Meet ‘Bullet’: a one-of-a-kind, homebuilt Super Bushmaster

The wind blew across the playa of Dead Cow lakebed, Nevada, weaving around tundra tires, motor homes, and tents. When the dust storm finally settled, the tumble weeds stopped in their tracks, and the dust plumes parted to reveal a gorgeous, red-and-white Super Bushmaster.

“Where did it come from?” and “What type of aircraft is that?” were the most common questions asked by the hordes of pilots that circled around it. Beautifully designed, and customized to the teeth, there is no doubt that this aircraft created the most buzz at this year’s High Sierra Fly In (HSF). While everyone was distracted watching Mike Patey’s “Scrappy” — the Carbon Cub build on YouTube — a team of talented machinists, mechanics, and engineers worked tirelessly on the Super Bushmaster of the century. And poof! It seemed as though it appeared from thin air. 

Some aircraft homebuilders are showcasing their building process on social media, but there are many who aren’t. Countless aircraft are being worked on across North America with the aim to build bigger and better than ever before, sans social media clout. The Super Bushmaster, nicknamed “Bullet,” is a prime example of that. It’s the brainchild of a gentleman by the name of Larry Mosimann, from Chilliwack, British Columbia. This aircraft build goes above and beyond when it comes to attention to detail and general backcountry prowess. Mosimann, a passionate aviator and hunter, wanted a purpose-built aircraft that could get him in and out of the surrounding mountainous terrain while loaded with moose, elk, and other game. He decided a Super Bushmaster was the best choice and recruited specialist Blair Edlund, owner of EA Structures, to help him with the build. 

Bullet is the only flying Super Bushmaster from BBI Aviation. It is three feet longer than a stock Pacer, and three inches higher in cabin height. Mosimann, a gearhead that raced everything from motorcycles to cars, built the motor himself in four short months. The aircraft sports a Lycoming TIO 540 Twin Turbo engine that produces about 400 horsepower. The Lycoming TIO 540 is traditionally a 350-horsepower engine, however, Mosimann couldn’t help himself and decided to add full electronic ignition (EFI) and full programable pressurized fuel injection. The water meth-injected engine has two probes to measure air intake temperature, and gives the pilot the ability to program which manifold pressure they would like. This allows the pilot to control the engine temperature and provides the engine with far denser air — meaning no loss of power at higher altitudes.

Edlund and Mosimann attest that Bullet will maintain its horsepower to about 15,000 feet ASL. It is not unusual for this aircraft to get climb performance of about 2,000 ft per minute, and Mosimann has seen climb performance as high as 2,400 ft per minute.

The Super Bushmaster airframe was sourced from BBI Aviation. The propeller is a one-off, custom built from MT-Propeller out of Germany. Taking almost eight months to build, this non-certified propeller is arguably the secret sauce behind the performance of the airplane. Throughout the whole build, the only thing that was outsourced was the paint and avionics installation. Other than the PA-46 nose bowl, the entire cowling was custom built. From the time that the motor was completed and EA Structures began working on the build process, it took a little over six months to get the aircraft to completion.

“One thing that I’m really picky about is root fairings and trim, so everything is custom formed and fabricated composites, carbon fibre, and fibreglass,” said Edlund.

The panel features dual GDU 460 10-inch displays, two Garmin radios, autopilot, full Bluetooth, and all the bells and whistles. 

When all was said and done, the build left an incredible feeling of accomplishment for everyone involved in the process.

“The most rewarding thing was seeing it achieve its first flight — that was the pinnacle,” said Edlund. “To see it fly for the first time and fly it down to the High Sierra Fly In was the icing on the cake for me.”

Highly modified and customized aircraft like these are drawing huge crowds at events like EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and the HSF, and are reinvigorating the builder community so much so that many kit plane manufacturers are drowning in orders.

When asked what’s next for Bullet the Super Bushmaster, Mosimann answered, “Fly the ass off it, go hunting, and have fun.” With 60 hours on the engine and a world of opportunities ahead, there is no saying where this aircraft might end up. 

Both Edlund and Mosimann want to thank everyone who contributed to the creation of Bullet the Super Bushmaster. It took an incredibly talented team and many long days to create this backcountry masterpiece.

For more information on the Super Bushmaster, or building your own, visit https://eastructures.com or @eastructures on Instagram.