Potential New Builder

[Cobb952]

Hi all,

Ive been under the radar a little bit on this forum but I thought it was about time to introduce myself.
I'm a 20 year old lad from England who has an absolute love of everything to do with aircraft.
I recently finished up my aerospace engineering apprenticeship and have managed to bag my dream job working with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) - Hurricane Spitifire, Lancaster and Dakota aircraft.
I'm extremely lucky to have gotten this job but its not as hands on as I'd like due to me being in more of a management role.
Ive been doing a lot of research during quarantine and decided that I want to get into building and I have looked around and I think a Bearhawk is probably the best fit for me due to the all metal wing structure (Ive done welding and some sheet metal fabrication during my apprenticeship).
Not totally set on a model yet but probably leaning more towards a 4 place just because of storage and the ability to carry more people if my family want to go up with me.
However I do have a few questions as I am probably a couple of years of purchasing a kit or plans due to my age and well money...
I would like to know what you guys would recommend to start with? a quick build kit or complete scratch build and for both what are the essential tools and bits of kit I would need to aqquire before even considering buying a bearhawk kit?
Also in terms of the quickbuild kit is it possible to buy the kit in stages? Ive seen this offered by other companies such as buying the wing kit, then the fuselage and then the finishing kit.

Any tips and help is much appreciated!
Hope you are all keeping safe in these turbulent times.

Jacob

[davzLSA]

HI Jacob, Welcome to the forum. I am building a scratch build LSA. One of the reasons Im doing a scratch build is that it is not a lot of money to put out at one time. With the Bearhawk you can buy parts as you build or just buy the raw material and fabricate the parts your self. Now having said that, this is a tube and fabric fuselage and tail feathers and you WILL have to know how to weld. How do I know that, well I screwed up a $3000.00 tube kit learning to weld. I recommend you speak to Mark Goldberg about your options here. He is on the forum and he sells the Bearhwk kits and part. He can answer all of your questions on that regard. Best of luck to you and your build.

[Mark Goldberg]

Hi Jacob. Welcome to the forum. Everything you ask about is possible. But before you get too excited about a Bearhawk you should familiarize your self with the authorities that control the experimental side of aviation in the UK. They do not make it easy shall we say. Just an FYI. Good luck in your aviation pursuits. Mark

[Cobb952]

Hi Jacob. Welcome to the forum. Everything you ask about is possible. But before you get too excited about a Bearhawk you should familiarize your self with the authorities that control the experimental side of aviation in the UK. They do not make it easy shall we say. Just an FYI. Good luck in your aviation pursuits. Mark

Hi Mark thanks for the heads up about the authorities, I will do a bit more digging and find out what might be potential stumbling blocks.

[OhioLSA]

It may be a matter of finding a balance between your financial resources and your accumulated skills/experience. Scratch building would have been an overwhelming job for me, given my limited experience. I have great respect for those who can build from scratch, but for me the quick build kit was the best choice. The quality of the kit is very good, and the service provided by Mark Goldberg is excellent.

[davzLSA]

I dont believe you can find any better customer support than Mark.

[Pbruce]

Ditto. The guy is always there for you when you need help. I swear there were times I was reaching for the phone to ask him about something and he called to see how I was making out. You can’t put a price on this kind of service.