 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2021) |
James R. Bede | |
|---|---|
 Aircraft designer Jim Bede, at the BD-5 Expo 2000 in Fort Worth, Texas | |
| Born | April 17, 1933 |
| Died | July 9, 2015 (aged 82) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Aircraft designer |
James R. Bede (April 17, 1933 – July 9, 2015) was an American aircraft designer and developer, particularly noted for his development of influential, fast, efficient, light aircraft, including his BD-1 (forerunner of the Grumman-American line[1]), and the BD-4,[2] BD-5[3] and BD-10[4] kitplanes. He designed well over a dozen aircraft starting in the 1960s, but a string of business failures, and legal, technical and safety problems kept most of these designs out of widespread use.[1][5][6][7][8][4]
- ^ a b "AGAC AA-1." February 26, 2001, updated October 29, 2019, Aviation Consumer, retrieved June 24, 2023; notes: "The AA-1 started life in 1963 as the BD-1," and "The flight characteristics of the original airplane were, in general, quite bad," and "the AA-1 has a safety record much worse than average for this class of airplane."
- ^ Davisson, Budd: "Bede's BD-4," March, 1991, Air Progress, (as OCR-scanned and posted on the author's website as "Jim Bede's High-speed Packing Crate: the BD-4: A classic, fast mover"), retrieved June 24, 2023
- ^ Moore, Jim: "Micro: Little Jet, Big Impact," May 1, 2022, AOPA Pilot, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, retrieved June 24, 2023
- ^ a b Mark, Rob: "Risky Business: Flying the BD-10...," May 1, 2022, AOPA Pilot - Turbine Edition, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, retrieved June 24, 2023
- ^ Noland, David: "Why Did This Crazy Kitplane Kill So Many Pilots? ...engine woes and questionable financial moves...," March 3, 2020, Aviation History, copied on HistoryNet (May 20, 2020), (also copied at Scribd, as "Bede's Boondoggle,") retrieved June 24, 2023
- ^ "Bede BD-5B," National Air and Space Museum, retrieved June 24, 2023
- ^ Parfit, Michael: "Build (and fly) it yourself; Thousands of hobbyists are putting together funnylooking airplanes in their garages—and some of them will actually get off the ground," December 5, 1976, New York Times, retrieved June 25, 2023
- ^ Kirkliauskaite, Kristina: "Bede BD-5: the nightmare of pilots," July 18, 2020, Aerotime.aero, retrieved June 24, 2023