Coming Soon: My Bede BD-4C Kit

If you know me at all, or have read even a bit of my blog, then you know that I fly a Piper Arrow and am pretty darned happy with it. The Arrow is a great travelling machine for Candy and me. It is fast enough to make cross country flights reasonable to large parts of the United States. I have flown it all over the place, from the Tetons to Washington, DC; from New Orleans to Oshkosh. I have given about 125 kids intro flights under the EAA’s Young Eagles program. In five years and well over 600 hours of flight, the Arrow has virtually never let me down. But…

I have been lusting after newer airplanes with electronic “glass panels” to replace the mechanical gyroscopes, needles, and gauges with which I have always flown. I have been sorely tempted by airplanes that are more efficient and faster.

When I was at AirVenture in July, I ran across the Bede BD-4C and realized that it is exactly the upgrade for which I have been searching. With the same 180 HP engine as I have in the Arrow, it should be quite a bit faster. Bede claims 189 MPH compared to the 150 MPH that I currently see. There are several glass panels available for amateur built airplanes, such as the BD-4C, for much more reasonable prices than what comparable electronics would cost for the Arrow. The BD-4C’s cabin is both wider and longer than the Arrow’s, so both front and back seat passengers will have more room. As a bonus, being a high wing, it is easier to get in and out of. No more climbing up onto the wing and then down into the plane, something that Candy and I will certainly appreciate as we approach our “golden years.”

By some universal coincidence, Jim Bede Jr.’s son got his pilot’s license last winter and needs a certificated airplane in which to build time. I was interested in a BD-4C kit. So Jim and I arranged to swap my Arrow for one of his kits. If the stars remain properly aligned, I will fly the Arrow to Ohio on October 15 and ride home in the truck bringing my kit back to Missouri.

In the meantime, I have a stack of plans in the basement and have been obsessing over how to understand them. Most were hand drawn in 1968 and 1969, when the original BD-4 kit was released. A few were redrawn in the 70’s. A very few, those for the new all-metal wing and the new stretched and widened fuselage, were drawn on a CAD system.

Candy is being an angel about this. Not only does she support the project but she actually helped me clean out half of the garage to make room for our airplane factory. For the next 12 months or so, the Miata will have to live outside so that the airplane can be indoors. I have measured and there is room in the garage for the fuselage, even with the tail attached. The wings will fit, too, of course, since they are much shorter than the fuselage. I will not move the plane to the airport until the engine is attached, the interior is done, and it is time to permanently attach the wings. Then everything will go onto a trailer or flat bed truck for the 15 mile drive to St. Charles County Smartt field.

I am not going to do one of those incredibly detailed web sites which chronicles every micro-step of the airplane construction. I would rather spend my time building the plane than building another web site. The BD-4C will be a huge part of my life for quite awhile, though, and I want to share it with you so I will post the interesting bits here. Stay tuned and, as always, I welcome your suggestions, comments, questions, etc.