By Tim Wheat, EAA 372811

This piece originally ran in the April 2026 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.

Why wood construction? Well, why not? When I was first shopping around for a small airplane project, the two-place tailwheel Dakota Hawk caught my eye, as its wings and fuselage were constructed of spruce and birch plywood. I already had a wood shop, so the idea didn’t seem so far-fetched. A trip to Edgeley, North Dakota, convinced me to buy the quick-build kit in 1995. Little did I know at the time the first flight wouldn’t be until 2011. Fast-forward to today, with nearly 800 hours on the Hobbs and numerous modifications.

I fabricated the wings to print using T-88 epoxy. Wash-out was set during construction as the geodetic makes the wing so torsionally stiff that any later adjustment is impossible.

In 1997 I opted for a Rotax 912 UL engine, which required me to do the entire firewall-forward work myself. Some CAD experience and night school TIG welding classes allowed me to design and fabricate the engine mount, radiator mods, exhaust system, airbox, and a cabin heater valve. Other changes include routing the fuel system, deleting the cowl tank, moving the engine forward to compensate, fabricating a metal cowl extension, resizing the stock fiberglass cowl to fit the Rotax, making removable instrument panel sections, and changing to beefier Murphy wheels and brakes.

At this point a few less-than-pleasant bounces in a friend’s tailwheel Hawk convinced me to take stock where the project was headed. As life also intruded into the build schedule, I took a year off to contemplate continuing as-is or going nosewheel. I finally decided to move the main gear back and design a nosewheel assembly. After some calculations and CAD work, I reinforced new attach points for the main gear and used the old attach points for the new nosewheel pivot box. The nosewheel spring is located at the firewall. The nosewheel tube runs forward under the engine to a fabricated castering nose wheel. If it did not work out, the new nosewheel assembly could be removed and the airplane returned to a tailwheel configuration. After coating the entire wood structure with thinned epoxy, I covered the airplane using the Poly Fiber system.

After finishing the wiring, radios, and instrumentation, I moved the airplane to a hangar and assembled it for weight and balance testing. Fortunately, the removal of the tail wheel compensated for some of the weight gain, and the CG came out okay at gross. Subsequent taxi runs and hops bolstered my confidence that the airplane was much more stable on the tarmac. Another plus was the rudder hinges were now spared the stress of steering a tail wheel.

The first flight was July 2011 at Cambridge, Minnesota. Prior to this, several hours in a Cessna 150 with an instructor were needed to regain what dormant flying skills I had. The revised main gear held up as I discovered thick airfoils can fly slowly until they don’t. The Hawk doesn’t easily stall but can develop a high sink rate on final.

The landing gear change has vindicated itself over the years in the unexpectedly blustery Minnesota wind conditions. The Hawk handles crosswinds surprisingly well, and the only wear and tear was to the tire tread. Maximum speed noted at full throttle is 100 mph calibrated airspeed (CAS). Normal cruising is around 70 mph CAS with less than 3 gph burning unleaded non-oxy autogas. Endurance with a 30-minute reserve is about three hours. The Rotax has remained trouble-free.

I’ve been to all four corners of the state including excursions into the neighboring states at all seasons. In fact, my favorite time of year for flying are the winter months — no bugs and smooth air. It’s fairly comfortable with plenty of cabin heat when needed.

In hindsight, I would have liked to make the cabin a bit wider as it is a squeeze with two people. I also would have approached the nosewheel structure a different way, had I not already done the engine mount and plumbing. The current setup provides plenty of access.

In conclusion, the Hawk provides me with a reliable and economical way to get into the air. It’s not a cross-country airplane, but it will fulfill my need for recreational flying until I decide to hang it up. I’d like to thank my lovely wife, Jerrilynn, for putting up with this obsession. Also Tom Marson, Steve Lambert, and Tom Wrobel for early help in getting started and the late Tony Bingelis for his excellent reference books. The Poly Fiber manual is highly recommended, should you go with that system.

Attention — Aircraft Builders and Restorers

We would love to share your story with your fellow EAA members in the pages of EAA Sport Aviation magazine, even if it’s a project that’s been completed for a while. Readers consistently rate the “What Our Members are Building/Restoring” section of the magazine as one of their favorites, so don’t miss the chance to show off your handiwork and inspire your peers to start or complete projects of their own. Learn more ->