Bearhawk 4-Place 1st Flight N47NL

[BAnton]

Airworthiness certificate issued on Tuesday Oct 31st by FSDO Wichita. 1st Flight was Friday November 2nd. Flight was take-off, very heavy right wing, climb to wide pattern, set up for landing and perfect landing until it became a little squirrelly thanks to my ham handed control. Looks like the right flap is a little high so will do so tweaking and try again. Also I'll talk with Mark Goldberg for some ideas on how to correct it. Just a few details: 8 yr build, plans built wings, Avi-Pro fuselage, IO-540 engine, dual Light Speed ignition, dual batteries, Dynon Skyview touch avionics with some Garmin thrown in.

[svyolo]

Congrats! Nice looking plane.

[BravoGolf]

Very nice! If you don't mind, where did you put your ADAHRS and did you need the magnetometer in the wing?

[BAnton]

Thanks. ADAHRS is behind the panel. Don't know if I would have needed the magnetometer but figured there's no way the compass would have been accurate with all that steel. So, yes the magnetometer is in the wing.

[johnb]

Congratulations!

[BAnton]

John, saw your message. I'm retired and am available most of the time. Check the sectional and you'll see my grass strip just SE of Satanta. (Anton Flying UV). I've flown my RV8 there for 12 years so should be OK for your RV6. Call me at 620-649-7172

[BAnton]

BTW my son lives in Newton so I fly in there occasionally. Be nice to meet you & offer any assistance that I can.

[johnb]

Found you on the sectional. I'll get with you in the next couple of weeks.
Thanks,
John

[Bdflies]

Gorgeous plane! Congratulations!

Bill

[Battson]

Great looking plane - love the colour and the abundant windows, very familiar!

Tell us about the control stick, something interesting is going on there?

[BAnton]

Obviously a copycat of your airplane, Jon. I just added some black to give the yellow a little contrast. I had disconnected the control sticks to access the area under the floor

[Battson]

I would love to see a few more photos if you get time! I am sure you've made a number of improvements.

What did the empty weight come to?

[BAnton]

Empty Wt. 1561. Forward CG. Think I'll add 25 lbs in the rear fuselage/tailwheel area to keep it in the CG range with lightweight pilot & low fuel. Anyone else have that situation with the IO-540? & how did you address it?

[BAnton]

[Battson]

Just fantastic to look at. Really makes me wish I would have used the high gloss paint on my fabric. I have not had to do as many repairs as I expected.

[Bdflies]

Man! With an IO-540 and that big honking 3 blade MT up front, that bird must be a rush on takeoff!
I’m guessing every time you push the throttle forward, it’s all worthwhile!

Bill

[Aero_tango]

Wow, really nice plane with plenty of power. Congrats.
Mkie

[Battson]

Empty Wt. 1561. Forward CG. Think I'll add 25 lbs in the rear fuselage/tailwheel area to keep it in the CG range with lightweight pilot & low fuel. Anyone else have that situation with the IO-540? & how did you address it?

Probably easiest to put a few gallons of water containers in the baggage area?
A forward CG is a blessing in disguise, I wouldn't make any permanent changes to shift it.
Mine is right near the forward limit, used to be even closer, and it was easy to fly like that. It just needs a little squirt of power if you are flaring right at the lower airspeed limit. No need to worry about that for the next 20hrs flying or so.

[Rollie]

I added an extension to my baggage compartment on my Patrol for my tie down kit and my tool bag. The extension itself added 5 pounds and the tiedowns and tool bag add another 19lb. Gets those things that I will always have with me out of the way and moves the cg back a bit without adding weight just for ballast. Great looking plane by the way. Looking forward to seeing how you address the heavy right wing. Mine was the same way, fixed most of by adjusting the tail but the right wing is still a slightly heavy.

[jaredyates]

Looking great! Please send a picture for the calendar to web@bearhawkstore.com, we're putting it together now.

[BAnton]

Jared, I should have the plane back home in a couple of days. I plan on getting a photo to you with it sitting in front of my hangar.

[whee]

Great looking airplane! Congratulations on a successful first flight.

[marcusofcotton]

Congratulations Bill! I've been thinking about you from time to time, great to hear of you flying it now.

[Isilverone]

Congrats,, what an accomplishment. I envy the sticktoitivness of builders like you. Look forward to hearing some performance numbers