Source: 2012 Q4 Beartracks, Pat Fagan
Why in the heck is it taking so darn long to get Smokey Bearhawk back in the air? A better question would be how did we ever complete it in the first place? I don’t know where the time came from to build the thing originally.
Granted, the first time around the airplane was an all consuming priority. This time around, it’s not, having to share time with other projects and interests, but still. It’s going on four years for crying out loud. I’ve been asked to provide an update on how the rebuild is going and identify some of the repairs and modifications.
I began the rebuild with the fuselage for a couple of reasons. First, it was the saddest looking part of what was once a great machine. I couldn’t stand to look at it, bent and twisted and covered with dust, not to mention it was just in the way. The second reason is I still recall how tedious it was to build the wings, and since the right wing was essentially destroyed, I wanted to put off dealing with that headache for as long as possible.
When I finished the fuselage I asked myself the same question with which I opened this article. Why has this taken so long? To help determine that I made an itemized list of everything I had done. It turned out to be quite an extensive list, which I can no longer locate. I’ll try to dredge up some of that memory.
Both main landing gear legs where ripped off. Significant damage was imparted to both lower longerons. Damage was caused by the steps, which were welded to the longerons. The steps didn’t break off but rather twisted. Support tubing designed to triangulate the step attachment then broadcast forces into all the surrounding structure. Lesson learned, the Avipro step located on the landing gear leg is a much better idea.
I spent a considerable amount of time scratching my head trying to figure out how to replace the damaged longerons
yet save everything else. I finally realized that the truly simplest solution would be to replace everything from aft of station “A” to aft of station “E”, including all the structure at station “C”. Once that was done, I bought a pair of Avipro landing gear to speed things up (laugh). I fit new gear fittings to the new gear legs, but had to modify the new shock strut lower ends to better fit with the angle of my upper strut attach fitting.
While doing these frame repairs I incorporated the tubing changes necessary to allow for float operations. I also installed rear float fittings and pulley brackets for water rudder cables. I don’t know that I will ever put the plane on floats, but I regretted not having at least done the mods in the first place, so didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.
At the tail it was necessary to replace some of the tail post and lower longerons. Again, I finally found it easier to just cut everything out and begin new and straight so I scarfed in new longerons from ahead of the horizontal tail forward attach point back to the tail post.
In the six years we flew Smokey I developed a list of items I felt would be nice to change, so once the plane was rolling around on a straight frame again I set about working on that list. Some of those items include:

• Welding tabs to the sides of the rudder pedals to prevent feet from sliding off.
• Incorporating a remote control to allow changing the fuel selector without having to reach to the floor.
• Inertial reel two point shoulder harnesses for front seat occupants.
• Removable co-pilot control stick.
• Avipro style front seat adjustment controls.
• Flap handle located on the ceiling to eliminate reaching to the floor to operate it.
• Battery moved from behind the baggage compartment to passenger side of the firewall.
• Modifications to the area behind the baggage compartment to allow large items to be placed there while the plane is parked. I also incorporated a warning light to remind me to remove those items prior to flight.
• Refined the string “hammock” behind the baggage compartment where we stowed light but bulky items like sleeping bags and pillows for flight.
• Made the baggage compartment panel into a fold down table for those times when it was necessary to eat and sleep in the airplane.
• Modified all the tail surfaces with Patrol style contoured ribs.
• Eliminated the trim tab torque tubes and push rods. Instead I installed push pull cables to operate the tabs, which eliminates the trim tab servo action.
• Modified the trim tabs to the new, smaller design.
• Modified the horizontal tail struts with an adjustable clevis attachment.
• Added the beefed up tube to the axles.

There’s probably a lot more, but that should give you an idea where the time has gone. So, back to those wings. I wanted to install long range fuel tanks. The easiest way to incorporate the new plumbing was to remove the skins, which was necessary anyway since I wanted to eliminate the washout I had inadvertently built into the wings originally.
The time of reckoning with the right wing finally came. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the tools and skills I’ve acquired since I built the wings the first time made making parts this time such a joy that I chose to remake almost everything. I reused perhaps half of the center ribs and half of the nose ribs, but everything else is new. The right wing has been built to the new beefed up wing plans and is ready to be skinned. I feel fairly certain we will be back in the air, finally, by the end of next year, and we look forward to getting back to visiting all of our Bearhawk friends again in Smokey.