AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2021 - 67

Flying a
Bearhawk
4-Place
I was introduced to the performance of
a Lycoming 250-horsepower model by
Charlotte, North Carolina-based airline
pilot, Bearhawk 4-Place builder, and
transition training instructor Jared Yates.
Despite a two-week deluge that mired
Bearhawk Aircraft owner Mark Goldberg's
Ford F-150 pickup, the 4-Place demo's
tailwheel raised almost immediately with
applied power and the main gear jumped
from the Texas muck in about 10 seconds.
A 10-degree climb angle at 100 mph
launched us at 1,500 fpm.
Attention to rudder is paramount in an
airplane that looks like an oversized Piper
Super Cub but may hide 100 additional
horsepower under the cowling. Pilots used
to flying with their feet on the floor should
get them in the game to counteract the
airplane's adverse yaw.
My nosewheel-Cessna-familiar feet went
to work leading turns with a hint of rudder.
A touch of elevator trim from the overhead
trim wheel helped maintain altitude during
steep turns near Goldberg's grass airfield,
Flying G H Ranch (9TE7).
The aircraft was quick to respond to pitch
and roll input and the forces were lighter
than those of a Cessna 182. Although the
sight angle over the nose in straight-andlevel
flight tricked me into thinking the
aircraft was descending when it wasn't, it
provided exceptional visibility. The 42-inchwide
cockpit is 6 inches more spacious
than a Skylane and allowed some breathing
room between me and Yates. The seating
position was comfortable, and the aircraft
was as easy to climb into as it was to exit.
During power changes the thundering
six-cylinder Lycoming O-540 in Goldberg's
demo airplane demanded some pitch
attention but the aircraft felt solid, secure,
and lacked unwanted surprises.
The Bearhawk clawed toward the Texas clouds and some rudder pedal
dancing kept us coordinated while I climbed through a steep pitch attitude
at 40 mph. Yates suggested we avoid full power during the power-on
stalls because the pitch angle would become " so extreme. " Control forces
remained tight and confidence-inspiring.
Yates said stall recovery would be simple, " stick forward an inch and you'll
recover. " He was correct-slight forward stick at the break led the recovery
with an altitude loss of less than 100 feet and little drama.
Honestly, I was having such a fun time controlling the aircraft-and the
power available to me-that I neglected to note the attitude indicator before
the stall break. However, the sight picture was significantly past prudent
and eyes outside to maintain control was the name of the game.
In landing configuration or in slow flight there's not as much aircraft pitch
change during flap deployment as I'm used to in a Cessna 182. When
deploying 20 degrees of manual flaps the aircraft slowed down considerably
and the control forces remained as harmonious as they were in cruise.
A Cessna 182 has a significantly heavier elevator feel in the landing
configuration and also requires a couple of rolls of elevator trim. Conversely,
trim adjustments to set up the Bearhawk 4-Place for landing were quite small.
A power-off stall was benign-and sort of a mush. Pilots feel a touch of
buffeting before forward stick reduces the angle of attack and the airflow
reattaches to the wing. Yates said that " it's hard to get a good stall break at
idle power, absent the airflow induced by prop wash. "
He cautioned that flying any taildragger requires a certain amount of
specialized skill. Pilots transitioning to the Bearhawk should learn the sight
picture and get familiar with the handling characteristics, but it doesn't
require a lot of stick and rudder training because it's " such a well-mannered
aircraft. " He said most pilots spend the first 30 to 45 minutes on air work
and handling, " and the rest of the time it's takeoffs and landings to master
the tailwheel directional control. "
I reluctantly relinquished the flight controls to Yates on short final because
of the quagmire ahead but followed through lightly on the stick to get a feel
for the landing. He plopped us down in a three-point position, stopping in
about the same 200 feet as the takeoff distance. -DT
AOPA PILOT / November 2021
67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2021

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