NORTHWEST
Issue 4, March 1982  

Dear BD Builders, 

Rog Mellema has been so busy working long hours, he has asked me to help put together the newsletter. So, here goes! I'd like your help. Please drop me a line about your BD. Tell us about your progress, problems, and solutions, so that we can tell others. We like to know how others are doing and you may save someone a lot of grief and possible disaster from your experience.   

LETTERS FROM BUILDERS:   

Stan Wilkin, Islington, Ontario wrote today that he has had no trouble with his glass wing fuel cells. He put his fuel lines in just as Bede called for. Stan put his main gear on backward so there would be less weight on the nose wheel, and the firewall. He has just finished rebuilding his BD-4 after having his throttle jam on approach, landing in the rough and doing quite a bit of damage. He would like to locate the cylinder head temperature unit that came with Bede's cluster. He is also building a clam shell door wheel pants and would like a sketch of how Bede did his hinge. 

Chet Bartusiac, from Virginia Beach, VA. wrote to give some information on himself and his BD-4 N600CW. He wasn't on any of my BD-4 owner/builder lists, so thanks to Bill Baker for referring him. He had his first cut in the metal of #600 on 17 November 1973, completing it 5 years and 8 months later with first flight on 17 July 1979. He has about 175 delightful hours in it. It is powered by a Lycoming 10-360 with a Hartzell C/S prop. On a recent trip to Philadelphia, he was landing at a small field at Bridgeport NJ. when his nose gear broke at the bend in the tube, causing, of course, a sudden engine stoppage. He is in the process of taking the kinks out of #600 at the present time and strongly considering a modification to make it a tail dragger: thus eliminating this kind of occurrence in the future. Some advice from the club's tail-dragger owners would be greatly appreciated, since pulling and relocating the main gear will be quite time consuming. NOTE: Chet sent a picture of his airplane and I noticed that he has a fixed nose wheel fairing that fits over the top and also behind the nose gear while allowing the nose wheel to swivel 360 degrees. It looks nice and probably saves a lot of hassle. rdm 

Gene Selchow is rebuilding his wing using Murphy parts as his fiberglass wing tanks leaked badly. He is also installing 7075-T6 gear legs and a large fin and rudder. 

Duane Roberts, converting to tail-dragger, has his 10-360 injected on, new cowling attached, wings extended 21 inches, and painting completed on the fuselage. It will be airborne by next newsletter. 

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS:  

Chet Bartusiac is strongly considering a conversion to a tail dragger. I can help you there, Chet, because I just completed that conversion and it's not too difficult, but quite time consuming. If you want a detailed information as I did mine, please let me know. Duane Roberts

HOT LINE

Gene Selchow wrote and said he has the original BD-4 wing tip molds and will sell some tips for less than $135 per pair. 

Gene Selchow, Rockford, IL and Harry Crawford, Ft. Pierre, FL wrote to let me know about Diversified Aviation, 4747 Highway H, Franksville, WI. 53126 (414-886-9022). They can supply wing panels, wing tips, elevator tips, and engine nose cowls. We have no knowledge of the quality of these parts. I would guess there would be no problem, except with the wing panels. These panels are very difficult to build and very difficult to use if not built right. Maybe some BD4 builder who lives close by can check on the quality for us. A complete set of wing panels is $672. 

Scott DeGaynor called to say that we now have a source for wing and cabin spars. We have to buy 20 sets of wing spars and 38 cabin spars. The basic cost (not figuring tax, crating, shipping, etc.) is $663 for a pair of wing spars (6.810 in. OD by 6.410 in. ID by 10 ft) and $188.90 for each cabin spar (6.400 in OD by 6.000 in. ID by 5.5 ft.).

This is 2024-T3 extruded, seamless, round tube. We have about 5 sets sold already, so get your orders in now. Please send your reservation to Roger Mellema, 17605 SE 288 Pl, Kent, WA 98042. Please do not send money yet. When we have about enough orders, we will send in our order, but not until the cash has all been collected.  

