New Member: Harrisonburg, VA and King Salmon, AK

[Fly Alaska]

Hello everyone! My name is Jason Lux and I am just starting my Bearhawk journey. I am a first time builder working on a Bearhawk Patrol. I current live 6 months/year in Virginia and 6 months in Alaska. I purchased an almost complete set of wing components from another building and will be working on the wings in Virginia this winter. I have ordered a quick-build fuselage from the factory which should be ready next august. Eventually the wings, fuselage kit and all my tools will be shipped to Alaska for final completion. As a newbie I will be looking for all the advice and guidance I can find! Thanks in advance, Jason

[sjt]

Buy your stuff before setting off for Alaska. I use Aircraft Spruce in Georgia, and Wicks in Illinois. Aluminum 12 foot sheets can be rolled. The 12 foot capstrips can not be rolled.

I do not know how old your plans are.

If you have not skinned wing you might still do:

http://bearhawksafety.com/Patrol/february2020.html

https://bearhawkforums.com/forum/safety/52864-bearhawk-patrol-update-february-2020

From time to time you might check:

https://bearhawkforums.com/forum/safety

I think this guy is amazing

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWY4f_BKuRl7UzNJb7MycGhkuhxiVyrIC

I subscribe to

https://bearhawk.tips/

Also:

https://bearhawkstore.com/beartracks

[Fly Alaska]

Thanks for the info. I have been watching b-spot videos for a year now, picked up some very good tips and tricks. I do have the plans with the skin stiffener specified. I just ordered my 12' aluminum sheets from Wicks. The local metal supplier couldn't get them. Fortunately I can get the fuel tank material locally.

[alaskabearhawk]

Welcome to the group, and quite an ambitious undertaking! I would be interested in why you plan on shipping everything to AK? You are probably well aware that shipping is incredibly expensive and I can't even imagine how much it would be to ship it all the King Salmon.

[Fly Alaska]

I am not the first person to load up a conex box and ship airplane parts to King Salmon. There is a direct barge from Seattle to Bristol Bay. It may seem odd to ship a project to such a remote location, but it works for me. My primary home is in Alaska, I have access to A&Ps there, hangar space for final assembly and the plane will live in Alaska. In Virginia I am staying with relatives and building the wings in a basement. I would much rather be working on the whole project in AK, but splitting the difference makes some sense. It is nice to buy everything at lower 48 prices and then ship it all in one shot up to AK. Also ordering stuff and having it arrive the next day still blows my mind.

[alaskabearhawk]

I'm pretty familiar with shipping to/from Alaska, it's just whether the juice is worth the squeeze and how deep your pockets are! If you're ever in Soldotna, stop on by for a visit.

For those that aren't familiar, here is some light reading about the Jones Act: https://www.cato.org/publications/po...r#introduction

[Redneckmech]

Good article, thanks for sharing!