So, to be quite frank, not much has happened this month for me on the aviation front. I did manage to get in a few flights including a great day of fly-in golf with Barry Wood and Jim Corner in Vulcan. We were treated to the spectacle of watching the Air Cadets launch their Schweitzer 2-33A gliders all day which just added to an already great day.

As I continue to make progress (albeit slow progress) on the Buttercup, I find that it’s hard not to consider what will come next. In the past, I’ve talked about possibly building something aerobatic. However, I don’t think I’ll be able to sell Renée on that one. One aspect of aviation I’ve come to enjoy flying Chrissy is the ability to land on most runway surfaces from grass to gravel and even a snow-covered lake. My only complaint has been the extended take-off distance my faithful steed needs to become airborne. It’s not uncommon to see 1400’ runs on warm summer days out of our field.

Last summer while in Oshkosh, I happened by the Bearhawk Aircraft booth and noticed what I thought was a Bearhawk Patrol on display. It was in the Bob Barrows (the original Bearhawk designer) signature paint scheme but was missing something… FLAPS! I took a closer look and realized that it wasn’t a Patrol after all. It was an all-new plane designed for the LSA category. To be honest, I was underwhelmed by the idea, especially when I heard it only had an A-65 up front.

Last month I was looking through the digital pages of EAA’s Experimenter magazine and happened across a blurb on the Bearhawk LSA. I was surprised that Barrows had decided to enter the plane in the Valdez STOL exhibition event held at Oshkosh this summer. I was even more surprised by the numbers: 94’ takeoff roll and 140’ landing!

I did some more digging and found a fairly complete article in the February 2013 issue of Experimenter (I really love that magazine). It turns out that the plane now sports a C-85/O-200 hybrid of about 110 hp. It should be noted that Barrows is deathly allergic to electricity and none of his planes have been equipped with any of those new-fangled devices like starters, alternators or batteries. As a result, his empty weight is a paltry 730 pounds! I would guess that with Bob and a minimum amount of fuel on board, it was likely sitting around the 920-mark ready-to-compete. That’s a power to weight ratio of just over 8. Compared to my old Cessna 150, with its 1600 lbs gross and 100 hp engine, it’s almost half! The design is also flexible enough to fit a number of different categories quite well. As a Canadian ultralight, you could build it and have a plane with a 450-500 lbs useful load. In the US, the 1320 lbs gross weight gives it about 550 lbs useful. However, if you’re okay building it as an amateur-built, Barrows has rated it with a 1500 lbs gross. The factory demonstrator tipped the scales at 818 lbs with electrics and an O-200. I suspect that you could install a lightweight starter, battery and alternator and keep the weight under 800 lbs. I couldn’t help but wonder how it would perform with a Rotax 912S. I suspect that with the lighter engine, you could keep the weight near the 750 lbs mark, but with electrics.

It’s also quite economical burning only 4.5 gph at 98 mph and 6 gph at 118 mph. That’s certainly nothing to scoff at. With 30 gallon tanks, there’s plenty of range for cross country flights.

Construction is also economical as it can be built entirely from plans. Having said that, Bearhawk Aircraft is capable of selling you as much or as little of their complete kit as you want. Many guys buy the stamped wing ribs, formed spars blanks and landing gear oleos then build the rest from the plans.

For those not familiar with the Bearhawk line, they are all built with similar construction techniques. Fabric covered steel tube structures for the fuselage and tail with an all-aluminum wing braced with a single strut. The only thing that troubles me is the 0.016” wing skins used on the LSA model as it’s only slightly thicker than tin foil. I doubt it would survive even the lightest of hail storms.

Another thing I’ve always liked about the Bearhawk line is that it isn’t just built for midgets. Over the years I’ve looked at a number of nice airplanes only to find that I’d need a significant amount of Vaseline and a big shoehorn to fit in them. Planes such as the Midget Mustang (OK, the name should have given that one away  ) and even the J-3 Cub simply don’t fit me. Not so with the Bearhawks. The Patrol is a full 32” across, 8” wider than the Cub and 3” wider than Chrissy. Bob Barrows may be skinny, but he is tall, so the leg and head room are more than ample for even the largest guys. The LSA seems to share the Patrol’s general dimensions including the generous cabin.

So, is there a Bearhawk LSA in my future? It would certainly compliment the Buttercup nicely giving me a more capable off-field machine for days when I don’t need (or want) the speed. Fortunately, the plans are cheap and Christmas is coming…

Oh well, I still have a couple of years to decide “what’s next”. For now, I’ll just keep plugging away at the Buttercup.

See you all on Wednesday night!