Modified Airfoil Is The Major Design Change

By Anthony Liberatore

At Oshkosh on Monday, Bearhawk Aircraft unveiled a refinement of their now classic Bearhawk ... the Bearhawk Bravo.

Bearhawk Aircraft president (the manufacturer of Bearhawk Quick Build kits) Mark Goldberg and Bearkawk test pilot Wayne Massey said the prominent design change was changing the airfoil on the Bearhawk from the NACA 4412 to the Riblett 30-413.5 which is the airfoil on the both BearHawk Patrol and the LSA Bearhawk, the 2 seaters in their lineup. The idea of the airfoil change was that of designer of all Bearhawk family of aircraft Bob Barrows. Goldberg noted that is was something that Barrows wanted to try, as it might improve the aircraft's performance.

And improved performance it has. Massey noted that the retrofitted “4 Alpha Papa” is 5 to 8 mph faster with the Riblett airfoil section and stall speed might be a bit slower with excellent slow speed handling characteristics. Massey is in a unique position of having flown 4AP before and after the wing change, and with over 18 hrs of flight time on the new wing, he commented further on the Bravo's flight characteristics. Massey noted that in full aft stick stall condition, the Bravo doesn't  “maple leaf” but remains stable in an increased sink rate condition. He also noted that as the Bravo approaches a “moose stall” with a mild buffet warning, that either moving the stick forward or an increase in power puts the Bravo in recovery mode.

Along with the airfoil change and the noted positive changes in handling characteristics, Goldberg noted a number of other design changes that occurred in the Bravo including airfoil shaped ribs on the horizontal stabilizer, round tubing landing gear shock struts (PVC faired for drag reduction) and a wingspan increase of 1 foot. These changes contributed to the Bravo's overall speed increase as well as enhancing stability and control authority. The Bravo can be seen at Airventure in booth 630, which is located in the North Aircraft Display area.

(Staff image)

FMI: www.bearhawkaircraft.com