Peter Steven's Patrol

[Enewton57]

Guys I have 20 hours on N123WW. Here are a few comments on my experiences to date. Speeds: 20 square 108 mph. Proved many times. 24 square (75 % power) 140 +- . I think these are pretty much as published, maybe a little better. Peddles are pretty far apart. This takes some getting used to. I installed a “fence” outboard of each peddle as a foot stop to secure foot placement. I have not gotten used to the slow speeds across the fence. Takes some getting used to. Observers say I am doing a lot better than I feel that I am. Landing are gradually getting better. On that subject (landings) The plane is VERY forgiving. The Barrows shock struts are the best. A very important point: The Patrol wing is a virtual Glider wing. If you land clean, the airplane is going to want to keep flying in ground effect (Period). It took me a while to figure this out. The remedy is to ALWAYS use at least 2-3 notches of flaps, even in cross winds. I’m going to use the 4th notch a lot more often now that I have learned this. As to speed across the fence, I am trimming to 55mph on downwind to get used to the slower speeds, pulling in flaps at the end, on base and final. Jury is still out. Takeoff and climb out. Off the runway within the short time taken to go full throttle. 1500 fpm easily attained. I have a very lean panel and thought using a B&B SD 8 accessory case mounted alternator would do the trick. WRONG. Going to install a B&C SD 20 which should do the trick. We all know that taming the engine cooling process to be a Black Art and success here is almost accidental at best. I feel very lucky here. My temps, cht, egt, oil, are all GREAT. I have had only one red light on oil temps and that was on a 100 degree day and into my 3rd or 4th pattern climb out. It went out when I was level. Not bragging or taking credit because I cannot tell you what I did to accomplish this. FYI, I used the Van’s baffle, just a cutout around the exhaust stacks without a curled lip. Simple as it can get. Cruise: Wing load is light and cruise in light chop can get rough on the backside. Rough air is very common around the mountains so most of my cruise has been around 18-20 square. (100MPH) Even here it gets pretty rough on the back side. This will take some getting used to. Having a little trouble with rudder trim. Installed a trim tab and still testing. For any of the new tail wheel pilots out there, some advice: There are three essential things in the makeup of a perfect tail dragger landing. The only catch is that nobody knows what they are. And remember, the throttle is you ticket out of a bad setup. That is it for now. Peter

[X'N]

Eric,

Is there anymore info on Peter's patrol? Pictures and or a build thread?

[jaredyates]

I don't think I've met Peter yet, but I get the impression he's more of a builder/flyer and less of a computer user. With that Patrol being his second Bearhawk to complete, I'd say his results indicate the same!