Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings,” wrote Gordon Lightfoot in his wrenching ballad about the sinking of the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, “in the rooms of her ice-water mansions.” And on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, near Georgian Bay and about 150 miles north of Ontario, Canada, Expedition Aircraft quietly goes about the business of making some of the toughest aircraft on earth. Born of the legendary gales and fierce storms that batter this part of Canada, Expedition introduces a new contender in the heavyweight bush arena: Bigfoot.

If Expedition Aircraft doesn’t ring a bell, its parent company might: Found Aircraft. Bud Found started the company in 1946 to design and build ultratough airplanes for the backcountry market. Not just any backcountry, but the rugged northern Canadian wilderness, from the Mackenzie River to the Arctic coast. The first Found aircraft was certified in the U.S. and Canada in 1964 as the FBA-2C, and could operate on floats, skis and tires while delivering impressive payloads to the far-flung bush country. Somewhat odd-looking, the FBA-2C became popular with bush pilots operating out of the remote northern territories, and gained a reputation for being safe, tough and reliable—a reputation that continued for 40 years.

A formidable beast did emerge from the woods, both mysterious and a little frightening, and now promises to open a new chapter in backcountry operations.

In 1996, Found Aircraft began development on an improvement to the FBA-2C. They brought in de Havilland’s former VP of Engineering and Director of Research, among other consultants. The idea was to improve on an already legendary aircraft, and open the potential market to general aviation pilots. The result was the Bush Hawk-XP, which received FAA certification in 2000. The Expedition line of aircraft was born, and Oshkosh 2007 saw the unveiling of the Expedition E350, with tricycle gear and an interior that was a little more genteel than the Bush Hawk-XP. Certified by the FAA in 2008, the E350 is in service all over the backcountry today, with the same reputation for rugged safety, hauling capacity and reliability.

Rumors and sightings of a tailwheel version of the E350 began circulating around the backcountry last year. Like its namesake, a formidable beast did emerge from the woods, both mysterious and a little frightening, and now promises to open a new chapter in backcountry operations. Sure, Bigfoot lives up to its name, but unlike its hairy cousin, this beast does things a little differently.

Bigfoot Groupies
I meet Ted Dirstein, Chief Pilot for Expedition Aircraft, and I immediately realize he has the best job in the world. Ted gets to fly Bigfoot and demonstrate its capabilities to pilots everywhere. I’ve gone out to look at Bigfoot at AOPA Summit and have seen other pilots share my inquisitiveness, doing the pose like in the old RCA Victor ads where the dog is tilting its head at “His Master’s Voice.” From every angle, Bigfoot is intriguing. It’s not ugly, but it’s not “pretty.” It’s attractive in the same way that old Land Rovers and Willys Jeeps and International Scouts are attractive—it looks chunky and cool.

Even in November, the California sun is a laser and makes everything sharp and brilliant against the blue of the morning sky. It’s warm and clear and calm; a perfect day to fly. Our mission will take us out to Ocotillo Wells, a dry lakebed in Southern California, where we’ll rendezvous with P&P Editor Jessica Ambats, photo-ship pilot Ron Mohrhoff and formation pilot Seamus McCaughley to conduct a photo flight over the martian landscape that’s the Borrego Desert, near Salton Sea. Joining us is Drew Hamblin, Director of Marketing and Sales for Expedition.

Walking around Bigfoot, I try to anticipate how it will fly. I tell myself it will handle much like the big Cessnas—say, the 206. It will be heavy on the elevator and will feel substantial, not unlike a big rig going down the interstate. I notice the vortex generators and extensions on the wing. In fact, the wing itself is impressive. It’s an ingenious, high-lift, one-piece cantilever design that was carried through from the very first FBA-2C design by Bud Found and his brothers, Dwight, Gray and Mickey. The lack of any struts allows the cabin doors to swing 180 degrees like barn doors—regardless of flap setting—making loading really big stuff a snap. Five full-sized adults load in from four doors.

