N709BC

N709BC is a Found Aircraft Canada FBA-2C Bush Hawk, a single-engine piston aircraft operated by GILBERT THOMAS. SkyMeter has tracked 74 flights totalling 31 hours of airtime via ADS-B. The most frequent segment is IL05 to KC81. Service window in our records spans 428 days. The Found Aircraft Canada FBA-2C Bush Hawk has a maximum takeoff weight of 2,200 lb, light wake category.

About the Found Aircraft Canada FBA-2C Bush Hawk

The Found Aircraft Canada Bush Hawk is a modern interpretation of the classic backcountry taildragger, purpose-built for short-field operations on unimproved strips where pavement is a luxury and obstacles are the norm. Introduced in the early 2000s as a kit-built design, the Bush Hawk draws inspiration from legendary STOL aircraft like the Found FBA Centennial and Helio Courier, combining a high-lift wing with rugged landing gear and a powerful Lycoming engine to deliver exceptional slow-flight handling and climb performance. With its welded steel-tube fuselage and fabric-covered wings, the design prioritizes strength and repairability in remote environments over speed or complexity.

What sets the Bush Hawk apart in the experimental aircraft world is its genuine utility as a working airplane rather than a weekend sport flyer. Operators use these aircraft for hunting camp access, pipeline patrol, and wilderness cargo hauling in Alaska, northern Canada, and the mountain West. These are missions where a 300-foot takeoff roll and the ability to land on gravel bars or tundra matter more than cruise speed. The type's stall speed in landing configuration sits around 38 knots, and its never-exceed speed of 140 knots reflects a design philosophy that values control authority at the slow end of the envelope. Maximum structural cruising speed is 120 knots, making cross-country travel leisurely but safe in turbulent mountain air.

The Bush Hawk remains a niche aircraft, built one at a time by owner-builders or small shops, which explains its relatively small fleet presence compared to mass-produced Cessnas or Pipers. Each airframe reflects its builder's priorities: some optimized for heavy loads with extended baggage pods, others stripped down for maximum climb rate. SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.