 

MEMBERS AT WORK

 

THE FUN AND FRUSTRATION OF BUILDING YOUR OWN

by
Fred Hinsch, EAAC 3811 

Back in 1970 when I was still looking at and reading various magazines on one of my favorite subjects -Flying- I was unsure which one to subscribe to, and even less sure which airplane I should ultimately buy. I know only that renting was not the answer. It was important to have my own, to go when and where I pleased! 

Then one fine day in 1971, 1 saw it. Which magazine it was in is long forgotten, but it was the start of my long affair with the wonderful world of homebuilding. The ad described how I, or anyone could build their own airplane for less than 3500 dollars! In only 600 hours one could take to the air after building this dream in weekend spare time with ordinary tools! My imagination was set on fire! This, friends, was the Bede-4. It could be had in 7 kits, bought as you build. My experience was in metalworking and I knew nothing to speak of about airplanes and their construction. This seemed just the thing for me! I sent for the information package. Meanwhile, I searched for a test report on the Bede-4 and found one in "FLYING" magazine. It was not all positive, but by this time I was already hooked. I had read in one of my magazines that one needs permission to build and fly airplane-- from the MOT. This was soon gained.

FIRST STEP: THE PLANS

I sent away for the plans. While I waited anxiously, I went about collecting tools I thought I would need, built a workbench in my-basement and waited. Then the notice came from Customs and I know the set of plans had arrived. I was then introduced to the first of many setbacks. Federal tax on all aircraft parts. The next two weeks I did nothing but study the plans and buy more tools. The fuselage kit was ordered. I soon realized two things. This was no simple bolt together job and I was looking at a pile of work. I needed a place to assemble this bird and decided I should build a shed of sorts outside the house I was renting. The landlord lived in the next house over and he didn't mind, he was as excited as me. I got a building permit and spent 200 dollars on lumber. Fortunately no more. The house behind me was occupied by an old widow from the old country (wherever that was). Anyway she started to complain right away. It was too close to the fence, too noisy and she would make it stop. I carried on. After all I had a permit. 

RED TAPE, RED TAPE  

The following day the inspector from the fire department arrived and withdrew my permit, quoting fire regulations. Turned out the old woman had a son at city hall somewhere. I was pretty annoyed and now stuck with a bunch of useless lumber. Following this setback, the kit arrived at Customs and I found the tax bill and freight charges were horrendous, almost 25 % of the kit cost. I felt I had to go on. Back in the basement I cut all the gusset shapes from the plans and glued them onto 0.063 Alclad. Then the fun really started. I used a sabre saw to cut them out with, over 70 gussets of various shapes and sizes. My wife complained, as did my daughter, then two weeks old. It took two weeks to finish and about 36 hours of my spare time. Eventually the building took a different turn. A jig table 2 feet high had to be built. This was the height of the gear. The 5 foot long center section spar had to be mounted at the exact distance above it. I took great pains to be exact in all my measurements and this paid off. The fuselage was made up of three sizes of angle, 2 inch, 1.5 inch, and 1 inch, 0.063 thickness and like a truss structure. There were templates of all the angles and I found them to be reasonably correct. 

WANTED: ROOM TO WORK  

Four months and 325 hours later the fuselage was complete and measured so straight I was amazed. I had been looking for a place in the neighborhood and finally put an ad in the newspaper; wanted, shop space to assemble airframe. A phone call one night brought me in touch with another homebuilder, who was renting the basement of a sheet metal and heating shop. This was too good to pass up. Through this call started a relationship with other like minded people and builders that lasted almost two years while the project grew into something resembling and airplane. 

The shop had access to the outside through a big door and a ramp up. There were all the tools I did not have, even sheet metal brakes and shears. It was ideal! 

The owner was himself a homebuilder with an Emeraude in the shop below. Besides that, there was Jodel F-10 and a banged up Tripacer. We came to an agreement and I dismantled my fuselage into two sides and a bunch of cross braces, all of which was then moved on top of my car to the new place. The next 12 hours was spent reaming out holes and countersinking them for installation of the permanent structural screws. I was finally ready to call the MOT for the first. inspection. Since I had started a construction log on recommendation of my new friends, I was quite fortunate to have it available with the project when the inspector came. I was not there at the time, but his comments and stamp were later found in it. There was no complaint. 

