me working up a sweat!

Builder: Tom Walter

Project: Bearhawk

I had started down the path of thinking budget, load capacity, something faster than a 172! It really seemed like I could pick one item! My budget was much more aligned with a 1970's vintage Cessna 172. My realistic load capacity was four adults and baggage, but in my heart knew it would be two adults and tooth brushes, speed came back to what could I afford! An RV8 kit would be the way to go, but with two people.My wife took a look at the first one we had seen and yelled "no way do I want to sit in the back, I want to be next to you!". Hmm. Problem was my 6'3" 275# frame didn't fit under the canopy of an RV7. Finding a plane that had room for four adults, and didn't break the bank is a challenge! Budget and RV10 didn't go together (but I have had plenty of room in a RV10!)

I'm always on the look out for something that might fit my requirements, when I literally walked into a Bearhawk. It was at Kittie Hill Fly In (77T) enjoying some of Joe Sills excellent cooking, when I went to look at a Cessna 170. Right next to it was the neatest Red and White plane. Better yet was "experimental" in bold letters. Still the nagging feeling of how many hours to build it kept coming to mind. Turns out that plane sitting there was the first Avipro Quick Build built by a customer. Mark Goldberg. Sigh, the QB would be out of my budget, but even better was they would sell as much as a kit as you wanted! Not advertised on their web site, but want a jump start on building you can buy just the ribs and formed spars. Ditto for the fuselage, everything from a tack welded frame to fully welded and painted. Best of all, I actually fit. More room than a 172 I had been thinking of. Budget bird, enough capacity to haul the kitchen sink, and still cruised at 160 mph with the larger six cylinder engine. I spent the next six months learning as much as I could about the Bearhawk as I could (Irony is October 1995 issue of Sport Aviation was an article on the RV8, a Cozy (which my brother is building), and the Bearhawk! I kept that issue for the article on the RV8!

Building when I can (few hours on weekends), so there is still a long way to go. Family comes first, never enough hours in the day. Idea is to pay cash and buy parts as I go. Goal is to finish the interior, fabric, basic VFR panel. Then start on the wings (spars and ribs from Avipro). Hopefully in the next few years I'll find a nice mid time 0- 470 engine. Complete Bearhawk is Pat Fagan's other photo is

Pat Fagan's Bearhawk