Earlier this spring, Bob set out on an epic adventure to Alaska that spanned almost a month! He left Fincastle, Virginia in N6890R, the 4-place Bearhawk prototype, en route Julian Smith’s place just south of Memphis, Tennessee. Poor weather turned that one-day flight into a two-day flight, which became a recurring theme for the rest of the trip. Julian just finished his 4-place Bearhawk, and Bob was able to spend some time flying with him. After a few stability routines, stall routines, and speed runs, Bob said that it was one of the nicest flying Bearhawks he has flown. The controls were very smooth, and the overall attention to detail was spectacularly good.

From there Bob continued to Mark Goldberg’s ranch in Texas. They worked together for three days to prepare Mark’s new Bearhawk Patrol for the big trip up north. Once underway, Bob stopped in Calhan Colorado to visit Steve Herrick and his new Patrol quick-build kit. Bob was able to answer a few questions about the project and offer a ride in Mark’s airplane, and he noted that Steve was a good flyer and an all-around sharp guy. The flight to Denver was about 5-6 hours with a break about half way to eat lunch and stretch his legs. The weather was good, but the headwinds were strong. He said that while headwinds are always frustrating, Mark’s Patrol turned out a reliable 140mph TAS at 7,000 feet and 21” MP, which helped mitigate the frustration a little. Considering that Mark’s airplane still doesn’t have some of the fairings that will make it even faster, this is a very respectable performance. In cruise he was planning for about 9 gallons per hour. This is slightly more than he had in his Patrol, and he suspects that one factor may the airflow characteristics through the intake tubes in the sump. Mark’s engine uses a different sump.
After a good visit in Denver, Bob ran into a series of weather delays. He would go a couple hundred miles and then have to stop to wait for better conditions. The visibility and clouds were low, and those headwinds were as strong as ever. After two or three more days he made it to Lewistown Montana to spend the night before crossing into Canada.
He said that while he doesn’t usually think of himself as a guy who needs to be around people, being alone in a hotel all day in the rain started to wear on him. Crossing the border turned out to be a bit of a hassle. Mark helped by filing some of the paperwork, though Bob ran into some delays because of a little bit of bureaucracy.
The customs ramp in Lethbridge had no tiedown provisions, and while he was sorting out the needs of the customs folks he was able to secure some local help with holding the airplane down in 30mph winds. In the end all turned out well and he was able to depart to the north.
It was about that time that Bob ran into a fellow named Dave Burras. Dave is a welder by trade, and was flying solo in his Super Cub. Since they were both headed to the same airshow, and since Bob was feeling a little bit lonely, they decided to fly together. This worked out well from a social perspective, since they were able to keep each other company and share the expense of hotel rooms while they waited around for better weather. It didn’t work out so well from a cruise speed perspective, since the two airplanes had a large difference in cruise performance. Dave flew his fixed-pitch 150hp Super Cub at 2500RPM while Bob flew Mark’s Patrol at 16 inches of manifold pressure! The new duo faced many more weather delays, thanks to rain, snow, and low ceilings. About 200 miles north of Lethbridge they stopped at the little AJ7 airport in Caylee. The weather was terrible, and they spent two nights tent camping in 35 degree temperatures and rain. The hospitality was spectacular though, with the local hosts providing a breakfast spread that couldn’t be beat, and lunch and dinner to follow. The two lost five days of progress along the way to Dawson Creek, but met plenty of nice folks and saw some great scenery.

They flew up the Al-Can Highway from Dawson Creek to Fort St. Johns. Dave had arranged to stay with some friends who had a very nice house on a grass strip, and the hosts treated Dave and Bob very well. Fort Nelson has started charging a landing fee, so they instead stopped at the Toad River Lodge between Watson Lake and Fort Nelson. It turned out to be just an emergency strip along the highway, so they taxied across the road to the automotive gas station for fuel. While Bob stopped frequently for breaks, he often didn’t have to get fuel because of the very long range of the Patrol. Bob said that typical fill-ups were about $130 for the Patrol and $180 for the Super Cub. The power settings were likely to blame, since the Patrol was burning only 5.5GPH at such low power settings. From there they went to Watson Lake and Whitehorse, then to another stop for weather.
The two arrived at Beaver Creek, just on the Canada side of the Alaska/Canada border. The weather was bad again so they spent the night there. Jay Abbot, one of Bob’s friends from back home, was also in the area. Bob knew that he was going to be headed up to Alaska in his Cessna 205, but didn’t expect that they would end up in the same small town on the same night. It turns out they were both in the same hotel, just a few doors apart! They flew across the border together and cleared customs at Northway, then Jay continued on to his destination. By now the weather
delays were causing some pressure on Bob’s schedule.
He pressed on towards Anchorage, with a fuel stop in Toke and a short break at Glenn Allen. The weather was still far from ideal, and mountain tops were often obscured in the clouds. He followed the roads through the mountain passes, and was able to stay in VFR conditions. He knew if things got bad he’d be able to either turn around or land. He made it to Anchorage at about 1:00pm after 30 hours of flight time since Texas.
On the Friday morning before the show, Bob flew Mark’s airplane from Birchwood down to the big Anchorage airport to prepare for the display. A local aviator who is interested in buying a Patrol kit was interested in a demo ride, and Bob was interested in having a local aviator help negotiate the Anchorage ATC services, so they rode together and both found mutual benefit. Paul Minelga, Dan Shilling, and Mark Goldberg were all in and out of the booth for the duration of the show. It was good to have so much help so that Bob could take a few breaks to go see some of the show. On the Monday after the show the team got together for a Bearhawk field trip up to Talkeetna airport near Mt. McKinley.
Talkeetna is a very active airport, with Beavers, Otters, Cessna 180s, and Super Cubs taking hikers, climbers, and sight seers up to the glaciers. The weather was great and the trip was a blast. On the way up Bob flew with Dan in Dan’s Subaru-powered Bearhawk, while Mark flew with Hatcher Fergusson in Mark’s Patrol. They played musical chairs before heading back home- Mark flew with Dan and Bob flew with Hatcher in Mark’s Patrol. On the next day, Bob flew back to Texas via commercial airline. The plan had been for him to fly Mark’s Patrol back home, but after being gone from home so long he was ready to get back. Lee Taylor left in Mark’s Patrol for the event in Valdese, but was not able to make it in time because of bad weather. He picked up his Bearhawk in Texas and flew over to Eric Newton’s house in Mississippi for the night, then flew home the next day. The flight was very interesting in some ways, and very long and boring in others. Such is the nature of covering such enormous distances by any means, but this trip reminds us that the airplane is always up for the challenge!