Cheerful Curmudgeon

A complete lack of ideas and the power to express them.

  • Home
  • About Me
    • Art Zemon’s PGP Key
    • Privacy Policy
  • Bede BD-4C
    • Hall of Fame
  • Piper Arrow

Adventures with the Tail Part 3

July 17, 2018 Art Zemon

Finished spacer on KP6A bearing

Six years ago, I installed the two weldments for the horizontal stabilator on the tail of my Bede BD-4C airplane. Take a look at Getting Closer to the Tail for photos. Four years ago, with help from Steve at BedeCorp, I fixed a problem with one of the weldments that holds the horizontal stabilator. You can […]

Bede BD-4C

First Taxi Test

July 4, 2018 Art Zemon

Bede BD-4C airplane in hangar

I taxied my Bede BD-4C airplane Tuesday, for the first time 😀 It was a nice way to wrap up a week that included a fuel leak and a couple of dents. All are repairable but thoroughly aggravating. (“Can you say, ‘Obscenity?’ Sure ya can.”)

Bede BD-4C

Bede BD-4C Aileron Counterweights and Wings and Control Stick Grips and Headset Jacks

June 24, 2018 Art Zemon

Bede BD-4C with wings (mostly) installed

This post has a long title because I continue to crank through the punch list of tasks that I need to complete before I can fly my Bede BD-4C airplane. There are so many little tasks that I am using a Trello board to track them. You can see it here: N2468Z Zemon BD-4C. In […]

Bede BD-4C

Small Tasks on my Bede BD-4C Airplane Project

June 17, 2018 Art Zemon

Over the last month, I have worked several small(ish) tasks on my Bede BD-4C airplane project. Unfortunately, I am behind schedule enough that the plane will not make it to AirVenture 2018, but definitely look for it in the summer of 2019. The oldest task, not yet reported here, was fabricating an air filter box. […]

Bede BD-4C

The Engine Runs

June 3, 2018 Art Zemon

Engine instruments: everything is green

Draw a big red circle around today on the calendar. For the first time, I ran the engine on my Bede BD-4C airplane for several minutes! Everything worked pretty well. Here is a photo of the engine instruments. From left to right, you are seeing: EGT = exhaust gas temperature. #1 cylinder is 1,060° F. […]

Bede BD-4C

Playing Hide and Seek with Oil Pressure

May 27, 2018 Art Zemon

Christen 805 Sump Plug

Over the last two weeks, my Bede BD-4C airplane has been in the shop for focused work on the engine. I got a couple of small tasks done while it was there but progress has been largely stalled. I asked the A&P mechanic to make some final adjustments to the engine so that it would […]

Bede BD-4C

The Final Push – Week 3

May 12, 2018 Art Zemon

This was a busy week capped by a conversation with my designated airworthiness representative (DAR). This is the guy who will look at my Bede BD-4C airplane, determine whether it is safe to fly, and issue the FAA airworthiness certificate. We are planning that inspection for the week of May 21. The first flight will […]

Bede BD-4C

The Final Push – Week 2

May 6, 2018 Art Zemon

Installing current limiters on the firewall

We got an immense amount done on my Bede BD-4C airplane this week. Thank you Thank you Thank you to all of the friends who have shown up at the hangar and helped! April 29 Connected wiring for the heated pitot tube. The controller was about one foot too far from the pitot tube. Lacking […]

Bede BD-4C

The Lights Work!

May 1, 2018 Art Zemon

Oh happy day! The lights in the wings of my Bede BD-4C work. https://photos.smugmug.com/Aviation/Bede-BD-4C/Miscellaneous/i-GZ7ShDc/0/41e094fb/1280/VID_20180501_144546-1280.mp4 The pitot heat works, too, but there is no way to show that in a video. Many thanks to Bob Murray for helping with the soldering and to Rich Emory, Bob, and Candy for help lifting wings and plugging connectors together.

Bede BD-4C

The Final Push

April 28, 2018 Art Zemon

Bede BD-4C on trailer

I am into the final push to “complete” my Bede BD-4C airplane, get it flying, and fly it to AirVenture for the 50th anniversary celebration of the BD-4 airplane. It has been a busy week. I thrilled with how much more quickly things go when I have friends helping. At the same time, I am […]

Bede BD-4C

Installing the Instrument Panel

April 23, 2018 Art Zemon

Instrument panel mock up

Using an EFIS instead of “steam gauges” in my Bede BD-4C airplane allowed me to simplify the instrument panel. BD-4 panels usually have the instruments in the main part of the panel; an angled lower section with a few more instruments, circuit breakers, and switches; and then a console with the fuel selector and engine […]

