Hi all,
Since I've been speaking of it recently, I'll start logging progress on the plane here. This plane is an adaptation of the Barrows Bearhawk that meets my "wants" in an aircraft of the type. It is not endorsed by "The Bob" in any way, but he and I had a long discussion about it at #OSH15, and he encouraged me to use his ideas and made suggestions of how he would improve it based on his experiences with the Bearhawk design. He said there is nothing as satisfying as designing, building, and flying your own aircraft, and was very supportive of this project.
The aircraft is essentially 15% larger than the original Bearhawk 4-place in every dimension, and adapts the Patrol (2-place) Riblett GA30-413.5 airfoil to the 4-place airframe (per Bob's recommendation).
Mission:
I was originally targeting the Jake 275 as the engine of choice for this design, but given the "short" posture of the cabin compared to a C-195 and similar, I wasn't terribly satisfied with the potential loss of visibility over the nose. The M-14P is a better choice, as it's 10 inches smaller in diameter, 360hp, and it can be configured to minimize loss of visibility. The AutoPSRUs LS-3 isn't out of the question, either. It just depends on what's available and what mood I'm in when the time comes to purchase an engine. If all else fails, the trusty 300hp Lyc (I)O-540 from a Cherokee Six/Lance/Saratoga will be the answer.
I'm looking forward to sharing progress with you all!
Best regards,
Chris
Since I've been speaking of it recently, I'll start logging progress on the plane here. This plane is an adaptation of the Barrows Bearhawk that meets my "wants" in an aircraft of the type. It is not endorsed by "The Bob" in any way, but he and I had a long discussion about it at #OSH15, and he encouraged me to use his ideas and made suggestions of how he would improve it based on his experiences with the Bearhawk design. He said there is nothing as satisfying as designing, building, and flying your own aircraft, and was very supportive of this project.
The aircraft is essentially 15% larger than the original Bearhawk 4-place in every dimension, and adapts the Patrol (2-place) Riblett GA30-413.5 airfoil to the 4-place airframe (per Bob's recommendation).
Mission:
- Utility Plane
- Taildragger
- 3500 pounds targeted gross weight
- Metal Wing (38 feet in span, 210 ft^2 area)
- Rag and Tube Fuselage
- 4-6 places capable (but mainly 4 plus "stuff")
- Wide body and comfortable (48 inches in the front seats)
- Rigged for 8.5+ tires, skis, floats
- 260-300+hp engine
I was originally targeting the Jake 275 as the engine of choice for this design, but given the "short" posture of the cabin compared to a C-195 and similar, I wasn't terribly satisfied with the potential loss of visibility over the nose. The M-14P is a better choice, as it's 10 inches smaller in diameter, 360hp, and it can be configured to minimize loss of visibility. The AutoPSRUs LS-3 isn't out of the question, either. It just depends on what's available and what mood I'm in when the time comes to purchase an engine. If all else fails, the trusty 300hp Lyc (I)O-540 from a Cherokee Six/Lance/Saratoga will be the answer.
I'm looking forward to sharing progress with you all!
Best regards,
Chris
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