Bigfoot, the tailwheel version of the Expedition E350, features a high-lift, one-piece cantilever wing design that was carried through from the very first FBA-2C design by Bud Found and his brothers, Dwight, Gray and Mickey.

A welded tubular steel fuselage allows the gaping door openings while maintaining incredible strength. The row of three back seats is a marvel of design, too. Each seat snaps in or out in just a couple of seconds, allowing different cargo/passenger configurations. There’s nothing flimsy about how the 22-G-rated rear seats attach to the floor, which comes in a choice of bare metal, carpet or diamond plate. Four-point crew harnesses and inertia-reel rear harnesses come standard.

Strapping into the left seat, one gets a little bit of a de Havilland Beaver feel, probably owing to the Bigfoot’s pedigree. The cabin is an austere-but-whopping 53 inches wide and—thankfully—the rudder pedals and seat adjust enough to accommodate those of us on the shorter side. If I had any complaint, it would be that the glare shield is a little too high, and the seat could use a smidge more vertical adjustment. The yoke is center mounted, like the Beechcraft of old, and it’s a behemoth configuration that looks like it could hold up a truck. It feels good in the hand.

A Sheep In Wolf’s Clothing
Starting this beast introduces no special witchcraft, other than all the people looking out the FBO windows. Bigfoot draws groupies like a free Justin Bieber concert, and it’s fun to be the guy with the backstage pass. It’s quieter than I thought, with 315 Lycoming IO-580 ponies under the cowling doing their best to shake off the morning. This beefy engine is the same one powering those Extras and Edges at the Red Bull Air Races.

Taxiing is pretty easy with the castering tailwheel and its 25-foot turning radius. Visibility over the nose is surprisingly good, though I make S-turns out of habit. Ted doesn’t seem to mind, as he breaks the tension by telling me not to do the usual taildragger thing and lift the tail. “Keep the tail low,” Dirstein says, “And let it fly off. You’ll be surprised how fast that happens.”

Lining up on runway 25L, I give Bigfoot a handful of that industrial-sized throttle, and watch the Electronics International MVP-50 engine panel come to life. Before I can look back up at my airspeed indicator, we’re flying! The book says Bigfoot will come off in about 1,400 feet at full gross weight, and I believe it. Today, with three adults and about five hours of fuel at sea level, we lift off in about 1,000 feet at 63 KIAS.

Handling is the first of many surprises to come. It feels nothing like a Cessna 206 and nothing like any of the heavier Cessnas. Bigfoot is nimble and light on the controls. Fingertip pressure is all that’s needed to fly this airplane, and the ample trim keeps the control pressures where you want them. The rudder has plenty of authority early on in the takeoff roll, and the controls are harmonious and belie the fact that this is one hefty airplane.

The second surprise is the visibility. Bigfoot is standard-equipped with doors that are almost entirely observation windows. Nearly the entire door frame is clear, allowing unmatched visibility from the cockpit and the rear. The cockpit has the limited up-visibility peculiar to high-winged aircraft, but the strutless wings and placement of the windows allow panoramic views of the landscape below, unequaled in anything else, except maybe a helicopter.

The lack of any struts on Bigfoot allows its four cabin doors to swing 180 degrees regardless of flap setting, making loading passengers, baggage and cargo simple. The back features a row of three seats that can snap in or out, allowing different configurations. Left: Ted Dirstein, Expedition Air Chief Pilot and Marc Lee,P&P author. Right: Seamus McCaughley, formation pilot and Ron Mohrhoff, photo-ship pilot.

“Now, can I show you what Bigfoot can do?” asks Dirstein with a wide smile. His gentle manner and lack of pretense had already endeared him to me, and I knew he knew I was enjoying this airplane. With the power off and the yoke in my gut, Bigfoot let out the tiniest whimper and provided the most gentle bow of a stall I had ever experienced. “Go ahead, keep the stick back,” smiled Dirstein. Sure enough, Bigfoot just reared a little and repeated its gentle bow. “You could just keep doing that all day long,” Dirstein smiled.