I was now ready to tackle the next step, the landing gear. The kit was expensive by the time I cleared it - over a thousand dollars. Mine was to be a tricycle gear airplane, something I regretted later on. There were many welded and machined parts to make for the gear and I had to farm out both of those. After tinkering around and throwing out some expensive 4130 material, I had to rethink my approach and only tack-weld assemblies. The gear legs went in and out several times, but finally stayed in after 72 hours. The MOT was called again to have their say. There were no remarks this time, just the stamp and the name signed. I suppose that was good. 

BUILDING TIME MOUNTS  

The hours mounted up and I began to realize how it would be a lot more time than the 600 hours Bede claimed to finish this bird! All the skins had long been cut out and I was ready to bond and back rivet them into position at this point. This was to be quite an operation. The glue for this was 2216 3M contact cement, an adhesive with excellent metal bonding qualities. Since all skins are bonded to the angles and glue is spread on both angle and skin, this gets to be pretty hairy. The glue is dry by the time you have spread it on one side and the skin should then be placed in position. Once contacted there is no way you remove it, so it better be right. I predrilled all rivet holes to cleco size and started with a few at one edge. This positioned the skin. By the time I tackled the bottom skin, 10 feet long, I was good enough at it not to mess up. Bede says: "there is absolutely no oil canning of the skin". I got news for him! The ones with the windows had them put in first, better than having to do it on vertical surfaces.

When it came to the interior I started to deviate from the plans a bit. The panel for one had square edges, which I rounded off. Also to gain visibility I lowered the panel top 1 inch, making it necessary to rearrange the instruments. Part of the panel was then mounted on shock mounts. I always liked wood panels, so I covered mine with very thin birch. This looked so good, I later did it to the door panels and rear cabin walls. The work on the panel took 20 hours of trimming and fiddling. 

The throttle quadrant got a different treatment too. I had liked the type of throttle levers in the Cherokee 140 has and designed a central console for the three main controls, primer, and instrument dimmer, installed later. Also air vents were later installed on each side. The final result was quite pleasing. 

Anyone who flies knows that, airplanes are usually not too quiet., I wanted mine to be different. The cabin for one had to have a back wall. I put one right ahead of the battery, and because I had added the small fourth side window in the very back, 'Like some builder--, did. I built a shelf above and behind the wall. It closed the cabin area off very effectively towards the tail. The whole was then insulated with foam. It was only the first step towards insulating the entire aircraft in the future. 

Look for continuation of this story in the next issue.  

BD-4 WORKBENCH

  RACE-AROUND FOR RUDDER PEDALS 

By
David Dotson 

We have found when applying pressure to the brake-pedals it, has put an undesirable amount of pressure on the rudder cables as well as the rudder horn. Our procedure to correct this was to put a full swiveling device that would transfer the pressure from the pedals to the swivel instead of the cables and the rudder horn. To eliminate this pressure we used 4130 steel tubing in two different sizes. One was to fit inside the other, the two sizes I used were 1/2 inch OD and 5/8 inch OD. We made it into a tee shape which allows it to make a full swivel motion back and forth, this is how we did it.  

Part 1 5/8 inch OD 4130  
Part 2 1/2 inch OD 4130  
Part 3 Flat Steel 1/16 inch thick  
Part 4 Angle aluminum 1 x 1 inch   

(A) Weld Part I to Part 3 making sure the angle is correct to the angle the rudder pedals are mounted on. 
(B) Then take two pieces of 1/2 OD and weld them into a "T" with a washer. 
(C) Bolt parts 1 and 3 which are now one part to the floor angle the rudder pedals are bolted to, in a vertical position. 
(D) Weld tab to part 1 near the top but not to interfere with the swiveling  "T" This will be used to bolt angles Part 4 to. 
(E) Bolt angles Part 4 to the floor in front and at Part 1 also. 
(F) The T bar should hit just below the "T" on the rudder pedals about. 1/2 inch down. 
(G) To hold the "T" inside Part 1 you have to cut a slot in the "T" so as to insert a sheet metal screw and drill a hole through Part 1. 

This will hold the T but allow it to swivel. I have found that this works very well and is light weight and very strong and easy to build.