Check out this photo of the outer half of the flap for the left wing of my Bede BD-4C airplane. (You can click on it to see it larger, as with any other photo.) You may think that this photo looks just like the ones that I posted on May 20 or perhaps even the […]
Bede BD-4C Flaps
At long last, I am doing something large that actually looks like an airplane part! 😀 I am making the flaps for my Bede BD-4C airplane. The wings are 10 feet wide; the flaps are made of two 40 inch wide halves and the aileron is another 40 inches. To make each half of the flap, […]
Bede BD-4C Wing with Brackets
Last night I installed the outer aileron support bracket on the right wing of my Bede BD-4C. Here is a bonus photo with all of the brackets labeled so you can see what all I have been babbling about for the last couple of weeks. Click on the picture to see a larger version. The […]
Aileron Support Brackets
Having completed the mid-flap support brackets on the wings of my Bede BD-4C airplane, I continued working along the wing to the inboard aileron support bracket, which supports the outboard end of the flap and the inboard end of the aileron, and then to the outboard aileron support bracket. The outboard bracket was easy; it […]
Mid-Flap Assembly
The original wing design for the Bede BD-4 used a one-piece flap, about seven feet long. The new metal wing on my Bede BD-4C airplane uses a two-piece flap, with each half being about 3.5 feet wide. The ribs at the ends of each half are tied together with a pair of 1/4 inch steel […]
Circular Hole Cutter
I get to use some cool tools while building my Bede BD-4C airplane. The latest acquisition has been a Circular Hole Cutter. By adjusting the arm, I can cut a hole up to four inches in diameter. In these photos, I have it adjusted to cut a hole 1.5 inches in diameter. The instructions say […]
Flap & Aileron Jig
I built a jig to help me assemble the flaps and ailerons of my BD-4C. Note the use of aviation-grade aluminum gutter flashing to face the jig, obtained from the aviation aisle at the local hardware store. Here is a shot with a flap skin and three ribs set into the jig.
Starting on the Flaps
I started on the flaps for my Bede BD-4C airplane this week. The adventure began on Monday when Jim and Patrick and Rich very kindly came over and helped carry the wings out of the basement and into the garage. Each wing is 10 feet long and weighs about 85 pounds. The weight isn’t so […]
Bede BD-4C Controls Done!
I am finished working on the controls for my Bede BD-4C airplane! (At least for awhile.) The last month has seen a bunch of fiddly little stuff that has been hard to photograph so I have not posted anything. Tonight, I finally wrapped up the controls. The rudder pedals are hooked up to the rudder. […]
Designing with U-Type Tinnerman Nuts
I am going “off plan” for the tunnel of my Bede BD-4C airplane. The plans call for using sheet metal screws to attach the top of the tunnel to the walls. I am not a fan of sheet metal screws; they always seem to loosen and fall out. After replacing the screws a couple of […]
The Tunnel
February was “tunnel month” on my Bede BD-4C project. The floor of the airplane will look like an old fashioned rear wheel drive car, with a tunnel down the middle. The difference is that the BD-4C’s tunnel will house controls, brake lines, and electrical cables instead of a drive shaft. I started by making a […]
True Love
Sometimes I get lucky. Sometimes I know it’s true love. Who else but my beloved bride would let me keep the tail of my airplane in the kitchen???
Lucky
Few wives are as lucky as Candy. Not only does she have a freshly spray painted rudder push-pull tube drying in her dining room, but it is hanging from her chandelier! I’ll bet that none of her girlfriends have anything anywhere near this cool. Then again, maybe I’m lucky that she lets me build […]
Rudder Cables and More
After installing the rudder on my Bede BD-4C, I moved on to hooking up more of the controls. First task, since the rudder is on the plane, was connecting the rudder cables. These are about 15 feet long and have to be fabricated in the airplane, because once the ends are swaged, there is no […]
Aileron Cables: Check! Stabilator Push-Pull Tubes: Check!
I have gotten a lot done on my Bede BD-4C airplane over the last few weeks. I adjusted the length of the push-pull tubes for the horizontal stabilator so that when the control sticks were pushed fully forward the horizontal stabilator was angled down at least 15°. Here is a photo of the stabilator pivot […]
Aileron Cables
I finished the aileron cables for my BD-4C airplane at the end of November. Life gets a little hectic this time of year (as you may have noticed) so I am just posting the photos now. Sorry about that. Which reminds me; I have an open position for a blogger/documenter to do a more timely […]
Vertical Stabilizer is On!
My Bede BD-4C airplane kit looks a lot more like an airplane tonight. I have finally mounted the vertical stabilizer to the fuselage. The front rib, which runs from the top of the fin, downward and forward at an angle, to the middle of the bottom, is bolted to a custom-fit gusset as you can see […]
Fitting the “Rudder”
I lied in the title. I am not fitting the rudder to my Bede BD-4C airplane. I am fitting the vertical stabilizer. The vertical stabilizer is the thing which sticks up, like a shark’s fin, and does not move. The rudder is the piece attached to the back of the vertical stabilizer and which wiggles left and […]
Aeroquip Fuel Lines
Real men may have hard lines but sometimes men, even real men, have to be flexible. One of those times comes, at least in a Bede BD-4C airplane, when you need to connect the hard line fuel lines in the fuselage to the fuel lines in the wings. That connection requires a flexible hose about a […]
Getting Closer to the Tail
Over the last month, I have been working steadily on the pieces which will mount and control the horizontal part of the tail of my BD-4C airplane. Since I last wrote about the Horizontal Stabilator Push-Pull Tube, I have fitted the two weldments to the tail of the fuselage, like this: Once I had the […]
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