My introduction and 4 seater kits

On 15 Jul 2003 03:18 PM, RobertR237 posted the following:

Based on everything that you have said, I would recommend the Bearhawk.
I am not that convinced the RV-10 would be that good on rough fields.
The Bearhawk looks to be an outstanding aircraft for rough fields but
not sure if it has STOL capabilities.

Those who have flown the Bearhawk confirm that it has outstanding STOL
abilities. The flaps are 8 feet long (each) and go down 50 degrees at
full deployment (plain flaps, not fowler or slotted). The landing gear
uses gear legs similar to what a cub would use, but instead of bungees
the Bearhawk uses a pair of oil filled shock absorbers. This gives
outstanding dampening whether on a hard surface runway or bouncing
through the sticks and rocks, in addition to having lower drag than
bungees. A number of people building other designs have purchased the
Bearhawk plans solely to get the landing gear drawings.

Another factor to consider is the ease of making repairs to the tube and
fabric fuselage and tail feathers, as compared to the all aluminum RV-10
and Zenith designs. When operating from rough strips, mishaps can and
do happen despite our best efforts, so repairability is a legitimate
concern. I've personally flown in a couple of tube/fabric planes which
were wrecked in remote locations, and restored into hands-off flying
condition. One of them was even flown out after making field repairs.

Personally I find the Zenith designs interesting, and I'd consider
building/buying one as a second aircraft for making local flights. But,
as has been mentioned by others, the limited cargo space and low cruise
speed make even the 801 totally unacceptable for my use.

----------------------------------------------------
Del Rawlins-
Remove _kills_spammers_ to reply via email.
Unofficial Bearhawk FAQ website:
http://www.rawlinsbrothers.org/bhfaq/

I can see the beauty in A) Taking off on my own land, B) bringing my wife
and friends along, and C) getting to my destination in a respectable time.
Form follows funtion in my book. Yes the RV-10 is dead sexy but if I tried
to land it here it would probably just be dead. I plan on measuring out the
few areas where strips could be feasable this week.

Your help is greatly appreciated and keep the suggestions coming. I've been
visiting all the sites you've all suggested.


"RobertR237" wrote in message
...
In article , Mike Borgelt
writes:


BD-4 (Ugly),

Cute , actually.

Someone else here was talking about the Zenith CH 801. Now *that's*
ugly.

Mike Borgelt BD4 VH-BDW



Mike,

Seen a lot of BD-4's and have yet to see one that was cute but when
compared to
the Zenith CH 801, they are down right beautiful!

Then again, beauty has always been in the eye of the beholder.


Bob Reed
www.kisbuild.r-a-reed-assoc.com (KIS Builders Site)
KIS Cruiser in progress...Slow but steady progress....

"Ladies and Gentlemen, take my advice,
pull down your pants and Slide on the Ice!"
(M.A.S.H. Sidney Freedman)

Another a/c that might fit your bill is the Super Cyclone. It's a C-180/185
reproduction kit sold by a company in Quebec, Canada. Here's the website:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/st-justaviation/ It's a real heavy hauler and
easily meets your specs. I haven't flown one but if it's true to the
original it should be a pussycat to fly [except when that big springy
landing gear tosses you back into the sky ]
nuke

"LFOD76" wrote in message
...
Greetings,

I'm not exactly a newbie when it comes to kit built aircraft but I'm
finally
looking for my own plane to build. I helped some and flew lots in my
uncles
RV-4 and ever since have been bitten by the bug.

I think I want a 4 seat (any suggestions, concerns on this?) but that
seems
to drive the price up. Ideally it would be 4 place, STOL, with a cruise
of
around 150+. (suggestions?)

This forum was recommended to me by other builders as a good place to meet
people who have been there before. So here I am.

Thanks for the info!

-Dan

Jari,
I couldn't agree more!
While I'm restoring my Sonerai, I have to rent a C172 and I occasionally fly
with my Boet in his beautifully restored Super Faulk (Spelling???) motor
glider. If it flies it's beautifull!
A

"Jari Kaija" wrote in message
...

