Giant guy, in search of capable planes

[aerialsasquatch]

Hey y'all, I'm a student pilot currently, and am starting to search out a plane that will fit my existing mission and actually support it. At 6'9", 300lb I tend to push the limits on flight envelopes for other experimentals, especially if I want to include any passengers.

While my heart wants a canard (Long EZ style), physics just makes it a stretch without some major structural changes, so I'm jumping around to learn about the other players in the experimental space that can deal with my size comfortably.

Someone mentioned Bearhawk, and while it doesn't quite meet the speedster CX dream doing 1k+ nm at a time, they sure can handle the weight and distribution I'd come with.

My mission IFR capable, solo 50%, 50% ideally with 1 PAX, though 3 PAX is attractive at times, for jumping ~400nm radius around Charlotte NC. I'd estimate 70% of the time within ~150nm. Don't currently have any aspirations for super short fields (any of the main local airports have 2500ft+ airports) but am 100% open to my eyes being opened to the possibilities with a super short landing requirement, especially if it's within travel distance from Charlotte NC.

Basically "hey me and a buddy (or 3) want to jump town for the weekend to X" and would rather fly it than have to drive it / fly it commercial.

I'm pretty wet behind the ears right now, and definitely in that "just trying to find out what I don't know" stage, but am already super grateful for all these different forums and the wealth of knowledge and knowledgeable people!

Happy to hear from anyone, especially if you're a certified giant and have some advice, or if you've got Bearhawk near NC and want to do some fun W&B exercises with an eager learner.

[jaredyates]

Hi, welcome! I'm just up the road in Hickory NC and would offer to take you for a flight, but I'm battling some frustrating avionics failures. You can come sit in the 4-Place and see how it feels at least.

[aerialsasquatch]

Hi, welcome! I'm just up the road in Hickory NC and would offer to take you for a flight, but I'm battling some frustrating avionics failures. You can come sit in the 4-Place and see how it feels at least.

Wow, that's plenty close! I'm doing my training out of Lincolnton (KIPJ) so am well on my way in that direction at least once a week. I'd love to take a seat to get a feel for it, it makes it so much easier to get a feel for size vs. staring at diagrams and wishing my shoulders were narrower. Feel free to DM me with some contact information and we can get something going.

Hopefully you get through the avionics bug soon as well, I can only imagine how frustrating that must be.

[jaredyates]

Feel free to call/text 828-308-1543. My schedule is all over the place but I'm around some this week if the weather is bad, though in that case I guess you won't be at IPJ! The plane is at E40.

[Battson]

Welcome to the forum, great 'handle' by the way!

Definitely take up Jared's offer, that is the best way to find out for comfort.

You may find the standard cabin doesn't allow enough knee room to the instrument panel, although a custom seat could solve that.
It's also not necessarily wide enough sideways for two seriously staunch men to sit side by side in total comfort - especially on long journeys - depending on how much weight you carry in the shoulders, and particularly with big winter jackets being worn.

[aerialsasquatch]

Thanks for the welcome, Battson! I took Jared up straight away, spent an hour sitting in / walking around and getting the tour. It was super helpful to get to see it in person and take a seat, and even more helpful having such a knowledgeable tour guide to ask questions galore!

You called it straight up basically - my knees actually cleared the panel bar with the seat all the way back (which also gave me plenty of headroom and still a great picture looking out the windshield), but the one sticking point was the engine controls being in the "wrong" place for my right knee to sit comfortably, especially if using left rudder. We talked it through a bit, and with a bit of panel re-jigging and getting those up an inch or two, I'd be in the clear as far as leg clearance goes.

But you're also right that I'd be limiting the width of a co-pilot for sure, for anything other than short jaunts.

After talking to Jared it seems like if time and cost weren't a factor, the new 5 would be the best possible way to go, another 2.5" in the cabin width, another foot of "cargo" area to play with some seat configuration, and more MGW, but they're few and far between, and the lead time on a kit + my building it's probably a bit of a longer-tailed discussion than something in the next year or two.

That being said the 4 place was definitely serviceable, and with a few tweaks would be pretty comfy for yours truly, and it gave me a lot of confidence in something like the Patrol as an alternative as well.

I'll definitely be contributing ballast when Jared gets back in the air, and in the meantime will still be lurking around as much as possible. Unfortunately I'm used to this story, "shop for fit, then for want," and the more I know the more informed I can be when I spring for something.

I definitely wasn't expecting to post and be sitting in a bearhawk within 3 days, but I'm glad I was able to!

[kestrel]

You said "experimental" and then listed a mission that doesn't necessarily require it. I love Bearhawks and I love experimentals. ...but have you considered a C-182?

[aerialsasquatch]

You said "experimental" and then listed a mission that doesn't necessarily require it. I love Bearhawks and I love experimentals. ...but have you considered a C-182?

I'm actually doing my training in a C-182 and have no ill-will toward it, but a) i want to be able to do some level of maintenance / work on my own, and b) I don't want to pay the premium for certified for things like avionics upgrades, maintenance, etc. For example, the plane I'm flying in right now is well equipped with all glass and autopilot, and similar planes seem to be going for $250k (or sometimes more).

It's definitely not off the table, but seems to be much more costly across the board, with less autonomy as well. And, if I'm being totally honest, the ethos around experimentals is very attractive as well.