In most airplanes, power-on stalls hold the spectre of a possible spin if the pilot misuses the rudder or uses the ailerons for bank correction as the stall breaks. Not so in Bigfoot. With the engine screaming and the yoke in my gut again, Dirstein instructed me not to use rudder, and correct only with aileron.

Ignoring my instincts, I slapped in some aileron and then!nothing happened! Bigfoot gracefully lowered its brow, straightened out and kept right on flying. It’s all thanks to a wing design that stalls the root far ahead of the ailerons, allowing full aileron use throughout the stall. Slow flight allows extremely slow speeds with excellent control response and no tendency to fall out.

Climbing away from Long Beach into the postcard blue, I saw a solid 1,100 fpm climb at around 80 KIAS. The beautiful Garmin G500 panel showed us settling into cruise at a little over 150 KIAS. We were running a bit behind schedule, so Ted had me pour on the coals at 2,500 rpm, and 25 inches MP fuel consumption showed 19 gph, but we were hardly in economy mode.

Looking around the cabin, it was clear that this airplane was made for hauling lots of stuff over long distances. The current Bigfoot has an empty weight of 2,300 pounds and a max gross of 3,500 pounds, though Found Aircraft is working toward increasing that to 3,800 pounds. Owners will have some 1,200-1,500 pounds of fuel, people and cargo to play with. This is a true five-place airplane capable of hauling five 200-pound adults, baggage and enough fuel for a few hours’ flight. Endless load combinations provide all kinds of options.

To increase the certified gross-weight capacity for Bigfoot, Expedition Aircraft is making modifications to the tailwheel.

As we approached the dry lakebed, Ted began briefing me for the landing. Bigfoot is as docile on landing as it is in the air. There were no surprises in the normal setup for landing: Power back opposite the numbers, add some flaps, a little more on base, adjust on final and flare it smoothly like any other taildragger. With the big tundra tires and the steel-gear configuration, Bigfoot will have a tendency to balloon a bit, so nailing the speeds helps. Ted could tell I wanted to do this again one more time, or 17, so we took it around for more.

Bigfoot makes it evident that Expedition has acknowledged the fun in aviation. This airplane is a blast to fly, and its vast capabilities get it closer to the perfect airplane. Whether you need to haul a bunch of fishing buddies to a backcountry lake or your family for vacation, Bigfoot handles it all in comfort and a little bit of golden-era style. While this is a work airplane, it’s equally at home on an asphalt runway or a shi-shi-la-la FBO anywhere in the world.

Ultimately, Bigfoot’s surprise for me was that it’s an airplane that can be handled by even the most basic general aviation pilots. You don’t have to be a super-human bush master to fly it. Sure, you can slow it down, drenching the tundra tires in the river just before planting it on a sandbar that looks like a vegetable garden, but you don’t have to. With its docile handling, ease of loading, ability to land just about anywhere and wide performance envelope, Bigfoot proves that you can create an airplane that’s simple, useful and great fun to fly.

The post Backcountry Monster: The Legend Of Bigfoot appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Found Expedition Bigfoot
Engine make/model:	Lycoming IO-580
Horsepower	315 @ 2700 rpm
Propeller	Hartzell 82-in.
Wingspan:	38 ft. 2 in.
Overall length:	26 ft. 7 in.
Overall height:	10 ft. 4 in.
Wing area (sq. ft.):	185
Wing loading (lbs./sq. ft.):	20.5
Power loading (lbs./sq. ft.):	12.1
Seating capacity:	5
Fuel capacity (gals.):	100
Empty weight, std. (lbs.):	2300
Max gross weight (lbs.):	3500
Max useful load (lbs.):	1200
PERFORMANCE
Cruise speed (kts.)
75% power (kts.):	150
65% power (kts.):	40
Vs (kts.):	56
Vso (kts.):	50
Max range (nm):	800
Max endurance (hrs.):	6.8
Takeoff distance (ft.):	1338
Landing distance (ft.):	617
Source: Expedition Aircraft