Someone else here was talking about the Zenith CH 801. Now *that's*
ugly.

Hmmmm.... it/he/she can fly....... so, it/he/she can't be ugly!

-j

"- = krusty = -" wrote in message
...

"Andre" wrote in message
...
Jari,
I couldn't agree more!
While I'm restoring my Sonerai, I have to rent a C172 and I occasionally
fly
with my Boet in his beautifully restored Super Faulk (Spelling???) motor
glider. If it flies it's beautifull!
A

"Jari Kaija" wrote in message
...

Someone else here was talking about the Zenith CH 801. Now *that's*
ugly.

Hmmmm.... it/he/she can fly....... so, it/he/she can't be ugly!

-j


By "boet" I'm assuming you're from SA.
Welcome, glad to see I'm not the only one!

-c.


Yes, born and raised in Port Elizabeth, currently in Pretoria... with my
Sonerai in the garage.
Andre

By "boet" I'm assuming you're from SA.
Welcome, glad to see I'm not the only one!

-c.


Yes, born and raised in Port Elizabeth, currently in Pretoria... with my
Sonerai in the garage.
Andre


Ah, born and raised on a sheep farm in Tarkastad... (about 90km from
Queenstown)

In Durban now with plans on the table in the garage....

-c.

Keep your eyes peeled for a Yellow Sonerai, with a very "Retro" looking
canopy, named 'Butterball' - ZS-ULG
Won't be 100 years before she's flying again (and me of course..:-)

"- = krusty = -" wrote in message
...



By "boet" I'm assuming you're from SA.
Welcome, glad to see I'm not the only one!

-c.


Yes, born and raised in Port Elizabeth, currently in Pretoria... with my
Sonerai in the garage.
Andre


Ah, born and raised on a sheep farm in Tarkastad... (about 90km from
Queenstown)

In Durban now with plans on the table in the garage....

-c.

Will do! You didn't go to Potch in May did you? I met 3 guys from PE there
and they forced me to deal with copious amounts of beer. Great chaps! g
One was an airline pilot and he's building an RV with one of the others in
their garage...you may know them from the local EAA chapter. They flew up
in a 172.

"Andre" wrote in message
...
Keep your eyes peeled for a Yellow Sonerai, with a very "Retro" looking
canopy, named 'Butterball' - ZS-ULG
Won't be 100 years before she's flying again (and me of course..:-)

"- = krusty = -" wrote in message
...



By "boet" I'm assuming you're from SA.
Welcome, glad to see I'm not the only one!

-c.


Yes, born and raised in Port Elizabeth, currently in Pretoria... with
my
Sonerai in the garage.
Andre


Ah, born and raised on a sheep farm in Tarkastad... (about 90km from
Queenstown)

In Durban now with plans on the table in the garage....

-c.

I attended only the Saturday afternoon which was about enough to get a
hotdog and see the Mass Exodus of all the aircraft. I'm not familiar with
the PE chapter as I attend EAA Chapter 322 at Grand Central. Nowadays I only
pop down to PE over Christmas every year to do some gliding in the
Elandsriver valley.

"- = krusty = -" wrote in message
...
Will do! You didn't go to Potch in May did you? I met 3 guys from PE
there
and they forced me to deal with copious amounts of beer. Great chaps! g
One was an airline pilot and he's building an RV with one of the others in
their garage...you may know them from the local EAA chapter. They flew up
in a 172.

"Andre" wrote in message
...
Keep your eyes peeled for a Yellow Sonerai, with a very "Retro" looking
canopy, named 'Butterball' - ZS-ULG
Won't be 100 years before she's flying again (and me of course..:-)

"- = krusty = -" wrote in message
...



By "boet" I'm assuming you're from SA.
Welcome, glad to see I'm not the only one!

-c.


Yes, born and raised in Port Elizabeth, currently in Pretoria...
with
my
Sonerai in the garage.
Andre


Ah, born and raised on a sheep farm in Tarkastad... (about 90km from
Queenstown)

In Durban now with plans on the table in the garage....

-c.