New Member - Rogelio Diaz

[Rogelio]

Hello everyone,
My name is Rogelio Diaz and I'm interested in learning more about joining the experimental plane community with a Bear hawk 5. I'm a full time teacher that welded in his past life and I plan on seeing if its worth purchasing the full build kit or building it from scratch. I'm comfortable and confident with my craftsmanship skills. I don't have any flight experience but I've made it a goal for myself before I reach 40 years of age. 3 years away and its time to start planning.

feel free to reach out and offer any advice. I look forward to learning.

in gratitude,

Rogelio Diaz

[BrokenStraw]

Welcome to the Bearhawk community. I just started a Quick Build Companion kit and anticipate that it will take 2+ years to complete. I cannot image building from scratch and am amazed by the talented builders who do just that. There are some truly talented people posting on this forum who should be able to give you guidance and advice. Good luck.

[alaskabearhawk]

Welcome Rogelio!

I'm sure others will add some comments, but here are my recommendations: If you want to put your airplane together and fly in a reasonable time, buy a kit. It is by far the easiest to way to flight and the kits are top-notch. If you have the time, skills and desire you can always build it yourself. But, be advised it is a HUGE project and it takes a tremendous amount of time. You didn't say if you had any family or other commitments. If you do, that should weigh heavily in your decision too. Good luck and welcome to the group.

[SpruceForest]

For me, the decision re: kit or from scratch hinged on the trade between flying and building, as well as the draw of learning new skills (sheet metal wing, fuse/wing weldments OA and TIG welding, and fabric work to add to composites and avionics skills already in hand). Also - being on the curmudgeonly end of the cranky hermit/easy-going surfer dude scale, I prefer to make my own decisions on most things, and scratch building allows me more latitude in doing so.

Re: additional criteria:

- Scratch/plans-built allows things to get moving quickly, with minimal investment and near-immediate progress (e.g., buy a rib and spar kit and start on the ailerons and flaps; buy some .032 and .025 2024, some MDF, snips, files, a dead-blow hammer, and start banging out ribs). An 18 month wait for a kit to arrive may be just enough time to arrange workshop space, get through the ensuing marital drama, and start building that ecosystem (discussed below), or it may be an unwanted delay in anything approaching progress towards your goal.

- Scratchbuilding usually involves more investment on the tooling up and fixturing side of things, although savvy builders can dramatically minimize those costs (note the post on free-for-the-taking jigs, fixtures, materials, etc. in NC for BH4.... likely useful in the 5 as well given similarities)

- For a first-time builder, the path to salty and savvy is usually through a build project, so a nice little chicken and egg problem that may be somewhat mitigated if you can find a more experienced set of builders in your area (this is an example of the virtual [here] and physical [in the Real/local] ecosystems that successful builders establish as a necessary part of a build project).

- Personality and confidence in research skills and approach to decision-making matter. Most of us are somewhere on the spectrum between flipping a coin and paralysis-by-analysis with regards to problem-solving, so if you routinely agonize over decision-making tasks, scratch building will dramatically multiply that agony. If you instead agonize over others making decisions for you (e.g., who the heck are these idiots to decide what I drive, eat, etc.), build-from-scratch is likely more your cup of (insert beverage of choice).

And finally:

Consider the very real possibility that your interests in what you wish to build evolve as you build your skills and knowledge as a pilot. I went through a phase at about 6000 hours total time where I thought a nice 200 knot solo cross-country machine was on the table. Newly single and a selection of potentially interesting acquaintances scattered around the country made the fantasy of hopping in an airplane Friday AM and a beachside dinner with interesting company a defining mission. Some time later, after accumulating a wife and daughter, my mission needs changed to something that could handle primarily East Coast hops and local stuff. A larger airplane was ruled out, largely because I can borrow or rent the aerial equivalent of an F-150 on the rare occasions that I need more than two seats and a generous baggage compartment, and both females in my life prefer to keep feet on the ground.

With a mission change, a kit may be sold, and we see them change hands with frequency dependent on the design, but that kit purchase money may be tied up in what is usually a depreciating asset for a long period of time. This is not to say that that money might not have done worse invested in a 401K - the recent past has offered abundant confirmation of that fact - but cost of a kit can be a meaningful financial event for some of us non-Trustifarians. Scratchbuilding allows accumulation of materials and expenses as fabrication progresses, allowing more in the way of a budget-friendly approach. If interest flags or some life-changing event occurs, there is generally less money involved in moving on from the effort (but adds more in the way of tooling-up costs as already mentioned).

Good luck with your project, whatever it might be, and welcome.

[Redneckmech]

Welcome Rogelio!

It seems you and I are a similar age and background. I also used to be a welder so am looking forward to welding up my fuselage, but in the meantime have been learning to shape aluminum into wings.

alaskabearhawk and SpruceForest summed up the trade-offs very well. I am currently over a year into a scratch build Five, working through wing ribs and preparing for spars. It is a huge commitment of time, but for me it is an opportunity to learn new skills and teach craftsmanship to my three boys (They are getting pretty darn good with a rivet gun!).

At the rate I am building, it will likely take a minimum of 10 years, and I will be pleasantly surprised if it is less. If I did not have an aircraft that I could fly while building, and enjoy the build process, I likely would have considered a kit. A scratch build is a huge time commitment and requires an understanding and supportive family.

Best of luck with your decision and project!

[Paul Johnston]

With no flight experience I would start training first. The flight training takes both your time and money so the project could prevent you from obtaining a certificate, but the Bearhawk is probably the right airplane for you. Welcome to the group and stay tuned. By the way- the upcoming LSA rules will include all Bearhawk models - you may consider a sport pilot certificate.