BEDE BD-5

This month Shaun Garrity updates a plan for a small pusher, jet style model that doubles up as a stiff wind slope soarer

- Shaun Garrity

What has a Jaguar XJ6 (with the roof cut off), a steel pole and Octopussy got to do with this month’s free plan? Back in 1967 Jim Bede and his chief designer Paul Griffin sharpened their pencils and started creating a design for an aircraft that would become the BD-5, also referred to as the Micro. At the time Jim was working on the BD-4, which was essentially the world’s first homebuilt aircraft offered in kit form and a traditional-looking light aircraft. It is still one of the most popular home-built planes in the USA (and many other countries), with thousands of plans sold, and with many hundreds built and flying.

The BD-5 however was another kettle of fish with its single-seat, fighter jet-inspired design, large Plexiglas canopy and pusher propeller. The BD-5 project was revisited in 1970 with a view to build a prototype by the year-end. The design brief was again to produce an easy to construct, home build aircraft that required no welding or specialised tools. It was essentially an aluminium frame skinned with fibreglass panels and because the wings were easily removable the aircraft could be stored in a garage and transported on a small trailer. The low drag design could achieve almost 200mph on the 40hp engine, with a range of over 1000 miles; it was cheap to run as well being very frugal, achieving around 30mpg and available in two wingspans of 21 ft 6 in and 14 ft 3 in. The smaller wing was intended for aerobatic pilots. During 1971 the company received over 4,000 orders making it one of the most popular kit-built aircraft ever.