Bearhawk Patrol N357MB

[Skyward II]

Joe,
Loved the departure from Landmark today. Great meeting you and time spent going through your Patrol . Thank you! Mike

[JimParker256]

I know exactly what you mean about "always a headwind..." I took a trip to the Salt Lake City area in Utah (from Dallas) to pick up an airplane a few years ago. On the flight west, we fought 15-20 knot headwinds the whole way. We were there for two days (doing some transition training before the cross-country home), then flew home. Man, I was looking forward to those 15-20 knot tailwinds... Alas - what I got was 35-45 knot headwinds the entire way home - which REALLY sucks when you're flying an airplane with a cruise speed of 105 mph... Needless to say, the flight home took a while!

[500AGL]

Joe, a couple of notes that may or may not relate.
1 - Verify that you're not overpulling it due to caster angle. Meaning, when the tailwheel turns is it attempting to pull beyond the spring/cable length?
- Also, verify caster angle is not excessive.

4, 5, & 10. Check of correlation of a static issue causing all of these. Port location may be in the boundary layer vs the airflow?
7,8,& 9 may all be related as well.

In addressing, Take your time and address one thing at a time, unless it's totally not related. Retest and then adjust more or another item.

Also, Your experience may vary, and perhaps you've already done this. I adjusted the ailerons on Mark's Patrol so that when on the ground if someone holds a little pressure up on each aileron, (much like wing loading during cruise flight), each aileron is then aligned perfectly with the wing. Although the cable tension is good, there is just a little bit of flex or stretch somewhere on his that lets them ride up slightly if you didn't do this. On the ground they will then show as being every so slightly low without pressure.

[kestrel]

[*]Dynon always showing a headwind

Sometimes, it seems that is reality...

[joehmason]

Thank you everyone for the kind words.

We like the polished wings a lot. Dad has owned a polished Luscombe for 50 years, and this seemed to fit right in.

RickG - Regarding what we experienced during the test flights, I am working on a more detailed write up of our experiences, but here is a short list:

1. Tailwheel chain clips bending open and coming loose during taxi
2. Fuel cap venting
3. Small oil leak at front of engine
4. Airspeed indicator malfunction
5. Dynon always showing a headwind
6. Tailwheel shimmy
7. Rudder trim
8. Heavy wing
9. Stalls not breaking straight forward
10. Static port issues

None of these issues were detrimental to the safety of our flights. They are very typical items to find on test flights. We have addressed most of them, but are still dealing with a few of them. I will post the detailed write up at a later date. My hope is that that other builders can learn from our experiences.

[Light&Sweet]

She looks great. A professional build. I have thought about polished wings for a bit of weight savings...and looks.

[500AGL]

Congratulations! Awesome job.

[RickG]

Great looking airplane, makes me pine for my patrol kit even more, what issues have you had? anything we need to be on the lookout for? please contribute more.

[Sir Newton]

Impressive numbers on 200hp

[alaskabearhawk]

Congratulations! Nice looking aircraft. And don't feel bad about the four years...I've been at it WAY longer and have yet to fly.

[Nev]

Very nice ! Congratulations.

[Mark Dickens]

Love the paint choice and the polished wings! Beautiful job!

[Utah-Jay]

Great update, looking forward to flying together soon

[Redneckmech]

Great looking Bearhawk!

[Paul Johnston]

Congratulations-very nice!