New Member

[LarsL]

Hello everyone... new to the site... passionate about Bearhawks. I'm putting it out there that I will be a future Patrole builder/flyer. I've poured over almost everything on the internet about all of the Bearhawks. I'm a low time SEL non complex pilot withe all of my time on 150's, 152's, and 172's. I really have had an interest in STOL aircraft and have looked at almost if not all of the Super Cub variants (Piper, Cub Crafters, Maule, Aviation, etc.). I figure why not build one and from all that I have read and checked out, Mr. Barrows has really done a wonderful job designing aircraft that have taken the best of tried & true existing designs and made them better. It sure appears to me that his designs widen the performance envelope with very few or minor compromises. Beyond that Mark Goldberg has then done a terrific job of taking the designs to the kit production level.

Glad to be on the site!

Lars

[Bdflies]

Welcome Lars! I kind of agree with your assessment of the Patrol. I'm still in 'phase 1' of the flight ops, but I can tell you this is a very capable aircraft.
You're among a very knowledgeable group of builders and fliers. When you begin your build, you'll have questions. You'll find this forum a great resource to find answers to those questions.
Where are you, Lars?

Bill

[LarsL]

Hi Bill,

I think this forum is terrific for the very reason you mentioned; there are clearly many many knowledgeable folks here with real world BH experience. I also am seeing that it is a mature considerate group as I haven't witnessed any drama among posters. It's sad to say that is unusual in this day and age, so big kudos to the membership.

As to where I'm located, right now I live in the Naperville, IL area and fly out of Clow International, 1C5 (not sure where the "International" comes from).

Ive read some of the threads on 4-Place vs Patrol and they both are terrific planes. I do believe it comes down to mission but I've also seen some folks state that the cost to build both are quite close. I have to think that the Patrol must come in lower by a tangible amount. Am I wrong?

where are you located Bill?

Lars

[Bdflies]

I'm in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. 08LS

I was going to mention the amazing maturity and civility on the forum. But, who'd believe it. Some good folks hang here.

Bill

[JimParker256]

I suspect that if you built a 4-place with an O-360 instead of the O-540, and kept your avionics simple, it would not cost much more to build a 4-place than the Patrol. But the performance would be somewhat less than an O-540 powered one, and it would still weigh more empty and burn slightly more fuel going slightly slower, but carry a lot more "stuff" than a Patrol...

I'm building a Patrol because I LIKE tandem seating, find the nearly 1000-lb useful load more than adequate, and I want the Patrol's stellar performance on 180 HP. Most of my flights will be solo, with only an occasional passenger. If my mission were different (family flying, etc.) I would happily build the 4-place, but I would have to give serious consideration to the O-540 engine...

[SteveF]

Hi Lars, welcome to the site. I'm just around the corner from you near Stevensville/St Joseph Michigan.
Are you thinking of a QB or SB? Right now I'm planning to scratch build my wings while I save up for the fuselage and empennage quick build kits, so it'll be kind of a hybrid. That's my plan right now anyways.
I'll be at Oshkosh/AirVenture looking at Bearhawks and hopefully buying plans if Mr Barrows brings any Model B plans to sell.
Really looking forward to going!
Here's some info on how Clow International got it's name:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-06-29/news/0306280315_1_small-general-aviation-airport-warsaw-restaurants

Steve

[LarsL]

Thanks for the Clow info, Steve. Very amusing and interesting. I thought there was more to it but it turns out to just be a case of adding a little levity to the airport name (pun intended).

Lars

[LarsL]

Great input Jim. I seen that you are one of the sage frequent poster here, indicative of the membership!

Steve, great to hear from you. I am leaning toward the QB route, but your hybrid route is interesting. If I go that way I might flip what you are planning and go with QB wings/empennage and the SB Fuselage. Perhaps I'll see you up at Oshkosh.

Lars

[JimParker256]

Frequent poster? Yes.

Sage? Not so sure about that!

There are LOTS of other people FAR more qualified than I on most subjects. I'm just fortunate to be retired, and have time to do lots of research. Still having plantar fasciitis problems that are slowing progress on my Patrol build...

[DRLPatrol]

Still having plantar fasciitis problems that are slowing progress on my Patrol build...

Sorry to hear that. Got over that a couple years ago, finally found the right arch supports and got better. Several years of hell.

Doug

[SteveF]

...Still having plantar fasciitis problems...

I'm dealing with that too. Just started around November. I use a frozen water bottle to massage and stretch the fascia and tendon a few times every day and also I also stretch it by pulling up on my toes and ball of my foot. I also stretch out my calf muscles.
It feels like its getting better, but mornings still suck and if I'm sitting for any length of time it will tighten up again. Once I get up and start walking around, it usually starts to loosen up and hurt less.

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Still having plantar fasciitis problems that are slowing progress on my Patrol build...

I fought that one last year, too. It took months for it to slowly resolve itself. I don't want to drag this into a medical thread, but I got together, believe it or not, with a guy who sells custom orthotics at the fly market at Oshkosh last summer. He did an imprint of my feet and pulled some arch supports out based what he saw, put them in my shoes, and had me walk up and down the row of the fly market. It was amazing how it took the pressure off my heels. Mine got pretty bad and it took six months to it to finally heal up. But I don't think it would have healed up nearly as quickly without them. Best $300 I've ever spent!

And now, back to Bearhawks

[DRLPatrol]

... custom orthotics....

That's how I cured mine. Just wish I would have started working on it sooner

Doug

[MNellis]

Hi Bill,

I think this forum is terrific for the very reason you mentioned; there are clearly many many knowledgeable folks here with real world BH experience. I also am seeing that it is a mature considerate group as I haven't witnessed any drama among posters. It's sad to say that is unusual in this day and age, so big kudos to the membership.

As to where I'm located, right now I live in the Naperville, IL area and fly out of Clow International, 1C5 (not sure where the "International" comes from).

Ive read some of the threads on 4-Place vs Patrol and they both are terrific planes. I do believe it comes down to mission but I've also seen some folks state that the cost to build both are quite close. I have to think that the Patrol must come in lower by a tangible amount. Am I wrong?

where are you located Bill?

Lars

Welcome Lars. While im not a bearhawk builder i fly all three models (LSA, Patrol and 4 place on a regular basis) I, too, used to fly out of Clow for several and, in fact, bought my Stinson from the previous owner of the FBO at Clow. I lived in Plainfield and kept my Stinson at Lewis.

Ill be in the Bearhawk booth with Mark at Oshkosh so be sure to stop by and introduce yourself.

Mike Nellis

[LarsL]

Hey Mike,

Thank you for your message. Lucky you flying all the Barrow designs. You've obviously have a great perspective. I'm planning/hoping to get up to Oshkosh and will definitely stop by.

Lars

[SteveF]

Where is the Bearhawk booth going to be?

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Where is the Bearhawk booth going to be?

Usually it's at the North Aircraft Display, just before you cross over into Warbirds. Map attached.

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