History I originally purchased a refurbished Lycoming engine from an engine supplier who is very closely affiliated with the Bearhawk...

The original Bearhawk A model had a leaf type tailwheel spring. The B model changed to a stinger. Early on during test flying I noticed...

Several Bearhawk owners have reported excessive play in the trim tab hinges, including two high time Bearhawks, and two low time...

During initial assembly we found my right elevator torque tube to be in very close proximity to the adjacent support bracket. I had...

This page contains a list of routine maintenance parts together with part numbers for easy ordering as they apply to my Bearhawk 4B....

When at a CG forward of approximately 14" and at very low airspeeds, there may be insufficient airflow over the tailplane and elevators...

History : A number of Bearhawk aircraft that were fitted with the original streamlined Oleo Landing Gear strut have experienced gear...

A number of Bearhawk builders had noted an (annoyingly) high amount of control stick play in the fore-aft axis. The play appears to come...

At least one Bearhawk owner has reported a cracked flap guide (red arrow in the photo below). The symptoms were that the flap handle was...

In this post we take a look at some real world numbers for the Bearhawk. If this makes your eyes glaze over, feel free to skip right to...

Several 4-place model owners have reported movement in the pitch trim tab linkages at the front bushing. One of the higher time Bearhawk...

Bearhawk designer Bob Barrows issued an engineering notice HERE. It is understood that the notice applies to those models with larger...

Several Bearhawk owners have reported wear observed on the inside of the exterior fuselage flap pulleys, generally at around 400 flight...

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is an ever-present risk for all light aircraft. A number of Bearhawk builders have reported difficulty in preventing...

Vortex Generators offer a number of incremental performance improvements with no observable change to cruise speed. Installation A number...

The following notes are written by Grant Bisset of Wanaka, New Zealand. These notes are not a substitute for quality instruction from an...

Normal Landing Discussion Caution : Please read the Safety Notes on this website regarding Loss of Directional Control on Landing . Quite...

Effect of CG on Stall Discussion The Bearhawk has a very wide CG envelope compared to many light aircraft, and therefore exhibits it's...

Amateur built aircraft differences Discussion No two Bearhawks are likely to be the same. In addition to the differences between models,...

The easiest way to search aircraft accidents is at Aviation Safety Network . Each report has a link to the relevant NTSB file. This...

One owner reported wear on the flap handle lower bolt hole at the 1000 hour inspection. The original 3/16" hole had elongated and...

Photo Credit Grant Bisset I felt that this landing technique deserved it's own page. The usual landing technique used in the back-country...

When I was test flying my Bearhawk I noticed that in level flight the right aileron was reflexed slightly more than the left. It flew...

The Bearhawk is a well mannered aircraft among tail-draggers. However tail-draggers as a group are more challenging to handle during...

On my aircraft I observed a decrease in fuel pressure on two separate occasions while in the cruise at 8500ft. A subsequent data download...

Some builders that has installed stainless steel control cables reported relatively high wear on the cables after several hundred hours...

History Shimmy is when the tailwheel becomes unstable and oscillates from side to side, or rotates through 360º usually during a landing...

Related topics: Bearhawk fuel system and Fuel Management Rudder and Yaw Sensitivity Uncoordinated Flight Most Bearhawks have a fuel...

The original MTOW of the early Bearhawk 4-place aircraft was 2500lbs (1136kgs) in the utility category (4.4 G). The designer allowed...

There's often a discussion among builders regarding which fabric system to use. I used Polyfiber fabric, combined with Stewart Systems...

Related topics: Fuel Selectors Yaw Sensitivity Fuel System and Fuel Management Uncoordinated flight will effect all aircraft types,...

Several pilots have reported deformed lower aft longerons. It is not uncommon for taildragger aircraft being used off-airport to...

Several owners have reported broken tailplane struts with a fracture point at the lower threads. It's a good place to cast a vigilant eye...

Several owners have reported excess play in the pitch trim tab hinges. An easy fix suggested by an engineer was to add RTV to the hinge...

A number of owners reported losing fuel caps in flight. Early on I discovered a fuel cap missing on my aircraft. While flying with...

Downloadable Spreadsheet W&B Download here : This spreadsheet uses Numbers or Excel, and operates on an ipad or iphone. It contains a...

These days many pilots operate their engine "Lean of Peak" (LOP). There is plenty information about this on the internet, but essentially...

Overall, the Bearhawk appears to exhibit gentle and predictable stall characteristics. Stall Speed My Bearhawk has a stall speed of 38...

Due largely to the Amateur built/Experimental category of the Bearhawk, there is no one standard for engine cooling. Factors affecting...

The designer recommends reflexing the ailerons approximately 3/8" above the trailing edge to help reduce adverse yaw. This works by...

I swapped the Goodyear 26's for ABW 29's. Initially I installed Goodyear 26" tires. These are good tires - essentially a "poor mans" bush...

This article discusses a method to level the aircraft accurately, so that the arm distances can be compared to other known measurements for

This section focuses largely on real world performance of the IO540 powered Bearhawk, but with some reference to the IO360 powered...

Related topics: Fuel Selectors Uncoordinated Flight Fuel System and Fuel Management A number of pilots have commented on the Bearhawks...

These notes are no substitute for getting good taildragger instruction from an experienced instructor. There wasn't a lot written...

What is it ? Position error normally manifests as the ASI (airspeed indicator) reading a very low speed at high angles of attack. It is...

Cruise speed The cruise speed is largely dependent on engine size, tire size, and whether operating lean of peak or rich of peak. These...

Engine selection is probably has the single largest factor affecting the the performance of the Bearhawk. It also has a very large effect...

Related links: Heavy Wing There's plenty written about how to build the Bearhawk, but very little about how to rig it well. Rigging it...

I performed a number of glide approaches to simulate an engine failure, starting from downwind abeam the threshold at 1000ft agl. Then...