New member in San Diego

[mynameissean123]

Hello everyone. Im new to Bearhawks, don't know much, really hoping to learn as much as possible.

Currently have an RV7, based in San Diego. I recently took a trip to Johnsons creek, now all I want to do is backcountry flying. I'm trying to find the best plane for my mission. After doing a ton of research a Bearhawk or Glasair Sportsman 2+2 seem to check all my boxes. Does anyone have any experience with both and can possible tell me the pros and cos?

My goal is:
-Haul 3-4 people & my dog (if the dogs flying, 3 people)
-130-145 cruising speed
-Get in and out of tight areas
-C/S prop
-High horsepower

I'd love some advise of what to look for, or if anyone has a plane they are looking to sell, please send me a message!

Thank you.

[jaredyates]

Welcome! You are going about this the right way. Here are some questions that might get you a little further down the road.

Is that 130-145 knots or mph? It's getting towards the high end of how most of us would cruise a Bearhawk. 130 mph totally doable. 145 knots, maybe doable, not going to be very efficient. I have not flown the Sportsman but understand we might need to concede cruise speed, certainly in knots per horsepower. They say 150 knots at 210hp and 75% power, and the Bearhawk on the same engine isn't going to do that.

What is a tight area? 200 feet, 400 feet, 800 feet, etc?

I didn't consider the Sportsman as a serious contender because I didn't want to have the large composite piece which might or might not be available and repairable in the decades to come. There is lots of good info about them in the past few years about Kitplanes, probably because the current editor has one and he's always talking about it and running articles about them. You might browse the past few years if you haven't already, to find some good coverage. Hopefully you can spend a little hands-on time with each and see if that helps with your decision. It might be that the most important factors aren't the ones that are derived from the website specs.

[rodsmith]

I have a couple friends with Sportsmans and have had several flights. I like so much about them, but they are not a 4 adult airplane. More like 3 adults or 2 adults and two pre-teens. My friends only fly them as 2-place aircraft with more baggage space. About the same amount as a 4-place bearhawk with all the seats occupied.

[mynameissean123]

Welcome! You are going about this the right way. Here are some questions that might get you a little further down the road.

Is that 130-145 knots or mph? It's getting towards the high end of how most of us would cruise a Bearhawk. 130 mph totally doable. 145 knots, maybe doable, not going to be very efficient. I have not flown the Sportsman but understand we might need to concede cruise speed, certainly in knots per horsepower. They say 150 knots at 210hp and 75% power, and the Bearhawk on the same engine isn't going to do that.

What is a tight area? 200 feet, 400 feet, 800 feet, etc?

I didn't consider the Sportsman as a serious contender because I didn't want to have the large composite piece which might or might not be available and repairable in the decades to come. There is lots of good info about them in the past few years about Kitplanes, probably because the current editor has one and he's always talking about it and running articles about them. You might browse the past few years if you haven't already, to find some good coverage. Hopefully you can spend a little hands-on time with each and see if that helps with your decision. It might be that the most important factors aren't the ones that are derived from the website specs.

Would love it to be knots, but in know it won't be. Most likely not going to be very short landing areas -- still new with off field landings. Would hope to get to a point where I can land somewhere near a river, pop out and do some fishing. Thanks for the info about a sportsman -- Hoping to get so time in both before making a final decision.

[mynameissean123]

I have a couple friends with Sportsmans and have had several flights. I like so much about them, but they are not a 4 adult airplane. More like 3 adults or 2 adults and two pre-teens. My friends only fly them as 2-place aircraft with more baggage space. About the same amount as a 4-place bearhawk with all the seats occupied.

In reality, I'd most likely be flying 2 adults, my dog and gear. How does a Sportsman compare to a Bearhawk, in your opinion?

[Utah-Jay]

In reality, I'd most likely be flying 2 adults, my dog and gear. How does a Sportsman compare to a Bearhawk, in your opinion?

I have two buddies with Sportmans, they are a backcountry capable plane, not a true backcountry plane in my opinion. They are fast, but slippery so the shorter and/or more technical strips are gonna be most likely out of the equation

[N3UW]

I have just one comment on the Sportsman. Glassair used to be 100 yards from my hangar and one of the founders is in the hangar across from me. It is owned by a Chinese business man and was run by his younger niece. A month or so they shutdown the Arlington factory and moved all the jigs and manufacturing to china but did not take any of the expertise with them. It is unclear if they will successfully be able to produce kits or supply spare parts. You may want to checkout the sportsman forums to get more status details.

As far as support of kits and parts Bearhawk wins hands down. If you are interested in talking to any sportsman experts. I would be happy to connect you.