The post Found Expedition Bigfoot appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

Andrew Hamblin, the company’s director of marketing and sales, wants to show off the Expedition’s unimproved-field performance, and Muskoka’s turf strip, with its 6,000-foot primary runway, will be the testing ground. I assume the Expedition will handle the turf with aplomb. After all, the Expedition is a direct descendant of one of Canada’s most legendary bush planes, the FBA-2, which earned its stripes working in the country’s unforgiving north over the last four decades. But at the moment, my attention is directed downward, at the small swath of wooded rocky islands and the shoreline of Ontario’s Georgian Bay region, sprinkled with its genteel vacation homes. That’s the kind of place where the ultimate test of the Expedition’s capabilities will be conducted: whether it’s able to build a market for a new kind of bush plane, one as suited to hauling 55-gallon drums in the wilds as to hauling a family to an upscale resort. A hybrid, if you will.

“The concept of what we’ve done,” explained Andrew, in the back seat of the E350, “is taking the strength of the aircraft and its bush applications, and then refining it and moving it forward. People are expecting a certain level of quality and options in an aircraft for their own personal use, and the Expedition offers all that. The analogy is the Land Rover to the Range Rover.”

Doors can open 180 degrees, making for easy loading of cargo or people (like Found’s chief pilot Ted Dirstein).

Nathan “Bud” Found was the driving force behind Found Brothers Aviation (FBA), predecessor of Found Aircraft. In 1946, FBA was founded with the goal of creating the ultimate bush plane, a design distilled from all the lessons the eponymous bush-flying brothers had learned about the hauling needs and performance capabilities required for bush ops. But the world of business and aircraft manufacturing was perhaps more unforgiving than the rugged Canadian wilderness. Over the next half century, FBA built just 27 aircraft. Yet their strength and performance—on wheels, floats and skis—created a legend. Of course, no one thought much about creature comforts or interior appointments in those days. A bush plane was a working plane. Concern about the pilot’s comfort was mostly limited to making sure the pilot stayed alive. As for passengers, they could just squeeze in among the oil drums, or by the moose carcass.

Vortex generators on the wings improve the E350’s performance as a STOL aircraft.

But that’s not all that bush flying is about today. Prospective buyers are apt to be looking for something that can take them between the bush and civilization while operating comfortably and keeping occupants comfortable in either environment. And perhaps the most dramatic evidence of that is right below us: the E350’s tricycle landing gear.

“Our hard-core bush pilots will scoff at that, but that’s the market,” Andrew said. “For us to move forward and for us to get the necessary (sales) volume, the tricycle gear had to be introduced.”

Built for bush ops, the Expedition features an interior that’s aimed at utility, but not at the expense of passenger and pilot comfort. The 52-inch-wide cabin’s carbon-fiber side and door panels reduce weight and cabin noise.

In fact, the company expects to make three tricycle-gear Expedition E350s for every one Expedition E350XC (Extreme Country). In 1994, Bud made a last effort to get his bush plane back into production. One of the many people responsible for making that happen was Andrew’s father, Tony Hamblin, today the president of the company. Three years later, Found Aircraft began making the FBA-2C1 Bush Hawk and FBA-2C2 Bush Hawk-XP, updated versions of the FBA-2. Among the customers was the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). (I had the opportunity to spend many hours in the Bush Hawk during a USFWS aerial wildlife survey in Alaska.) “The Expedition is a culmination of all the feedback that we got from our [Bush Hawk] customers,” Tony had told me at the factory. “We put on more power, we made the cabin larger, we changed the interior, we changed the instrument panel. As I said, we listened to what our customers were saying.”

Andrew Hamblin demonstrates the E350’s “four plus one” seating arrangement in the back.

I’ve already explored some of the Expediton’s improvements with Ted Dirstein, Found Aircraft’s chief pilot. Our aircraft, C-FACX, has shown me it’s not just a gussied up, citified version of the Bush Hawk. What sets it apart and makes the Expedition an airplane all its own is power.

