Henderson Little Bear


The Henderson Little Bear is an American homebuilt aircraft that was designed and produced by Henderson Aero Specialities of Felton, Delaware, introduced in 1993. The aircraft is a replica of the Piper J-3 Cub. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit or in the form of plans for amateur construction.

Design and development

The Little Bear features a strut-braced high-wing, a two-seats-in-tandem enclosed cockpit accessed via doors, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration.
The aircraft fuselage is made from welded steel with all surfaces covered in doped aircraft fabric. Its span wing employs a USA 35B airfoil, has a wing area of and is supported by "V" struts and jury struts. The cabin width is. The acceptable power range is and the standard engine used is the Continental A65.
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.

Specifications (Little Bear)