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Last week we attended an Air Safari with a total of 27 aircraft in the central North Island of NZ. What an amazing experience. We flew every day, and in many differing conditions. On the way North we picked up fellow Bearhawk owners Richard and Philippa Eberlein, and they travelled with us for 6 of the 7 days flying.
One of the things I had been looking forward to was to operate the BH fully loaded for the week. With 4 POB, 4 bags, a tie down kit and tool kit, the fuel load was calculated each day to enable landing weight to be achieved at destination. One constant daily theme for the week was strong winds, often well over 20 kts and over 30kts for several days. With many crosswind landings at MLW and an aft CG that was a very good learning experience too. On one occasion while taxying on a sealed taxiway the strong winds turned the aircraft through 90 degrees, and resulted in a broken rudder pedal spring and damaged the tailwheel spring attachment. Fortunately the tailwheel spring attachment was an easy repair, and the broken rudder pedal spring is more of a nuisance than anything else.
Having 4 people in the aircraft daily, and the routine of daily pre-flights, tying down in the evening etc, space for smaller items inside came at a premium and I realised that the organisation of those items could possibly be improved. Having the tools (and heavier stuff) in a tool-bag meant we could easily store it under the rear passenger seat to keep the CG a little forward. Things such as life jackets etc often got chucked under the front seats. However I'm going to make a small tray (with a latch) that can slide under one front seat, and a foam cutout for the other. The myriad of small items that seemed to always end up at the bottom of the front seat pockets can now be stored a bit more neatly and my OCD mind can relax a little !
My favorite memory for the week (other than the many great conversations with fellow aviators) was a trip to NZ Aero (formerly Pacific Aerospace) in Hamilton. They build and sell a number of aircraft types particularly in the Ag sector. We came out to find a group of NZ Aero engineers on their lunch break, pouring over the Bearhawk, in full admiration of the design !
IMG_3396.jpg
One of the things I had been looking forward to was to operate the BH fully loaded for the week. With 4 POB, 4 bags, a tie down kit and tool kit, the fuel load was calculated each day to enable landing weight to be achieved at destination. One constant daily theme for the week was strong winds, often well over 20 kts and over 30kts for several days. With many crosswind landings at MLW and an aft CG that was a very good learning experience too. On one occasion while taxying on a sealed taxiway the strong winds turned the aircraft through 90 degrees, and resulted in a broken rudder pedal spring and damaged the tailwheel spring attachment. Fortunately the tailwheel spring attachment was an easy repair, and the broken rudder pedal spring is more of a nuisance than anything else.
Having 4 people in the aircraft daily, and the routine of daily pre-flights, tying down in the evening etc, space for smaller items inside came at a premium and I realised that the organisation of those items could possibly be improved. Having the tools (and heavier stuff) in a tool-bag meant we could easily store it under the rear passenger seat to keep the CG a little forward. Things such as life jackets etc often got chucked under the front seats. However I'm going to make a small tray (with a latch) that can slide under one front seat, and a foam cutout for the other. The myriad of small items that seemed to always end up at the bottom of the front seat pockets can now be stored a bit more neatly and my OCD mind can relax a little !
My favorite memory for the week (other than the many great conversations with fellow aviators) was a trip to NZ Aero (formerly Pacific Aerospace) in Hamilton. They build and sell a number of aircraft types particularly in the Ag sector. We came out to find a group of NZ Aero engineers on their lunch break, pouring over the Bearhawk, in full admiration of the design !
IMG_3396.jpg
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