Bearhawk LSA

After working with Mr. Way for about a year on his QB Bearhawk LSA. I wanted to drop you a line about the project. First I would like to say it was a pleasure working with you and your team of fine craftsmen. The kit construction was excellent with all the difficult parts done to very high standards, it required no jigs and all parts fit as per the plans. My subsequent flight proved that Bob Barrows designed a great flying aircraft. Performance of the aircraft is great, meeting or beating the  advertised numbers. This is a FUN airplane to fly. This aircraft redefines LSA. A large guy cockpit, classic looks and configuration, speed to the edge of LSA limits, great handling plus short takeoff and landing roll. A real airplane and a winner kit.

Before I talked to Bob Barrows, I had thought about what the differences were between my old J 3, homebuilt PA 11, and the Bearhawk LSA that could account for the differences in spin characteristics out of a slip. After all, more things seemed to be similar than different. In a slip, all would have the air flowing diagonally over the wing effectively, it would seem, shortening the wingspan and increasing the chord. The ailerons seemed similar. The only thing that I thought of that was quite different (at least on my planes) was the dihedral, but I could not envision how that might cause the difference, so I called Bob to discuss the matter. Bob told me that he thinks the primary difference that accounts for the better behavior with the Bearhawk is the airfoil used. Both of the rag wing Pipers use the same airfoil, essentially, which is very different from that of the LSA. I’ll take Bob’s word for this as he is the expert and I know for a fact that the airfoil used on the LSA far outperforms that of the Pipers in other areas such as climb and speed while still allowing impressive slow flight so I’ll just add one more thing to my list of reasons that I think the Bearhawk is not just a great LSA; it is a great airplane, period.

I think the only big surprise for me was when you let me fly the LSA.  I was amazed at how much fun that plane is to fly.  I only have a little time in Cubs and I have always thought that if a Cub had 100hp, it would be great, especially if you could change that door so it isn’t so awkward to get in and out of the Cub.  Well, forget all that – the Cub will just never be what the Bearhawk LSA is.  Super short take offs, great rate of climb, and higher cruise than a J3 could ever hope for.  All in a plane that flies great, is easy to get in and out of and even has an adjustable front seat, I guess when they were making Cubs all pilots were the same size or something.  If my mission didn’t involve long cross countries and hauling more payload than will fit in any light sport plane, I would be kicking myself for not building the LSA instead and saving a bunch of money on a smaller engine and fixed pitch prop.