QB Kit Plans

[U2fletch]

We have QB kit number #56 and thought plans were included in kit.

[alaskabearhawk]

When I bought my QB wings years ago the plans were not included. From my understanding Bob Barrows (R&B Aircraft) is the only source for BH plans. There isn’t such an animal as “Quickbuild kit plans”.

[jfoz]

Unless something changed, you will get a box with the plans from Bob. I've got quick build kit #49 and that is what I got.

[N204jh]

Just following up, is Bob still sending out plans to QB buyers? I’m assuming not with the latest kerfuffle. Can someone who recently received their QB kit confirm?

Thank you,
John

[kupde]

I received kit #65 in July. No plans.

[Alaskanf1]

I picked up my model 5 kit (#66) in July, I received plans.

[N204jh]

How did you receive the plans, in a case from R&B? I’m curious if Virgil has a box of plans from Bob that he distributes. My understanding was that the plans are serial numbered to a buyer, whether QB or plans bought from Bob.

Curious, what other documentation came with the kit - manuals, guides, inventory list? Or are we supposed to download it from the website?

[Alaskanf1]

I picked my kit up in person and Mackenzie handed me a small stack of folded D size drawings and a couple inventory lists. The manuals are all on the website. I honestly didn't look at the drawings closely enough yet to see if they have the serial number on them, but I'm guessing they do.

[Bearhawk Aircraft]

Hey everyone,
Sorry for any confusion here.
All quick build kits leaving our factory are provided with a complete inventory sheet. This is itemized list of all items provided by Bearhawk for your kit. In addition to this a hardware kit is sent to you from our partner aircraft spruce. The breakdown for this list can be found with your Spruce shipment as well as the hardware callout available for each model on the website. This kit is continually expanding but we have put a lot of effort into ensuring it is as complete as possible.
The documentation for our aircraft is all being moved to a build manual style. Right now you can see on the website all legacy manuals will remain available. The new wing manuals are available to view and the other manuals are in progress. One manual that is nearing completion is an assemblies manual. This will contain CAD renderings of each major assembly with required hardware and serve as an overview for the each system (trim, rudder pedals, control mixer, wings, etc.) These manuals will be available for download from the website as we treat them as living documents. As we revise and simplify assembly practices the revised methods are entered into the manual and a revision note is added to the beginning of the manual. This ensures we are all working with the latest practices and techniques.

We believe in open source documentation, meaning we do not put our manuals behind pay wall. We believe that future customers and past customers all play a part in the ecosystem of our community and the same documentation should be available for everyone involved.

If anyone has any questions feel free to reach out via our general email. info@bearhawkaircraft.com

[N204jh]

Thank you for the clarification. This is why I was asking specific questions. The confusion was over the term “plans.” From past posts several years ago, folks talked about receiving a set of full plans from Bob when they purchased a QB kit from Mark. I’m speculating that this helped with the QB build in conjunction with the legacy build manual which left out a lot of detailed assembly instructions.

Talking with several current BH5 QB builders, they use a collection of manuals, including Russ Erb’s CD and Eric Newton’s set, along with the legacy manual, to figure out the build. The new Wing manual is great and I look forward to the Fuselage manual and Assemblies manual.

The “folded D sized drawings” mentioned above must have been the Wing manual?

Thanks,
John
BH5 QB kit arriving in December

[jaredyates]

I think you are identifying a weird gray zone because there is a currently a dispute underway between Bob and Virgil, which is centered around the IP and trademark aspects of the Bearhawk airplanes. It's weird and gray for all of us.

Something to consider is that Bob has always sold a set of plans as a license to build one example of the plane that he designed. There's a dual purpose there, conveying information, and conveying license to build. Bob's plans are copies of the hand-drawn originals, and each set has a unique serial number. It has always been possible to build a Bearhawk without a genuine/licensed plan set. I personally wouldn't do that because I don't think it is ethical.

I hope that the dispute becomes resolved soon, and we can eliminate this gray area. But seldom does litigation move fast. Until it is resolved, if you have concerns about this aspect of plans ownership as it relates to building a plane and calling it a Bearhawk, I would encourage you to reach out to Virgil and to Bob, and decide what you are most comfortable with from the ethical perspective.