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Hi there, my name's Jordan, and I'm up in the Texas Panhandle. I'm a pretty low time pilot (~60hrs,) and haven't hardly flown since getting my license ~8 years ago. Life has blessed my wife and I with the means for me to get back into aviation, so I'm looking for a kit airplane to build, and am leaning heavily toward the Bearhawk at this time. I had a nice long discussion with Mark yesterday over the phone, and got to hear about all the benefits of the Bearhawk. Looking forward to chatting with all of y'all about this aircraft.
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Hi Jordan, welcome aboard.
Gerry
Patrol #30 -
Welcome Jordan.
Mark is both a superb kit supplier and an incredible one-man support system all rolled into one. Frankly, I don’t know how he manages to do what he does. Whatever magic he employs, he turns out a heck of a kit AND excellent support to builders. He’s scrupulously honest and if you ask his opinion, he will give you the information you need without trying to up-sell you.
Instructions aren’t located under one roof in linear fashion so be prepared to do some homework. Ditto with hardware. But to be fair, everybody wants something different from a bush plane, and so your components and installations might vary quite substantially from mine or anyone else’s. I suggest that the scope of variety from one person’s objectives to another will be much greater in a bush plane than say, an RV-7.
The good news is that as mentioned, the kits are excellent, the factory support is phenomenal, and help available on this forum.
You mentioned that you are quite a new pilot. Welcome to the fraternity! I’m new as well. 23,000 hours in but still new in this corner of aviation: home-building (never built a plane before) bushwheels (never touched them but plan to install) taildraggers, (50 hours of tail wheel time at most) and a host of other factors which are new to me. I need to prepare!
Expand and keep up your flying skills, especially on tailwheel planes. The web is full of good providers and there are also probably good resources near your home. Be picky and understand that more money and more flashy web content does not necessarily equate to better training. You might find a Citabria and instructor at a local school or club which is a perfect fit to prepare you to take on this next adventure. Or you might find the it’s well-worth the travel time to get to the right training situation. This is after all, about ultimately flying, so it’s vital to keep at it.
Enjoy the journey. Let us know how you make out!Comment
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23k hours! WOW! I imagine you must be an airline captain, or former anyways. As far as tailwheel instruction near me, I do have a spray pilot an hour away that has offered tailwheel time cheap in a Citabria, so I will probably take advantage of that in the meantime. My mission is somewhat complicated. I want/need a 4 place for XC travel, but would utilize a 2 place bushplane much more frequently than I would the 4 place. I see myself flying solo 95% of the time, but when I want to take the family places I'll need the 4 place. I imagine I'll end up building something like the Patrol or LSA eventually, but in the meantime may build something more akin to the RV-10.Originally posted by Pbruce View Post
All in all, I have to say I'm blessed to be able to be getting back into aviation. It is a hobby/lifestyle that I have sorely missed.Comment
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There are lots of guys with a ton of time on this forum in some pretty interesting disciplines. They tend to be a pretty humble lot so you don’t hear about it much. Spray pilots are a breed apart in their extreme ability to fly taildragger in challenging situations. The average high-time airline guy is probably a no-time spray pilot, and would be paying very very close attention when being taught by someone like that. It sounds like you could be onto a good thing with this person for a mentor.Comment
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