Barrows Bearhawk

Bearhawk
Role Amateur-built aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer R&B Aircraft
AviPro Aircraft
Bearhawk Aircraft
Designer Bob Barrows
Introduction mid-1990s
Status In production (2017)
Produced 2001–present
Number built 78 (Bearhawk and Patrol models)
Unit cost
US$40,500 (kit only, 2015)
Variants Barrows Bearhawk Patrol
Bearhawk LSA
AviPro Bearhawk
AviPro Bearhawk

The Barrows Bearhawk is an American amateur-built aircraft, designed by Bob Barrows and produced by R&B Aircraft of Fincastle, Virginia, AviPro Aircraft and now Bearhawk Aircraft of Austin, Texas. The aircraft is supplied as a kit or as plans for amateur construction.[1][2][3][4]

Design and development

The Bearhawk was designed as a personal project by Barrows to carry aircraft engines for delivery as freight. It features a strut-braced high-wing, a four-seat enclosed cabin that is 42.5 in (108 cm) wide and accessed by doors, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.[1]

The aircraft fuselage is made from welded steel tubing covered in doped aircraft fabric, while the wings are made from aluminum sheet. Its 33 ft (10.1 m) span wing employs a NACA 4412 mod airfoil, has an area of 180 sq ft (17 m2) and mounts flaps. The aircraft's recommended engine power range is 150 to 260 hp (112 to 194 kW) and standard engines used include the 180 hp (134 kW) Lycoming O-360 and 250 hp (186 kW) Lycoming O-540 four-stroke powerplants. Construction time from the supplied kit is 1200 hours.[1][4][5]

The prototype was fitted with a 170 hp (127 kW) Lycoming O-360 burning automotive fuel.[3]

Operational history

By October 2016, 77 examples had been registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration and 11 with Transport Canada.[6][7]

Variants

Barrows Bearhawk Patrol
Bearhawk
Four seat model with a cabin 42.5 in (108 cm) wide and a gross weight of 2,700 lb (1,225 kg), with 75 reportedly completed and flown by December 2011. Employs a NACA 4412 airfoil.[1]
Bearhawk Bravo
Imroved model introduced at AirVenture in July 2016. The wing has a 12 in (30 cm) greater span and 5 sq ft (0.46 m2) greater area and employs a Riblett 30-413.5 airfoil, which gives a 5 to 8 mph (8 to 13 km/h) higher top speed while retaining a low stall speed. The redesigned airframe also uses aluminum fuselage formers, window sills and door sills, replacing the steel formers and sills in the original model, which provides better corrosion resistance and less weight. The landing gear struts are made of heavy-wall round cross section tubing rather than streamlined tubing, which provides more resistance to sideload failure.[8]
Patrol
Two-seats in tandem model with a cabin 32 in (81 cm) wide and a gross weight of 2,000 lb (907 kg), with three reportedly completed and flown by December 2011.[1]

Specifications (Bearhawk)

Data from Kitplanes[1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: one
  • Capacity: three passengers
  • Length: 23.5 ft (7.2 m)
  • Wingspan: 33 ft (10 m)
  • Wing area: 180 sq ft (17 m2)
  • Airfoil: NACA 4412 mod
  • Empty weight: 1,400 lb (635 kg)
  • Gross weight: 2,700 lb (1,225 kg)
  • Fuel capacity: 50 U.S. gallons (190 L; 42 imp gal)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-540 six cylinder, air-cooled, four stroke aircraft engine, 250 hp (190 kW)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed constant speed

Performance

  • Cruise speed: 155 mph (249 km/h; 135 kn)
  • Stall speed: 40 mph (64 km/h; 35 kn)
  • Range: 625 mi (543 nmi; 1,006 km)
  • Rate of climb: 1,700 ft/min (8.6 m/s)
  • Wing loading: 15 lb/sq ft (73 kg/m2)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vandermeullen, Richard: 2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 44. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
  2. ↑ Bearhawk Aircraft (n.d.). "Bob Barrows Biography". Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter – Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 232. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. ISBN 0-9636409-4-1
  4. 1 2 Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015–16, page 102. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ISSN 1368-485X
  5. ↑ Lednicer, David (2010). "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  6. ↑ Federal Aviation Administration (27 October 2016). "Make / Model Inquiry Results". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  7. ↑ Transport Canada (27 October 2016). "Canadian Civil Aircraft Register". Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "Bearhawk Announces The Bravo Model". AVweb. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
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