Our Design Philosophy

An amazing aircraft that will last for this generation and the next

All Bearhawks share the same basic design characteristics. These consistencies help to build aircraft of all sizes that handle predictably well and have an amazing envelope of operation. Below you will find a small list of the standard features that make a Bearhawk the amazing machine that it is.

Full Aluminum Wing

The Bearhawk line of aircraft uses a single strut true aluminum wing. These wings are a clean sheet design, utilizing a modified Ribblet airfoil. This design allows for amazing cruise speeds while continuing to provide precision airflow control during slow-speed flight. We use hydro-formed wing ribs to ensure tight tolerance. 2024 t3 aircraft-grade alloy is used for the skins. Some aircraft in the market have transitioned to 6061 and other industrial-grade aluminum. We believe in our product and will never use inferior materials.

Every piece of aluminum in the wing is prepared in a three-step process ending with the green/yellow color you see. This process provides unmatched corrosion resistance, ensuring this airplane will survive for generations, even in the harshest environments.

Every rivet on a Bearhawk is a flush head rivet. This provides many benefits. First, a flush head rivet is stronger and thus allows us to reduce weight while increasing strength. Second, we reduce drag by not having rivet heads all over the wings. Lastly, plain and simple, it just looks good!

Steel Tube Fuselage

Plain and simple, the strongest, lightest, and safest way to build a backcountry airplane is to use a steel tube fuselage. All of our aircraft feature US and German sourced, high-grade 4130 steel tube. This material combined with our design allows us to build the most rugged and lightweight aircraft available in class.

All Bearhawks are gas welded, providing strong normalized welds that will last a lifetime. By gas welding we are able to heat a larger area, which in turn allows the tube clusters to normalize as one piece, thus relieving stresses within the cluster. We at Bearhawk believe this is the superior way to weld 4130 structures and our welds have withstood the test of time.

Oleo Strut Suspension

For years aircraft have used spring type landing gear with no dampening. The Bearhawk line of aircraft uses a mechanically sprung, oil dampened suspension allowing for rebound control and helping to “stick” the airplane to the ground. This configuration allows for exceptional suspension travel and handling while having a minimal airspeed loss. The Bearhawk suspension has proven to be highly durable. Combined with a good set of bush wheels, our suspension will provide excellent off-airport capability and reliability.

Modern Ribblet Airfoils

The Bearhawk line of aircraft all use the Ribblet series of airfoils. These airfoils are some of the most advanced and capable available today. They provide outstanding performance at cruise speeds as well as very predictable and docile stall characteristics. This is where things get geeky but essentially the Ribblet airfoils are highly refined and precisely control the airflow at all stages of flight. By using aluminum wings instead of fabric we are able to hold the most consistent airfoil possible. This facilitates aircraft capable of cruising at roughly 4X the stall speed depending on model.

For More Info on Ribblet Airfoils -

Bob Barrows is the the original design engineer of the Bearhawk line of aircraft. Below you will find a video describing the may features and design choices that went into our aircraft. As we continue to modernize and develop the Bearhawk line, the basic design practices remain the same. Every model of Bearhawk shares design features, yet maintain their own uniqueness from each other.