Oshkosh 2026

Flygirl1

Flygirl1

Patrol#241FLYING
Okay, who’s going and where are you parking?? Would love to start a Bearhawk “row” if we had enough interest. This year Dennis and I will be later than normal. Instead of arriving Thursday late or Friday, we will be sometime on Saturday. Otherwise we would start a row. From past experience we need to have enough commitments to get it done. Whatever, can’t wait to be there!
 
Hello Donna, I hope to see you both there! If all goes well I will plan to arrive around Sunday and leave first thing Thursday but it will all be subject to weather of course. I'm planning to visit a few other events on the way.
 
we plan to fly in with our patrol, camping under the wing. Will likely arrive fairly early on Tuesday. Would love to join the group if that is possible. Please post where you think you’re going to be parking and we will try to figure out how to get there. Thanks.
 
Carlo will def be there with N37BP... he is flying off hours and working out oil temp issues, plus getting the builder book together for judging. Overhead flap actuator, wet wings, and a bunch of other mods of interest. Not sure if I am there, courtesy of possible work conflict.
 
We are on our way, overnighting at K52. It’s a great little airport, found it on the RAF airport directory. Overnight camping, courtesy car, very friendly airport manager. Hoping smoke doesn’t keep us from New Holstein tomorrow.
 
I'm camping in Clinton, Iowa through Saturday at the Cessna 150/152 club fly in. Feel free to drop in amd say hello, there is plenty of room.
 
Untainted123 said:
We are on our way, overnighting at K52. It’s a great little airport, found it on the RAF airport directory. Overnight camping, courtesy car, very friendly airport manager. Hoping smoke doesn’t keep us from New Holstein tomorrow.
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Thanks for the info about K52. It is right on our route to KOSH. We may stop there coming or going. ?
 
Caught up with Jared at KCWI and the Cessna Flyin (which I was completely oblivious to :D). Not a bad place to be stuck, everyone has invited us to join in! Everything north of here looks IFR, might not make New Holstein :(
 
Made it to New Holstein, already having fun at the Kelly Creamery. It’s 1000ft mowed alfalfa, the Bearhawk handled it no problem. Had quite a line coming to look at it and sit in it. Only problem was trying to stay back with the super cubs, it’s basically slow flight for me.
 
We are tied down in Homebuilt Camping at row 322, right along the emergency lane on its south side. We are two rows in front of Donna and Dennis, who are also along the south side of the lane at row 319. Dennis Ramsey is across the lane and abeam Donna and Dennis.

The Abels are in showplane parking right between the brown arch and homebuilt registration, which is a great spot.

Please post if you see any more!
 
Looks like the Oklahoma crew has arrived. There are two additional Fives and two Patrols.
 

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Carlo and N37BP on the ground at Oshkosh... possibly the newest Patrol. I am of course stuck in DC working through trying to fix three broken work programs before the end of the FY. Joy.
 
Carlo's Patrol is parked 200' east of the Bearhawk company display... not quite one-stop shopping but close. Given he's taken home a couple of plans-built Lindy trophies already (Mustang II and Hatz radial), I'm pulling for him again this year (as well as hoping to see other Bearhawk builders over-represented in the Grass Awards and winner's circle)
 
So as of today I believe this is the count:
8 in HBC
3 in Virgil's booth
4 in Showplane Parking
1 in the Garmim Booth
1 in Ultralights (relocating to Fon du Lac tomorrow)

A record year as far as I know.
 
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The Abels ElliotAbel missed the Bearhawk walk today because he was flying in the Homebuilt Review. Elliot has offered to be available at their plane at 1:00 tomorrow (Wednesday) in case anyone would like to visit. Sort of a mini-custom-Bearhawk Walk. It is parked across the road from Virgil's booth.
 
If anyone wants a place to watch the night airshow from a little farther back, our plane has a good view. Bring a chair!
 
Dad and I departed this morning and are about half way to his house. Someone else will need to take over reporting duties. Nice seeing so many folks this year!
 
Unpainted made it home. Another great Oshkosh, great seeing so many Bearhawks there now. Thanks again Bcone1381 for the walking tour, more ideas every year. BTW, Brooks also represented the Bearhawks at the New Holstein Flyin STOL competition, quite capably. He can give some of his distance numbers for take and landing.
 
My New Holstien STOL Event results
  1. First round - 147' takeoff, 228' landing = 375 points
  2. Round two - 216 takeoff, 244 landing = 460 points
  3. Round three - 220 takeoff, 290 landing = 510 points
The wind was calm. The temp was maybe 85f.