On paper, the 315 hp Lycoming IO-580-B1A offers only 15 more horses than the Bush Hawk’s IO-540. But it uses dual exhausts in place of a muffler, increasing horsepower by up to 3%, and the power boost gives the Expedition, at 3,800 pounds, a 250-pound-higher gross weight than the Hawk, bringing useful load to 1,500 pounds. That transforms the Expedition into what was almost a mythical beast in the general aviation world: a true four-place aircraft. With fuel capacity increased to 100 gallons, you can put four 200-pound people, 150 pounds of luggage and full fuel on-board the Expedition; clear a 50-foot obstacle in little more than 1,200 feet; and travel nearly 800 nm at about 160 knots with IFR reserves.

And if first impressions are really what counts, the Expedition’s JATO-like STOL performance will leave pilots suitably impressed. Flying with two, three and four people aboard during our time with the Expedition, it showed excellent short-field capability, and the 20-degree climb angle at V_y (85 knots) helps keep pilots and obstacles away from each other in the bush.

A Garmin GNS 430 was installed on the aircraft we flew, but the 530 is standard, along with the Electronics International MVP-50 digital engine monitor. An optional glass panel will be available soon.

At a 3,800-pound gross weight, rate of climb is an impressive 1,091 fpm. But most of us fly short of fully loaded. Found Aircraft provides performance specs for the E350 at gross, mid and light weight, reducing the need to trace your finger along the lines of a POH chart if you need general-performance numbers. If you can keep your useful load down to 1,150 pounds (350 pounds under gross), count on a 1,400 fpm climb.

The high-lift, low-drag wing is integral to the Expedition’s performance. It’s the same wing the Bush Hawk used, but it’s put to better advantage with the power increase. It’s also the reason for the Expedition’s exceptionally docile stall characteristics. The wing is composed of two distinct airfoils. The inner section has a higher angle of attack than the outboard sections, where the ailerons are positioned. Thus, the inner section stalls first, but the ailerons retain control effectiveness. Dirstein has demonstrated a series of simulated backcountry stall scenarios: an accelerated stall while trying to outclimb rising terrain; a low-speed stall when turning to avoid an obstacle after takeoff; a power-off stall from misjudging the height above the surface when landing on water. In each situation, the stall was almost a nonevent. And the low 54 KCAS stall speed is a safety factor in its own right.

The Helping Hands The main factory building at Found Aircraft is more of a 10,000-square-foot workshop than an aircraft production line. Found Aircraft bush planes are, after all, handmade, not mass-produced. The company builds no more than 30 aircraft per year. In the center of the hangar-like building, a massive one-piece wing sits in a jig. It takes 10 days to build this piece alone. The company has been blessed with a stable workforce, some of whom have been with the company since it was resurrected in the mid-1990s. But none have been here longer than Leo Sipila. “I was the first employee,” Sipila said. A sheet-metal specialist, Sipila was recruited by Bud Found himself because of his knowledge of Found airplanes, gained while working at the now-defunct local carrier Georgian Bay Airlines, which operated a pair of pre-Bush Hawk Founds. Would Bud Found be impressed with the Expedition? “Oh yeah,” Sipila quickly said. “Bud would be proud—he sure would be.”

Signature Found Aircraft features remain on the Expedition: Each of the four doors opens 180 degrees, providing easy access and quick emergency egress. (“Go ahead, slam the door, like you would a car,” said Dirstein; it’s a testament to the bush-worthy design.) Each door has an oversized, slightly bubbled window that extends almost down to the floor. This provides unparalleled lateral visibility (and even forward visibility by putting your face into the bubble). I know from personal experience with the USFWS that this is a huge advantage in any operation involving observation, such as surveys and search-and-rescue work. The flat floor, flush doorjamb and quick removable rear seats make it easy to get cargo in and out, and numerous attach points provide for secure stowage.

