Knowing Your Limitations
Like Kenny Rogers sang, “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em…” When it comes to building an airplane, you’ll find yourself in over your head at times. If your completed airplane is to be safe and reliable, you absolutely must recognize these cases and seek clarification or instruction before you continue. Whether you are an experienced serial builder or this is your first project, be patient as you approach each step, and be prepared to spend as much time as is necessary to be sure that you understand what to do, and how to validate that you have done it correctly. Realize that in some cases, the Bearhawk airplanes may require a specific technique or strategy that varies from other airplane types. The beginning builder who does it Bob’s way is going to be safer than the experienced builder who charts a course from his own experience only.

Bearhawk Plans
As you probably have realized by now, Bearhawk plans are created by Bob Barrows, the aircraft designer. Purchasers of the plans own the license to construct one airplane from that set of plans. Bob’s plans are very information-dense, and that high density doesn’t always make it easy to find details at a first glance. Budget several hours for carefully studying the plans, both before and during construction. Note that many plans pages are drawn to scale, and the builder is expected to measure the drawings for several dimensions. If you are concerned that your prints might become worn out or soiled from use in the workshop, contact Bob for a reasonably-priced duplicate copy. When Bob sees a need to revise the plans, he will issue a safety update that will be named to correspond to the nature of the update. These are the terms that he will use:
ENGINEERING CHANGE NOTICE: Design change that requires immediate attention to affected serial numbers. This NOTICE contains the technical information to correct the unsafe condition.
ENGINEERING CHANGE: A change to current serial number drawings onward – non-mandatory – may or may not be published. This change is the result of a product improvement, update or modification. Or a minor change of the design to ease manufacturing, maximize utility, economize materials or ease assembly.
ENGINEERING REPORT: Field or lab test data that is disseminated to the builder in the form of a report. An Engineering Report may generate an Engineering Change Notice or an Engineering Change or neither. The report may or may not validate the design. A summary of the results will always be attached with our thoughts and recommendations.
Each of these updates will specify a range of effected plans serial numbers. Plans published after this range have already incorporated the update. If you’d like to receive an email when one of these updates is published, please subscribe to the Bearhawk Safety email list at http://bearhawksafety.com. Past updates are also listed there. The Bearhawk plans should be considered the final authority for conformation to Bob’s original design.

Beartracks Newsletters
Beartracks is the quarterly, paid subscription publication that Bob Barrows uses to communicate with Bearhawk builders and owners. Bob personally approves the content in each issue before it goes to press. In the early days of the 4-Place Bearhawk, Bob used the newsletters to convey critical building information, essentially an extension of the plans. Sometime around serial number 900-1000, Bob consolidated these 1995-2001 archive issues into a single “Bearhawk Book,” which is included with the plans. There is a similar book for the Patrol and for the LSA. Beartracks issues continued with sporadic production through 2004. Beginning in 2005, a change in editorial staff led to more steady quarterly production, which continues today. Articles in recent issues tend to vary from construction tips to motivational articles about flying adventures. Bob strongly advises all plans holders to subscribe. Information specific to the Bearhawk Patrol begins around 2009, and information specific to the Bearhawk LSA begins around 2012. Builders of all three types will likely find useful tips in all back issues. Subscriptions are $8 per year, and all back issues are available. Visit http://bearhawk.tips to purchase access to back issues. At this site, you can search by topic or by year, and you can rate each article and add comments to keep the information up to date.

Print Books and Magazines
Bob’s instructions assume that builders have read and will apply the following other publications as prerequisites:
FAA Advisory Circular 43.13 (Download 43.13-1B and 43.13-2B)

The instruction manual for your covering process, such as Polyfiber, Stewart Systems, Oratex, etc.

There are four books by Tony Bingelis that cover airplane building basics. These aren’t entirely necessary for kit builders, but will help cure the “don’t know what you don’t know” problem for folks who may be new to the hobby. All four are available in a single package from the EAA.

The following books have been helpful to other builders, but need not be considered required reading:

The Sky Ranch Engineering Manual, by John Schwaner
A comprehensive guide to engine operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting

The Aeroelectric Connection, by Bob Nuckolls
Electrical system architecture design, plus techniques for robust wire connections

Fly Idaho, by Galen L. Hanselman
Maybe not at first, but doesn’t everyone need a little motivation?

Most builders find value in a subscription to Kitplanes magazine. EAA’s Sport Aviation includes helpful articles at times, especially in the Experimenter addendum.

Websites and Videos
The EAA website has several professionally-produced short videos that demonstrate safe building techniques, along with ways to improve efficiency in the shop. They have many useful resources on their website too. Several builders have created individual builder logs and published them for the benefit of other builders. Keep in mind that this information is not subject to any editorial process, so they may be fantastic, or may have wrong information. Some builders have also produced helpful construction videos and published them to file sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo. If you find a good resource, let us know and we’ll consider including it here.

Project Mindset
At first, when you receive that huge package and start spreading the parts out, the concept of building an airplane not only becomes very real but often just a little overwhelming. That’s a natural reaction. This is a big project, but it isn’t even close to being a difficult one. It’s not brain surgery. If it were, so many others wouldn’t be doing it. Like any other big project, it is made of many small steps. Focus on completing each small step with quality workmanship, and in the end those steps will come together to produce a safe and enjoyable airplane.
The key to finishing this, or any other major project, is to develop a solid project-oriented mindset. This doesn’t mean you lock yourself in the shop and have your significant other slide a pizza under the door periodically. What it means is that you have to approach the project with a very definite strategy in mind. You must have a plan and that’s where this manual will help.
Here are a few strategies that can reduce the heartburn quotient if you go into the Bearhawk build with them in mind. Some are aimed at completing the airplane, while others attempt to keep peace in the family and friends. It’s of little value to complete an airplane if in the process you alienate the folks you are planning to enjoy it with.
Agree on designated build time. It’s essential that not only your family be behind you, but that you feel no guilt blocking out enough hours in the week to keep the project momentum going. Even if you are flying in 1,500 hours, to finish in two years, you need 15 hours of shop time per week. Keep in mind that build time may be much longer for first-time builders, or those who deviate from the standard design configuration.
Keep an organized work space. The work shop is not a good place to store bikes, lawn mowers, and other stuff that will pose a hazard to you, or your parts. Your workshop must be clean, well-lit, and organized. You greatly decrease your time to build and increase your enjoyment by knowing exactly where everything is so you can lay hands on it when needed. Your workshop should ideally be located close to your house. It is much easier to go out and work on your project for an hour or so every night after supper if the project is close. You will need at least one good workbench and appropriate tools.
Maintain a healthy time balance. Be sure that your build-schedule accommodates obligations like honey-does and family time, if you have them. The family won’t be behind a project that impacts their own priorities, so both have to be scheduled.
Do something every day. You don’t have to build a part every day, but you at least have to do something positive. Call and order parts, or doodle an instrument panel. It’s like working-out or dieting- a day off quickly becomes two, then three, then…. It has to stay in the forefront of your mind.