From Kit Owner to Company Owner: The Bear Hawk Story

Virgil Irwin spent years building Bear Hawk kit airplanes as a customer before he ended up owning the company outright. In this episode of In The Hangar, Dan Millican and Chelsea Smith sit down with Irwin to talk about what it actually takes to build your own backcountry airplane, why so many first-time builders stall out halfway through, and how kit aircraft have changed since the scratch-build era of the 1990s. Irwin breaks down the Bear Hawk 5 and Patrol models, real build costs, and the build-assist program that gets owners across the finish line — plus the story of a 75-year-old first-time tailwheel pilot chasing a backcountry flying dream. — PARTNERS & SPONSORS — ▸ For business inquiries → takingoff@outloudtalent.com ▸ Serendipitous Films – Need a video for your company? → sales@s-films.com ▸ AEROVERSE – Use code TakingOff for 15% off! → https://www.aeroverse.com/ ▸ FlyingEyes Optics – Get 10% off pilot glasses → https://flyingeyesoptics.com/pages/ta... ▸ Colten Mortgage – Residential mortgage & refi, run by a pilot! → https://www.coltenmortgage.com/takingoff ▸ XeVision – Extreme LED Landing Lights. The only competitor is the sun! → https://www.xevision.com (https://www.xevision.com/) ▸ Clemens Insurance – Your broker should be fighting for you. Call Clemens! → https://www.clemensinsurance.net/ ▸ Marshal Protective Services – Private Security Elevated! → https://mpsprotects.com/ ▸ METAR Maps – The large METAR map on our set! Mention TakingOff when you order → https://metarmaps.com/ ▸ Lightspeed Headsets – Support us by buying through our link → https://www.lightspeedaviation.com/?r...