Builders,
I spoke with Craig Owen the other day, and he said he now has 33 hours on his Corvair/ Bearhawk LSA. I built the engine for Craig a few years ago ( see New 2850cc / 110hp Corvair in photos. ) and I saw the finished plane in person while traveling around the country. ( see: House Call Bearhawk LSA; range: 6,250 miles. ) He reports that the combination is great, and he really has been enjoying it, in spite of some pretty darn cold weather in Iowa.
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Above, the plane on the ramp at Criag’s airport in Iowa. I saw it in June, he had just finished it, but was working his way through a squawk sheet of details.
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Above, a look at how the cowl quickly opens to reveal the full engine. The mount: Bearhawk LSA Engine Mount, P/N #4201-E is an item we specifically make for the Bearhawk LSA. The nose bowl is a part that fits many Corvair powered planes. The baffle kit and cowl kit are from the Wesemans.
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Above, a side view showing : Part #3901-A Zenith/Bearhawk Stainless Exhausts, now on shelf. The heat muff shown is craigs design, the ones we provide are more compact and made of thinner material. Craigs plane utilizes a MA3-SPA carb.
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Above, right side view. The hoses on the oil cooler are industrial units, the ones we offer are braided stainless steel. The intake manifold is our standard model. Craig has a funnel below the engine to drain the oil. The engine has a Weseman rear alternator on it.
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The aircraft isn’t perfect, but it is an outstanding effort for a first time builder. Craig views it as a work in progress, and he fine tunes the construction of parts as he understands how to make improvents on the items he has fabricated. He is not competing with anyone, he is in this for himself, a life long dream that waited decades for the opportunity to build materialize. It came, and for 30 months he built, and today he enjoys the fruits of his labor and determination.
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Above, Bob Barrows, the designer of the Bearhawk series, Grace and myself in our tent at Oshkosh 2013. Bob holds the distinction of having flown a homebuilt to every single Oshkosh, all of them since 1970.
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Hi William, as you know I am building a Bearhawk LSA and I would like to get into contact with Mr.Owen and ask him some questions about his build. Could you please ask him if we could exchange contact info. Thanks
Looks like a nice project. Thanks for building his engine, some people just don’t feel like placing their life to an engine they build if they are not mechanically inclined.
Lawrence
Great write up loved about the FAA and Dar’s . I have been flying my Bearhawk lsa now for over two years . You are 100 percent correct as to the FAA / Dar inspection I hope no one takes there paper work seriously as you said . Stinger