Henderson Little Bear Explained

The Henderson Little Bear is an American homebuilt aircraft that was designed and produced by Henderson Aero Specialities of Felton, Delaware, introduced in 1993. The aircraft is a replica of the Piper J-3 Cub (a little bear is a "cub"). When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit or in the form of plans for amateur construction.^[1]

Design and development

The Little Bear features a strut-braced high-wing, a two-seats-in-tandem enclosed cockpit accessed via doors, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.

The aircraft fuselage is made from welded steel with all surfaces covered in doped aircraft fabric. Its 351NaN1 span wing employs a USA 35B airfoil, has a wing area of 178square feet and is supported by "V" struts and jury struts. The cabin width is 28inches. The acceptable power range is 65to and the standard engine used is the 650NaN0 Continental A65.

The Little Bear has a typical empty weight of 700lb and a gross weight of 1220lb, giving a useful load of 520lb. With full fuel of the payload for the pilot, passenger and baggage is 448lb.

The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied kit as 400 hours.

Operational history

By 1998 the company reported that five kits had been sold and two aircraft were completed and flying.

In December 2013 one example was registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition, page 175. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.
2. Web site: Make / Model Inquiry Results. 30 December 2013. Federal Aviation Administration. 30 December 2013.