Source: 2024 Q3 Beartracks, Jared Yates
As you can tell from George’s story, this year was not an easy year to get to Oshkosh. We elected to drive, based on low clouds and rain over the mountains just north of us. There were a few folks who made it to the show to display their planes! Donna and Dennis flew their Patrols over from Oregon, and parked in Homebuilt Camping. Brooks Cone hosted another Bearhawk walk, which started at the newly-branded Bearhawk Aircraft booth Kudos to Brooks for taking the initiative to host the walk and also to get it onto the official Airventure schedule! As the words began to sprinkle forth, so did the rain, and within a few minutes we were all huddled under wings and tents waiting out a classic summer downpour. A little setback never stifles the kind of enthusiasm it takes to build an airplane, so after a few minutes we were on our way to HBC to visit Donna and Dennis.
As usual they were excellent hosts. They have around 800 hours on their airplanes, though the rate of accrual has been slower than they would like due to weather, health, and the rest of life being in the way. This year we had two special guests from New Zealand, Nev Bailey and Murray Patterson. Murray flies the white Bearhawk 4-Place originally built by the late Lars Fellman. They didn’t bring their airplanes, which we will excuse due to the unavailability of fule by-the-liter in the USA, but it was great to meet them both in person. Later that night Virgil and his team hosted a fantastic chicken dinner at the park just north of the airport. There were several Bearhawk faces, both familiar and new. On the topic of long-distance travellers, Paul O’Donnell was on hand from Ireland with updates about his Bearhawk 4-Place build and his tour of the UL Engines factory in Poland.
Our family had to leave to get back home before the weather allowed George to arrive with his airplane, but as far as we know, his Plans Champion Bronze Lindy is the most prestigious Airventure award received by a Bearhawk to date.
During the dinner Virgil shared a few words about what he’s been up to with the Bearhawk Kit business and it is all exciting and good news. He has expanded OEM relationships to include a more broad range of airframe and powerplant components, and also plans to expand offerings like cabin interior parts and upholstery.