This is a fun event and a fun environment they build. Its not high stakes. Being judged gives data to improve upon. We can compete with ourself in our own craft using the Tape Measure is our judge. When others compete, we learn from there techniques and understand the forces that go into landing on a spot better. Watching landings is a hoot.

There were two purpose built specialized aircraft that competed, and it was a joy to see them operate there craft. One was a Bad Lands (not a Traveler) aircraft and the other a highly modified PA-12 Cub. They land way shorter the Patrol.

My numbers are not so much an indication of skill, rather it is a testimony of the Bearhawk Aircraft capability. I wont compromise speed to improve a STOL score because its not my mission. But all of you Patrol folks can say a plane vanilla Patrol will takeoff in calm wind on a hot day in less than 150'. We all can be very proud of the design we have chosen. There was a C-172 and a C-170 there. I don't think the others can cruise 140 mph at 7.1 gph, or 130mph at 9 gph. 500AGL on this forum can wahlup my score in the factory Patrol and I'd love to see his techniques sometime.

On saturday night the Supercub folks had an Ice Cream fly out event where we land in a 1000' hay field to show our aircraft off the local children and parents for 45 minutes. Watching 18 supercubs with fat tires mass arrive is awesome! Sunday was the STOL event and the bomb drop. Check out the teen in the back seat with the helmet and the open door. "Look Mom, No Hands! "CLASSIC!!!!

Also a photo each pilot with there Bombardier.

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Build-Assist customers are out to ‘29. Kit sales for homebuilders is close to 10 months.
 
Congrats Carlo on the plans built Patrol award.

I’m not familiar with how the system works but I was surprised that our customer with the green patrol didn’t get any award. They had 14 judge signatures on the prop card and numerous comments on really nice build but then no followup. I would understand more if there was only 4 judge signatures.

Melanie and Elliot Abel received a bronze kit built Lindy for their orange model five.

Congratulations again to both winners!
 
500AGL said:
Congrats Carlo on the plans built Patrol award.

I’m not familiar with how the system works but I was surprised that our customer with the green patrol didn’t get any award. They had 14 judge signatures on the prop card and numerous comments on really nice build but then no followup. I would understand more if there was only 4 judge signatures.

Melanie and Elliot Abel received a bronze kit built Lindy for their orange model five.

Congratulations again to both winners!
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Def... congrats to the Abels on their win (and what must be a lovely airplane).

14 judge signatures suggest a very close race... and maybe some additional tuning for 2027 to collect hardware. My own theory is that it's all about Carlo's build book... and my smiling face appearing towards the last page. Never had that modeling career, but no time like the present. I suppose it Depends. (inside joke for 65+ models with limited options outside of adult diaper ads).
 
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Ah.. so the green Patrol was plans-built? Well still eligible in 2027... you just cannot win same or lower Lindy is what I understand.
 
Looks we got home in the nick of time. A huge tornado (F2, maybe reclassified as an F3) came through the area yesterday and did significant damage to Appleton, Neenah, and Menasha, the townships just to the north of Oshkosh. The photos of the damage are heart wrenching. I hope everyone on the forum that were in attendance made it home safely and without issue. Give your families an extra hug!
 
Amazing numbers Brooks, great piloting and a great plane!
Bcone1381 said:
My New Holstien STOL Event results
  1. First round - 147' takeoff, 228' landing = 375 points
  2. Round two - 216 takeoff, 244 landing = 460 points
  3. Round three - 220 takeoff, 290 landing = 510 points
The wind was calm. The temp was maybe 85f.

This is a fun event and a fun environment they build. Its not high stakes. Being judged gives data to improve upon. We can compete with ourself in our own craft using the Tape Measure is our judge. When others compete, we learn from there techniques and understand the forces that go into landing on a spot better. Watching landings is a hoot.

There were two purpose built specialized aircraft that competed, and it was a joy to see them operate there craft. One was a Bad Lands (not a Traveler) aircraft and the other a highly modified PA-12 Cub. They land way shorter the Patrol.

My numbers are not so much an indication of skill, rather it is a testimony of the Bearhawk Aircraft capability. I wont compromise speed to improve a STOL score because its not my mission. But all of you Patrol folks can say a plane vanilla Patrol will takeoff in calm wind on a hot day in less than 150'. We all can be very proud of the design we have chosen. There was a C-172 and a C-170 there. I don't think the others can cruise 140 mph at 7.1 gph, or 130mph at 9 gph. 500AGL on this forum can wahlup my score in the factory Patrol and I'd love to see his techniques sometime.

On saturday night the Supercub folks had an Ice Cream fly out event where we land in a 1000' hay field to show our aircraft off the local children and parents for 45 minutes. Watching 18 supercubs with fat tires mass arrive is awesome! Sunday was the STOL event and the bomb drop. Check out the teen in the back seat with the helmet and the open door. "Look Mom, No Hands! "CLASSIC!!!!