Bede BD-4C

BD-4C Landing Practice in a Cessna 172

March 25, 2018 Art Zemon

There are not any Bede BD-4 airplanes near me and I wanted some landing practice so I decided to make do with the tool on hand: a Cessna 172. The Cessna, flaps up, stalls at about the same speed as the Bede BD-4C with the flaps down. I rented a Cessna 172 and took it […]

Bede BD-4C

Mounting the Radio Stack

March 24, 2018 Art Zemon

Rear view of radio mounting trays

I will have a stack of four radios in the center of the instrument panel of my Bede BD-4C airplane. I installed three of them now. I will add the fourth next year. Here is my mock-up of the instrument panel. You can see the radio stack in the center. From top to bottom, the […]

Bede BD-4C

Radio Stack Wiring Harness

March 23, 2018 Art Zemon

Partially built wiring harness

My strong desire to be permanently rid of spinning gyroscopes, vacuum pumps, and their doomed-to-failure internal bearings, was a primary driver in my decision to build my own airplane. My Bede BD-4C has a fully electric instrument panel so, no surprise, it needs a reasonably sophisticated wiring harness. There are several reputable companies who will […]

Bede BD-4C

Outside Air Temperature Probe

March 21, 2018 Art Zemon

Exterior view of OAT probe on Bede BD-4C

You need to know the outside air temperature when you are flying an airplane. That lets you accurately calculate your airspeed and determine whether the mist or rain you are flying toward will stay liquid or coat your wings with ice. To get an accurate reading, the outside air temperature (OAT) probe should be located […]

Bede BD-4C

Seat Cushions

March 20, 2018 Art Zemon

seat cushion bolsters

OK… I’m embarrassed. I knew that it had been a long time since I had posted an airplane update but, when I looked back over the photos that I have taken, I was shocked to see how much I have done. This is the first of several posts to catch you up on progress on […]

Bede BD-4C

Two Small BD-4C Tasks

July 14, 2017 Art Zemon

Bede BD-4C landing gear leg gap seal, installed on right gear leg

I finished two small tasks on my Bede BD-4C airplane this week. First, I fabricated and installed backing plates (a/k/a skin doublers) for the VOR antenna and the transponder antenna. Second, I fabricated and installed the seals for the gaps between the main landing gear legs and the bottom of the fuselage. Scale is a […]

Bede BD-4C

Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)

July 6, 2017 Art Zemon

Artex 1000 ELT inside airplane

I installed the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) in my airplane last week. This radio, in case of a crash, transmits the airplane’s GPS position and a unique identifier to a satellite. Since the search and rescue folks know where the airplane is and which airplane is transmitting the distress signal (and therefore, what it looks […]

Bede BD-4C

BD-4C Airplane Firewall

June 19, 2017 Art Zemon

Bede BD-4C firewall

The firewall on my Bede BD-4C airplane is finally bolted in place. There are 58 bolts. They have all been on, and off, and on, and off, and on again. Some more times than that. But they are finally all on for (I hope) the last time. Since the firewall is basically just a big flat pieces […]

Bede BD-4C

Back Drilling the Firewall

April 16, 2017 Art Zemon

Laying the sheet of stainless steel over the blind hole spotter

Last week, I posted about Starting on the Firewall for my airplane. With the corners cut out, it is time to install the sheet of stainless steel. Installing the firewall on a Bede BD-4C airplane is easy: Take a big sheet of stainless steel Put a zillion holes in it that exactly line up with the […]

Bede BD-4C

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 14
  • Next Page »

Categories

  • Aviation (261)
    • Bede BD-4C (174)
    • Soaring (5)
  • Bicycling (37)
    • St. Louis to Atlanta (8)
    • St. Peters to Minneapolis (18)
  • Business (48)
  • Cabbages & Kings (24)
  • Communicating (37)
  • Ecology (21)
  • Economy (8)
  • Family (35)
  • Finding the Good (43)
  • Fun (188)
    • Six Word Stories (8)
  • Gardening (5)
  • Genealogy (5)
  • Government (35)
  • Health (67)
  • Judaism (10)
  • Men (12)
  • Mideast (5)
  • Movies (8)
  • Philosophy (15)
  • Photography (27)
  • Rants & Raves (103)
  • Recommendations (35)
  • Safety (37)
  • Science (22)
    • Biology (7)
    • Physics (7)
    • Pyschology (3)
  • Technology (195)
    • eBooks (7)
    • Internet (66)
    • Software (63)
    • VOIP (5)
  • Travel (43)
  • Tzedakah (12)
  • Women (5)

You Will Also Like

  • Art Zemon's Genealogy
  • Art Zemon's Photos
  • Mastodon @babka.social
  • Mastodon @raphus.social

Search

#DonorForLife

6 gallon blood donor badge
#DonorForLife - Give Blood - Save Lives

Archives

Copyright © 2025 · Daily Dish Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in