So, I am happy with my rebel for now but, I dream of my next plane. And though its expensive, I keep getting drawn to the idea of a Bush Hawk or the newer Expedition Aircraft E350 (not yet certified).

What do you guys think? I know some are used commercially, I also know its kinda big for a personal airplane.

I guess I like the idea of a 206 with a tailwheel, and I like the idea of getting into a newer plane that was built for rough terrain and can haul stuff.

I'd be interested in any and all thoughts on this. Expedition aircraft's website is:
http://www.expeditionaircraft.com

-Brad

Brad,

My comments are probably worthless as I am just a poor Maule owner. I cannot afford either a Bushhawk or Expedition. But if I could afford it....I'd have neither.

The Expedition is ugly as hell and an unproven aircraft. I looked over a Bushhawk while in McCall, Idaho last month. Just wasn't impressed.

If I had your financial options.....I'd buy the world's finest C-185. Somehow Cessna got it right a long time ago. Maybe you have already been down that road.

Best wishes, happy flying. And if I ever meet you and you are flying an Expedition....I promise not to call it UGLY.

Bob(now a Maule is pretty!!)

z3skybolt wrote:If I had your financial options.....I'd buy the world's finest C-185. Somehow Cessna got it right a long time ago. Maybe you have already been down that road.

Do they still make 185's?

I know nothing about the Expedition but we have a Bushhawk (300hp) at work. Built like a brick ***house. As someone who is 6'3" and 195 lbs, I appreciate it's room. Comparing the interior of the 185 and the Bushawk is like comparing a Toyota Forerunner to a Chevy Suburban. If a 185 will haul anything you can fit in it, then a Found will hold way more than you can legally haul! It is a bit slower though, but not by much. It is a fair replacement for a working outfit.

Durango Rebel wrote: I also know its kinda big for a personal airplane.

-Brad

Paging Bruce,,,

Bruce told me at JC that he thought a nice personal plane that had good STOL capability was the C-130. Evidently is has a good payload capacity also. There might be a few available on the used market once we solve all the problems in the middle east.

Actually, I always thought the Murphy Moose would make a great plane if they found something to hang on the front besides that rusky radial...

Curt, Airport mgr at Elk City built a Murphy Moose with a 300 H engine on it. It was ferried up to him while we were at JC last week. SO next time you all are up in Idaho pay him a visit. Elk City had the best breakfast I had in Idaho this year by far. It's a great little strip to land at, except maybe for Moonies, and he's made many improvements since he retired there. Visit him at his hangar at the approach end.

iceman wrote:Curt, Airport mgr at Elk City built a Murphy Moose with a 300 H engine on it. It was ferried up to him while we were at JC last week. SO next time you all are up in Idaho pay him a visit. Elk City had the best breakfast I had in Idaho this year by far. It's a great little strip to land at, except maybe for Moonies, and he's made many improvements since he retired there. Visit him at his hangar at the approach end.

Butch,

I kept hearing Curt's plane was "on the way" but didn't know it was a moose. That's very cool. Gives me another good reason to go visit him again. Of course, I'll have to wander down the hill to breakfast also.

Oh, and I concur, there are no pick-ups at the top of the Elk City's strip to catch go-around mooneys...

Brad,
What are your opinions of the Rebel? What engine do you have in it? I would think it is fine for most people unless you really need to haul a lot of crap. There is a nice Moose for sale located in Florida right now.
Keith

PS. I am TRYING to build a Rebel......slow process with so many other things going on.

Never flown a Bush Hawk,But I want one.Shoot I want just about any aircraft out there worth over 300 grand and has that new plane smell(not sure I really no what that smells like,but I am sure it is sweet.)

A guy on our field (Minden) has a Bush Hawk. I was surprised to see no wing struts! BUT, gigantic rear doors; you could put anything in there (not so with a C-185). Owner came from a 185 and was happy as hell. His money anyway!

LIKE BRD SAID.........

When flying alone, the skywagon can get pretty heavy to maneuver by hand on soft ground. The last time I helped move a Bushhawk, we had 4-5 people pushing and it was still a bear. This is a big, solidly built, aircraft.

You might want to consider one of these:

http://www.bearhawkaircraft.com/

as they are more affordable, handle very well, and have about a 1200 lb useful load.

" Actually, I always thought the Murphy Moose would make a great plane if they found something to hang on the front besides that rusky radial.."

SR3500 Moose now has a Lycoming IO-540-D4A5 260hp as an option to the M14P (360hp) .

TD

Joined just to respond to this post. I am just getting ready to go fly a 2004 Found BH. Have kingfisher aviation here in Kodiak , Ak. Have over 2000 hours working the BH. It is like a little mule, keeps going and going. We operate off a 2000 foot lake with up to 500 pounds and half tanks, 3 hours of fuel and it does good.

In utility the 185 is not even in the same category as a BH. I have worked a 185 after flying the BH and its so much a hassle loading and unloading the 185. The 206 has similar capacity but with similar load a BH will out climb any standard 206 on floats. Its also built a lot better than a 206 which was never inteneded to be a float plane. Most the owners of BHs have all the options which add up in weight. Ours our 150 pounds lighter than most BHs out there because we concentrate on payload. We regulary haul 850 pounds with half tanks and the BH does it without struggle.

I would not reccomend it for a personal airplane, but for airtaxi its built for serious work. Off to pick up another load....

N818ES wrote:Joined just to respond to this post.

Congrats on your emergence from the world of lurking. Good first post, thanks.

Hi Brad,

We operate on Aerocet strait floats. I set the fowler flaps at 15 degrees, Found recomends 20, but 15 lets your airspeed and acceleration get up to flying speed faster. A trick I use with the aerocets on short lakes is to plow taxi right before I turn to take off and the wake caused by this will help get the plane on step as the aerocets like to stick.

Trim is set to neutral, hold yoke all the way back then add power. As the nose comes up begin to push the yoke forward over onto the step, not forcefully (heavy loads this helps) and you will have to hold forward pressure on the yoke until the nose is over level and then you find the sweet spot. Sometimes I also use the rudder (right then left) to "walk" it over onto the step as you push the yoke forward. If you are waiting for the nose to come over on its own,(as a lot of other floatplanes do) it takes a lot longer and makes for doggy take offs. With heavy loads you will need to use a lot of forward pressure on the yoke to get it to come over on the step...

As you find the sweet spot and accelerate to 55 kts lift the right float out of the water and it will fly. If you dont lift a float out of the water it wont want to fly. If you are going over an obstacle once airborne put the flaps down to 20 degrees and climb out at 75 knots. It should do 500 feet per minute with a normal load.

We operate both fowler flap and plain manual flap version. The plain flap version you dont need to lift a float out of the water, just trim it and it will fly by itself. The fowler flap version is heavier on the controls and the fowlers though great for slow flying create more drag on takeoffs.

Office of Aircraft Services (OAS) owns a half dozen Bush Hawks in Alaska and many of thier pilots had problems of getting them to fly on floats. We had to figure it out fast as we operate off such as tiny lake that doesnt leave any real room for error. We regularly do take offs in 20 knot gusts of crosswind, where the wind turns into a tail wind by the other end of the lake. Good luck and hope that helps shorten your take off distances.

Just met the people from Found at oshkosh this last week,they told me that they recieved certification on July28th. 2008 David