Also a photo each pilot with there Bombardier.

View attachment 101947 View attachment 101948
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Chris In Wisconsin said:
Looks we got home in the nick of time. A huge tornado (F2, maybe reclassified as an F3) came through the area yesterday and did significant damage to Appleton, Neenah, and Menasha, the townships just to the north of Oshkosh. The photos of the damage are heart wrenching. I hope everyone on the forum that were in attendance made it home safely and without issue. Give your families an extra hug!
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Also praying everyone in WI is safe.

I heard from someone that the aviation insurance companies sweat Oshkosh like no other event, with so many covered airplanes all in one place. The insurance pool is not huge to begin with (check your rates :(), but a hit on and during the show would be devastating for many reasons.
 
Amazing numbers Brooks, great piloting and a great plane!
Bcone1381 said:
My New Holstien STOL Event results
  1. First round - 147' takeoff, 228' landing = 375 points
  2. Round two - 216 takeoff, 244 landing = 460 points
  3. Round three - 220 takeoff, 290 landing = 510 points
The wind was calm. The temp was maybe 85f.

This is a fun event and a fun environment they build. Its not high stakes. Being judged gives data to improve upon. We can compete with ourself in our own craft using the Tape Measure is our judge. When others compete, we learn from there techniques and understand the forces that go into landing on a spot better. Watching landings is a hoot.

There were two purpose built specialized aircraft that competed, and it was a joy to see them operate there craft. One was a Bad Lands (not a Traveler) aircraft and the other a highly modified PA-12 Cub. They land way shorter the Patrol.

My numbers are not so much an indication of skill, rather it is a testimony of the Bearhawk Aircraft capability. I wont compromise speed to improve a STOL score because its not my mission. But all of you Patrol folks can say a plane vanilla Patrol will takeoff in calm wind on a hot day in less than 150'. We all can be very proud of the design we have chosen. There was a C-172 and a C-170 there. I don't think the others can cruise 140 mph at 7.1 gph, or 130mph at 9 gph. 500AGL on this forum can wahlup my score in the factory Patrol and I'd love to see his techniques sometime.

On saturday night the Supercub folks had an Ice Cream fly out event where we land in a 1000' hay field to show our aircraft off the local children and parents for 45 minutes. Watching 18 supercubs with fat tires mass arrive is awesome! Sunday was the STOL event and the bomb drop. Check out the teen in the back seat with the helmet and the open door. "Look Mom, No Hands! "CLASSIC!!!!

Also a photo each pilot with there Bombardier.

View attachment 101947 View attachment 101948
Click to expand...
 
500AGL said:
No, the green patrol was a kit build.
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OK... so still competing with every kit-built aircraft... and a lot more of those than plans-built these days. Respectable number of judges that came by to look, which is a good sign. Hope your customer does well in 2027.
 
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SpruceForest said:
OK... so still competing with every kit-built aircraft... and a lot more of those than plans-built these days. Respectable number of judges that came by to look, which is a good sign. Hope your customer does well in 2027.
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No, that's what I'm trying to say. Yours is plans built, right?

Plans built are their own category. Plans built competes with plans built only.
Kit built is their own category. Kit built competes only with kit builds.
 
I'm finally making enough progress in my post-Oshkosh task excavation to have produced some Beartracks coverage of Airventure:

Here is a summary: https://bearhawk.tips/7541
Here are more details about the Bearhawk Walk: https://bearhawk.tips/7545
Aircraft-Specific details:
Bearhawk Five – N847EM – Orange, Black, White, Gray – Elliot and Melanie Abel – https://bearhawk.tips/7554
Bearhawk Five – N812MN – Yellow and Black, in the Kit Booth - https://bearhawk.tips/7536
Bearhawk 4-Place – N789WM – White and Silver – Stephen Ingram - https://bearhawk.tips/7515
Bearhawk Patrol – N37BP – Red and White – Carlo Cilliers - https://bearhawk.tips/7580
Bearhawk Patrol – N96NH – Green, Cream, and Gold, Hydraulic Float Attachment Provisions – John Meade - https://bearhawk.tips/7569
Bearhawk Patrol – N584P – Maroon with Mountains – Jeff and Lynne Stoltenberg - https://bearhawk.tips/7587
Bearhawk Patrol – N169PL – Amphibious Floats – James Crane - https://bearhawk.tips/7593

The other airplanes that were present were equally interesting, but we have already had similar walkaround photos and coverage so I didn't repeat those details.

It was a great time seeing everyone there, thank you as always and I can't wait to see how many make it in 2027!
 
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