Yet the interior has been significantly improved. The 4130 steel cage framing the cabin is the same as in the Bush Hawk. But at 52 inches, the cabin is a half-foot wider, achieved by building out from the frame. Where the Bush Hawk took pride in being the only all-metal bush plane, the Expedition has carbon-fiber side panels and doors, reducing both weight and cabin noise. Meanwhile, the roomy two-place backseat has an optional raised, padded divider in the middle, giving the seat the look of an executive aircraft. In a matter of seconds, the entire bench cover can be unsnapped and removed, revealing three individual seats beneath. The center seat can be slid well forward, giving all three in back plenty of elbow room, an arrangement the company calls “four plus one” seating.

And with the rear seats taken out, more than seven feet of open space exists between the pilot and copilot stations—plenty of room to sleep in. You can leave your tent at home when air camping.

On the panel, analog “steam” gauges provide the primary flight instrument displays. An optional glass panel will be available, but not an integrated glass suite, avoiding the time and expense of certifying the installation. Standard panel-ware includes a Garmin GNS 530 GPS/NAV/COM/WAAS and an Electronics International MVP-50 digital engine monitor.

The E350 is a perfect match for the Canadian wilderness; it easily tackles off-airport operations and can transport multiple campers and camping equipment.

At Muskoka, the Expedition convincingly demonstrated its backcountry heritage on the turf. From the air, the grass looked well-maintained, but Dirstein assured me it was bumpier and more rutted than it appeared. He was right. But the flexible struts on the main gear and the polyurethane pucks acting as shock absorbers on the nosegear have what it takes to handle off-airport operations. The undercarriage feels stiff landing on and rolling over the uneven surface, but maybe it’s good to be reminded that you’ve arrived back in the bush. In a plane like the Expedition, how else would you know? And if you need to get in or out of any tight spaces on the ground, the 300-degree castering nosewheel provides for deft maneuvering.

The FBA-2C3 Expedition E350 was certified by Transport Canada in late June; FAA certification should arrive by the end of the year. The FBA-2C4 Expedition E350XC (Extreme Country) requires land certification testing, and will require more time. Both aircraft are priced at $485,000. Options include floats (straight and amphibious) and skis.

On the morning of our flight, Andrew brought along a friend to show off the new airplane. Christopher Bolton seems like the kind of person for which a hybrid like this was made. He’s a TV writer and student pilot from Toronto who just bought a cottage in the Georgian Bay area. Used to cramming into a Cessna 152, his awe at the Expedition’s comfort and performance was palpable. On our way to Muskoka, as we cruised beside the E350XC, he turned to Andrew. “You must be so proud,” he said. And deservedly so.

SPECS: 2008 Expedition E350

The post For Town & Country appeared first on Plane & Pilot Magazine.

2008 Expedition E350
Base price:	$485,000
Engine make/model:	Lycoming IO-580-B1A
Horsepower:	315@SL
TBO (hrs.):	1800
Propeller type/diameter:	3-blade, CS, 82-in. Hartzell
Landing gear type:	Tri./Fixed
Gross weight (lbs.):	3800
Takeoff weight (lbs.):	3800
Empty weight, std. (lbs.):	2300
Useful load, std. (lbs.):	1500
Payload, full std. fuel (lbs.):	912
Usable fuel (gals.):	98
Baggage capacity (lbs.):	250
Wingspan:	38 ft. 9 in.
Wing loading (lbs./sq. ft.):	20.5
Power loading (lbs./hp):	12.1
Seating capacity:	4 + 1
Cabin doors:	4
Cabin width (in.):	52
Cabin height (in.):	50
Cabin length (in.):	138
PERFORMANCE
Cruise speed@gross (KTAS):	150
Cruise speed@3,200 lbs. (KTAS):	160
Max range (nm):	793
Stall speed (KCAS):	54
Rate of climb@gross (fpm):	1091
Takeoff distance (ft.):	775
Takeoff over 50 ft. obstacle (ft.):	1286
Source: Found Aircraft

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