AirVenture Show Plane

When I planned my trip to AirVenture 2019, I never imagined that my Bede BD-4C would end up near the flight line, with all of the airplanes that are gorgeously painted and meticulously finished. N2468Z has not yet been painted. It got upholstery on the seats just a few days before AirVenture but it still lacks the rest of the interior and carpeting. There are huge scuff marks on the sides from where a tarp rubbed against it while it was being trailered last year. I could go on and on because I’m so close to the project that it is far too easy for me to only see the flaws.

N2468Z did end up on the flight line, though, and Tim Becker at Bede Aero was right to ask me to move it up there.

After I landed at AirVenture, I parked in Homebuilt Camping and pitched my tent next to my airplane. Most of the planes were nicely turned out with beautiful paint but there were a few other unpainted ones so I did not feel completely out of place. I chuckled when the guy at registration asked whether I wanted my airplane judged: No, I did not want it judged. N2468Z flies and it’s safe but it is nowhere near ready to be judged!

On Monday morning, I walked over to the Bede Aero booth to say hello to the folks there. Tim asked me to move my airplane up to Homebuilt Parking on the flight line since there was only one BD-4 there. I ended up parked next to Joe Lienau’s Bede BD-4 N67MB, a beautiful airplane that has been flying since 1981.

Being next to Joe for a couple of days was a huge win for me. Not only did I get lots of cool BD-4 ideas but I was also introduced to garden scale model railroads. He showed me stunning photos of his set-up. Even more than the actual trains, I was impressed by his detail work in creating the buildings, trestles, and landscapes. From looking at his airplane, I will definitely be stealing his baggage compartment and upper door latch ideas. I shared my idea for a step attached to the main gear leg with Joe and he had thoughts on materials to assure it is sturdy enough. (With luck, I will have photos published here soon.)

I spent my afternoons next to my airplane, talking aviation with pilots and pilot-wannabes from all over the world. Each afternoon I took a door off the plane (to make it easier to see inside), set up a chair in the shade under the wing, and engaged in non-stop conversation. Having an unfinished airplane turned out to be a boon, allowing people to see how the BD-4C is constructed (bolted together aluminum angle trusses and bonded wings), how the controls operate, etc. I was reminded of my fascination with the “visible” models when I was a kid. I remember having both the Visible Rotary Engine and the Visible Woman, neither of which did I have the patience to paint.

I had a long conversation with a young man who just graduated high school. He has already finished his private pilot license and is working on his IFR. He has grand plans to build a plane during a gap year and is considering a Bede BD-4C. He even shared his Space Shuttle paint scheme idea with me. With dreams like his, I’m sure he will be flying his own plane in no time. And his parents deserve a special place in heaven for supporting him

I talked with several folks from Australia. What a cool vacation, to hop on an airliner with a bunch of your countrymen and fly to AirVenture for a week. I bumped into four folks from China: two China Airlines pilots, one wife, and one toddler son. They had arranged a flight to New York with a few days of vacation just to attend AirVenture. I talked to a guy from Germany, who told me about the challenges of GA aviation in a tiny airspace where the German air force flies everywhere and GA airplane better get out of the way. That gave me a new appreciation for restricted areas and MOAs.

Several of us talked about Pro Seal and its suitability as a long term fuel tank sealant. It seems that a significant number of folks have problems with it leaking but lots of other people do not. The tank in my left wing is fine but I had to have Bede Aero rebuild the tank in the right wing because the sealant either did not properly cure or had gotten contaminated and was reverting from solid to gel. None of the fuel tank sealant manufacturers will admit to a widespread problem so I guess that I just need to wait and see what happens with my wings.

I talked with a man who tried to get a BasicMed, only to discover that his third-class medical was one month too old. He is facing some issue getting his medical renewed, which led to the thought experiment: Could we certificate a Bede BD-4C as an experimental motor-glider, which could then be flown without a medical. It would be a lousy glider, sure, but…. (The answer is, no. The certification standards for a motor glider stipulate a maximum sink rate of 1.2 meters per second and the BD-4C sinks roughly 4 meters per second.)

I used a portable power pack and a borrowed 12V battery charger to light up my EFIS screens. Those twin 10.4 inch MGL iEFIS displays engendered more talk. Several of us poked through the various screens, contemplating which ones are useful in which phases of flight. My preference is

• a simple screen for takeoff and landing: big primary flight instruments and no distracting map.
• a split screen for enroute: 50% map for situational awareness and 50% primary flight instruments.
• occasionally a page which is 25% map, 25% profile (to assure that I don’t climb into Class B airspace), and 50% primary flight instruments.

If anyone noticed the many flaws in my unpainted airplane, they were too polite to mention them. It took more effort than I thought it would to keep my mouth shut and not point the flaws out to everyone. I’m glad that I kept quiet.

I wish that I was better at remembering details and names so I could share more of it with you.

Be assured, I will be back at AirVenture next year and I will plan on parking N2468Z near the flight line. I hope to have the interior completed by then but will build it in such a way that I can easily remove panels, exposing the inner workings of the airplane. And I have an improved scheme for powering the EFIS screens while I am on the ground.

See also:

• Flying to AirVenture 2019
• Departing AirVenture 2019