See Photos of the BD4C taken at Oskosh 2009
- BD4C Photos
This site hosts information about the experimental aircraft BD-4. The
BD-4 is the first real kitplane in the world. Jim Bede designed and
started to sell the kits in 1968, that's almost 35 ago! Despite its
age, the BD-4 still is high in demand; no real surprise when you look
at the specifications below. It is still one of the fasted 4 seat experimentals,
but requires a fraction of building time and financial investment in
comparison to younger composite designs.
The BD-4 has an excellent safety record. From all experimental designs
with a larger number of high time aircrafts
it is the only one with no reported catastrophic structural in flight
failure, as far as I know. A rough analysis of the accident numbers
in the NTSB database since 1983 reveal an accident rate that is about
half of the combined other designs.
The situation around BD-4 kit suppliers is currently undergoing some
changes. The main players are (in alphabetical order) Jim Bede's BedeCorp
and TVAP which reformed
as new company Team Aviation at the same location. I will continue to
report about the latest developments in the yellow "News"
block to the right.
Here are pictures of finished planes, the first from Bernie Thalmann,
the second one*
is owned by John Cowan of Sierra Vista, Arizona:
Despite the fact that the BD-4 was designed 35 ago it is still a very
good alternative as an experimental plane. These are the main advantages:
- Relatively easy to build (everything
is pretty square)
- Proven design with numerous modifications
and design improvements that were developed in 30 years of building
and flying
- Fast: up to 190 MPH cruise with a
200 HP engine
- Fuel efficient: up to 20 MPG (in
1983 it was Roger Mellema's BD-4 winning the CAFE 400 race against
a number of modern composite designs)
- Can seat 2 adults and 2 kids or 3 adults. If built with a fuselage
extension it's a true 4-seater.
- Long range, fuel tanks up to 80 gal
(or even more)
- Inexpensive to build, if built from
plans
- Multiple engine configurations were tested and used
- One of the best designs to incorporate custom design modifications
The BD-4 does not have the best reputation as a pretty bird. The fuselage
is somewhat boxy. Judge yourself by browsing in the gallery
or looking at the planes from the builder's
list.
To learn more about the BD-4 refer to the FAQ list.
There is an email list with ongoing discussions.
We also "meet" every Friday in an online chat
room.
This site is created and maintained by the builder's group and is not
associated with any supplier. The quality and quantity of the information
depends to a great extend on contributions of the builders. To contribute
please contact the webmaster at webmaster@bd-4.org.
You can track the changes of this site on the page updates.html.
Another website devoted to the BD-4 is www.bd4.org,
currently run by Dave Anderson.
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