hours plowing out of a big overnight snowfall and a challenging time in the paint booth.

[Bissetg]

641A2514-85C8-4DB8-90A1-66EE0CCD2795.jpg Nev and his first passenger. What Bearhawking is about. Great day out in the mountains with good people, what fathers and sons should be doing. Also good to see Nev nailing his landings and enjoying what Bearhawks can offer.

[Utah-Jay]

Fantastic Nev

Keep the inspiration coming

[davzLSA]

I am envious guys, beautiful airplanes and scenery!!

[robcaldwell]

Very cool! Bearhawks are overtaking NZ like locusts!

[RobinDeMarco]

Beautiful planes guys! Encouragement for those of us still in the process.

[N3UW]

Wonderful. Congratulations to you. I love seeing the photos your your work, plane and New Zealand.

[svyolo]

That is awesome. Keep it coming.

[Bissetg]

A39E559F-522B-4196-8B72-ABABD54C83EF.jpg My favourite shot of the day

[AKKen07]

I want THIS in the 2023 calendar! Hint hint…

[Lee]

Wow! Congratulations guys. What beautiful country to fly Bearhawks in.

[Hewko]

Nice! Keep them coming.

[predragvasic]

From a bunch of bubble-wrapped parts, to this — a spectacular scenic outing in an amazing airplane, in just 18 months! I don’t know what is the official record build time for a bird like this (especially considering that there was no “builder assist”, or “two weeks to taxi”, but on this one, judging by the builders blog, majority of build time was done by Nev (with help from family). And most importantly, looking at those log photos, and the YouTube monthly reports, the fit and finish of his Bearhawk is impeccable.

This project provides great motivation to all others who are thinking about, or just starting out, or half way through the build process and losing steam, struggling to see the end of it. Every time you start thinking about giving up and putting the whole lot up for sale, come back to this post and look at those pictures. The time and effort is thousand times worth it!