New member from Georgia

[gsnewsome]

Hello,

New member here from the burbs of Savannah, Ga. My goal is to plans build a STOL LSA and very interested in the Bearhawk.

Greg

[jaredyates]

Welcome Greg! I'm just up the road a few hours in central NC with a 4-place Bearhawk. You might not be too far from Rolly Clark. Are you already in touch with him?

[gsnewsome]

I'm not actually. Where is he located?

[fixnflyr]

Hi Greg,
I'm Swaid Rahn and I live 30 minutes from Savannah GA and I am building a Patrol plan set #262 though I have not started it yet. I think the Bearhawk LSA is an awesome aircraft and you should build that over any other LSA. I have a private airport named SWAIDS FIELD in Springfield GA that has two runways and hay fields around it. It would be a good place to test fly it when you are finished, I had a friend test fly his new kitfox here. I also rent hangars and have an aircraft maintenance business here.
You should come to our EAA chapter 1514 meeting this Tues night at Lovezola's Pizza in Pooler. it will be in the back room, starts at 6:30, order a meal and come on back.
Look fwd. to meeting you,
Swaid

[gsnewsome]

Swaid,

We've met. I was with Gene last fall when you were thinking about selling your airbike. I'm just down the street from you in Rincon off Ebenezer. The BH LSA is at the top of my list and I plan on ordering plans within a month.

Are you a member of the local EAA chapter?

[fixnflyr]

Yes I am a member of EAA 1514 the Savannah GA Chapter. I don't know if I will be able to make Tues. night or not because of a prior engagement. I hope you do go with the Bearhawk LSA. There is a great video on the EAA website about it under homebuilding videos, Bob Barrows is in it.
Gene is coming along on the twin radial engine Lazair ultralite. I flew his standard Lazair Friday at lunch. He is also helping me with the Garrett turbine engine mount we are installing on the Lancair 4P. He's a nice guy with a lot of experience. He was the head of engineering at Cub Crafters when they designed the Carbon Cub.
Give me a call sometime,
Swaid

[jaredyates]

Greg, I've sent you a PM with more contact details for Rolly. Let me know if you don't get it please!

[gsnewsome]

Thanks Jared!

[gsnewsome]

Some of the options/items that make the BH LSA a leader on my list:

1. Plans only option.
2. STOL aircraft. Want the option to keep the aircraft in my backyard in the future.
3. Decent cruise speed north of 100 mph for those short cross-country trips.
4. Low stall speed.
5. Simple design. Impressed with the 30mph stall without the need for flaps.
6. All metal wing. Not a fan of fabric wings.
7. I want at least 500lb useful. From what I’ve read, I should be able to keep the BH LSA below 820 lb empty even with an O-200 with starter/electrical system.
8. Prefer a tri-gear, however would rather have a tandem if limited to tail dragger configuration.

[gsnewsome]

One more important factor in choosing a home-built, and that's the activity of the builders forums. Didn't realize how important this one was until I actually joined/monitored the forums for the handful of aircraft for which I'm interested.