Back in the Game

[JimParker256]

Stinger, I hope I didn't come across as saying the LSA was "kite-like" - I was intending the exact opposite. With what I know now, I'd pick the LSA as my personal "favorite" in the BH line, with the Patrol coming in a close second - almost a dead heat... But I'm cheap, so the 100HP fuel flow would sway my decision.
My RANS S-6 Coyote is a nice airplane, but compared to the BH LSA - well there's really no comparison... The little Coyote is nowhere near as robust of an airplane. But it IS inexpensive! LOL

[stinger]

Jim, let me touch on some of your observations . Regarding the Kite effect, for good or bad I went flying in a 25mph ground wind and 45 at 3000ft my air speed showed 132 down wind and 62mph into the brisk flow . The LSA handled very well as I had full control. My only thoughts were returning to my runway 36 with the 25mph blowing from the west but it was none eventful ducking under our tree line and grass strip.. Stinger

[JimParker256]

Bob's designs are pretty amazing. The Bearhawk LSA wingspan is almost 4 ft longer (34 ft versus 29.25 ft for the RANS S-7), and has a LOT more wing area (170 ft² versus 147 ft² for the RANS). And given they share the same gross weight (1320 lbs), the wing loading for the BH LSA is 14% lower (~7.7 lbs / ft², versus ~8.8 lbs / ft² for the S-7).

Given all that, you're think the BH LSA would be much more of a "kite" in turbulence, and be much more "draggy" than the S-7, but that's not the case, at all. The BH LSA's top speed is actually 10 mph faster (140 vs 130), and the cruise speeds are likewise at least as good, if not faster (110-125 mph vs 105-110 mph for the S-7). All that is a testament to Bob's design skills – especially when it came to the all-critical airfoil selection process, and the attention he paid to reducing fuselage, gear, and wing strut drag... The takeoff and landing performance is close enough between the two designs that the pilot probably makes more difference than the airplane itself...

One other huge difference: The BH LSA is designed and rated for 1500 lbs max gross (though often certificated at 1320 to meet the LSA specs). The S-7 is maxed out at 1320, and Randy Schlitter would NOT be happy if you arbitrarily raised the max gross above that limit. Thus the BH LSA has a LOT of "reserve" strength if flown as an LSA, or could be licensed at the higher gross weight if you don't need to meet the Light Sport rules.

All in all, the BH LSA is one heck of an airplane!

[Cguy]

WOW! My eyeballs were calibrated correctly, those are huge. Short of booting up and running through the snow drifts to the hangar, I'm going to guesstimate the chord on my 7 as 8-9 ". I think my elevator is closer in chord to those! I totally agree Mark, he pulls it off performance wise so why not go big. I remember being similarly stunned when eyeballing the first Bearhawk I saw, lots of control at very low speeds is what it all says to me.
A DAY LATER EDIT: The 7's ailerons are 7 to 9", tapered, and 66" long.

[Mark Goldberg]

Square foot of wing area is a big factor in just about all areas of flight. Normally - the additional wingspan and wing area compared to a Rans would mean the Rans should be faster in cruise than a BH LSA. That would be a downside to Bob's design. But the opposite is true. It is due to Bob's design ability. Mark

[PropMan]

Those ailerons look huge in chord, what do they measure? Just eyeballing them to my RANS.....I really like the way Bob designs his control surfaces, BIG.

Cguy- 16.5" x 68.75 is what the aileron measures. I don't recall what the S7 is but keep in mind the LSA has a 33' wingspan, that's a bit over 3' more than the 7.

[JimParker256]

When you see the Patrol wing in person, the whole thing looks HUGE compared to the wings on my RANS. Similar wing loading, but carrying 1.5X the gross weight... Everything is massive compared to the S-6.

[Cguy]

Those ailerons look huge in chord, what do they measure? Just eyeballing them to my RANS.....I really like the way Bob designs his control surfaces, BIG.

[stinger]

rodsmith , Yes the plans for the LSA trailing edge are as previously stated, however I did not have access to a large brake so I used the trailing edge material as you mentioned. Stinger 1980-01-01 LSA Stuff Oct 2017 025.JPG

[PropMan]

Right wing near complete, a couple more hours. Pulling this plastic was almost 3 hours, dang, glad that's done (-;

[Cguy]

About 30 years ago I built what turned out to be a "universal" rotator. Various projects just need different attachments, but the two steel tripod stands adapt nicely. Some form of such a thing is a MUST in my book, the couple hours or less to cobble something up is more then compensated for down the road. These pictures highlight the simplicity of no flaps, something this flapped pilot is still struggling with, but it's sure hard to beat "simple and light."

[Bcone1381]

https://trig-avionics.com/product/ads-b-tn72-bundle/

I did the Trig TN-72 ADSB Transponder Bundle. It comes with the GPS and GPS antenna to enable ADSB OUT. I'm not sure what I will do yet for ADSB IN. At this time I'm thinking a Garmin 660 or iPad w/foreflight possibly.

[PropMan]

Been busy finalizing the sale of my business, so not a lot done on the LSA lately. Plus the Blizzard of 2021 here in Texas didn't help (-:

Made good progress the past few days tho, Decided it would be helpful(more efficient) to build stands for a rotisserie. This is the best decision I've made on the project as of yet. Plus i can adapt it for the fuselage. Ran the wire for Nav/Position/Strobe, installed the aileron pulleys and cable, then drilled the aileron to the wing, Hope to finish this wing by end of January and get the other done a few weeks later. Build On!!!!

[PropMan]

Brooks, Looks like you are using the Trig radios, TY91 TT22? What are you doing for ADSB?

[PropMan]

Fitting Right wing fuel tank tonight, made the big hole for the filler cut 0-: Worked out (-:
Waiting on anti chaff material, figure a couple more hours of work and the tank will be done!