The Henderson Little Bear is an American

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

that was designed and produced by Henderson Aero Specialities of

Felton, Delaware Felton is a town in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,298 at the 2010 census. History Established in 1856 as a whistle stop along the Delaware Railroad, Fe ...

, introduced in 1993. The aircraft is a replica of the

Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

(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.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 175. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998.

Design and development

The Little Bear features a strut-braced

high-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing co ...

, a two-seats-in-

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

enclosed cockpit accessed via doors, fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

and a single engine in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher co ...

. The aircraft

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...

is made from welded steel with all surfaces covered in doped

aircraft fabric Aircraft fabric covering is a term used for both the material used and the process of covering aircraft open structures. It is also used for reinforcing closed plywood structures. The de Havilland Mosquito is an example of this technique, as are ...

. Its span wing employs a USA 35B airfoil, has a wing area of and is supported by "V" struts and

jury struts In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...

. The cabin width is . The acceptable power range is and the standard engine used is the

Continental A65 The Continental O-170 engine is the collective military designation for a family of small aircraft engines, known under the company designation of A50, A65, A75 and A80. The line was designed and built by Continental Motors commencing in the 194 ...

. The Little Bear has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for the pilot, passenger and baggage is . 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 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

Specifications (Little Bear)

References

{{reflist Little Bear 1990s United States sport aircraft 1990s United States civil utility aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1993