Noodling Bearhawk Weight and Balance, Part 1

Source: 2006 Q4 Beartracks, Rob Gaddy. Part 2 is in 2007 Q1.
What do I need to know about Bearhawk Weight and Balance? If you are still reading I will assume you have an interest in the subject also, so come along for the mental trip and we will see if we learn anything.
Let’s start with the basics; here is our Bearhawk, figure 1. Let’s assume we have finished it but haven’t flown it yet. It has all equipment installed and engine oil, but not fuel. I want to know two things, first what does it weigh, and second where does it balance, hence Weight and Balance or W&B. To answer these questions let’s put some trustworthy scales under each tire to find what the weight is on that particular tire. Let’s level the fuselage, it is important later. We will use the W&B for N33RB as given in the October 1999 Bear Tracks, page 6 for an example.

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Wing Root Vents

Source: 2006 Beartracks, David Bice
I put Cessna vents in the leading edges because Bob says they work fine. In case anyone else want to use these, I thought you might want to know the original Cessna vent has to be modified. It is an easy modification and only requires

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Getting a nicely centered hole around a bolt hole! – by Tom Walter

Source: 2006 Q4 Beartracks, Tom Walter

Tom's Daughter Focused on the Task

Tom's Daughter Focused on the Task

You can buy commercial drill bushings that will center a drill in a larger hole. While nice to have it is not always possible to have the size you need on a weekend. A quick way to make up a drill bushing is by

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Correcting a Heavy Wing- The Washer Method

Source: 2006 Q4 Beartracks
The following info was developed by Jim Clevenger, owner & builder of the just finished Florida demo Bearhawk – plans serial # 448 (prototype kit). If your plane has a heavy wing in its initial flights, after checking the flaps are inline on both sides, and you notice that when flying hands off one aileron is high and one low.

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Goler

Source: 2006 Q4 Beartracks, Pat Fagan
GolerSeek your fortune while you follow in the footsteps of the lost 49ers. Goler is a good destination for hiking and mountain biking, with lots of mining history. Spend the night in an actual miners shack or sleep out under star filled skies.

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Rib and Spar Wing Kit

Source: 2006 Q3 Beartracks
Following a suggestion from Bob Barrows, AviPro Aircraft now offers to scratch builders a new package of wing parts. The purpose of this package is to eliminate some steps in building your wings that many builders find difficult. Finding an eight foot brake you can use and then bending up your spar webs to match your ribs can be a lengthy trial and error process - hard to get right. If the spar web heights do not closely match the ribs, your wing skins will not look so good. After more than eighty sets of wings, our factory wing team does these bends very precisely.
This package includes the bent spar webs for the main spars, rear spars, false spars, aileron spars, & flap spars. Also included are the only other pieces that require bending on an eight foot brake. These are the aft wing skin stiffeners in the flap area (4 pieces) and the trailing edges for the aileron & flaps (4 pieces). This package includes all the ribs as they come from the factory that professionally hydrforms them. These are 48 nose ribs, 16 main ribs (.025), 8 main ribs (.032), 16 aileron nose ribs, 16 aileron ribs, 26 flap nose ribs, 18 flap ribs, 6 trailing edge ribs, 16 aileron pocket ribs, and the 4 false ribs. All ribs have their lightening holes cut and flanged. The ribs still need to be straightened (fluted), and have their vertical angle stiffeners riveted on. The price for this package is $2350 + shipping/handling/boxes.
The ribs are drop shipped from Oregon, and the spar webs are shipped from Texas. If interested, call or email Mark at N95MF@hotmail.com or 512/626-7886

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