The BD 6 aircraft was designed by Jim Bede and the prototype first flew in 1974. The prototype aircraft accumulated about a hundred and twenty-five hours of test flying and has been thoroughly developed. The original BD 6 utilized a two cylinder, two cycle Hirth engine of 650 cc displacement. Because Hirth went out of business in the late 1976 and there was no suitable engine available at that time so the BD 6 was put on hold. Now there are numerous good engines available so therefore we are making the BD 6 drawings available for the first time.

The prototype N6BD accumulated about 160 hours before it was caught in the flood of 1993, in St. Louis, MO. The prototype is slowly going through restoration. The BD-6 is a simple but a fun airplane to fly.

We have a lot of interest in the BD-6, and we are very proud of this airplane. We have designed a relatively simple wing modification that will allow the BD-6 to meet the currently proposed sport category aircraft requirements. It is very hard to beat the aircrafts integrity of design and performance for it's exceptionally low cost. With removable wings and a fuel consumption of less than 3 gallons an hour, the operating cost per hour is also exceptionally low.

Fuselage

The fuselage is all metal incorporating a bolt together metal angle to form a solid truss structure. This frame is then covered with metal skin to further enhance its strength. This type of construction was first utilized on the BD 4 homebuilt aircraft and has proven to be trouble free. It is proven that this type of construction does not require any maintenance even after several thousand hours of flying. It is equipped with a tricycle landing gear but a tail dragger version is entirely feasible. The cockpit is roomy with a 23" inside width and the cabin length and height is good for a six foot five inch pilot.

Wing

The BD 6 wing is all metal and is the same that is used on the BD 17. The ribs are made from ½ inch honeycomb panels and are bonded to the spar and metal skin with special adhesive. The BD 6 utilizes a tubular spar for both the fuselage center section and the main wing spars. The wing spar slides over the center section spar to form a low stress socket connection. Two bolts are installed to carry all torsional loads. The ailerons are small but are very effective lateral control. The aileron chord is only 15 percent of the main wing chord. They are sealed and move differentially. This results in excellent stick forces with essentially no adverse yaw. From the ailerons inboard simple but effective plane flaps reduce the stall speeds by 10 mph. An appropriate area between ribs are sealed to make a wet wing fuel tank. The normal fuel capacity is 21 gallons. More capacity can be incorporated.

Horizontal Tail

The horizontal stabilizer is an all metal, all flying tail. It is equipped with an anti- servo tab which produces the stick forces for the control stick and can be cockpit adjusted to work as a trim tab. This is a very simple and safe design that is easy to build.

Vertical Fin

The vertical fin and rudder are all metal and are of conventional design. In the flight testing of the BD 6, it was found that the rudder forces were just a little too light. Some pilots had the tendency of over controlling. We designed an anti- servo tab for the rudder. This is essentially a piano hinge at the trailing edge of the rudder that is connected to the frame in a manner that it moves in the same direction of the rudder, when it is deflected. What this does is increase the force or hinge movement of the rudder. The result is excellent feel that is in complete harmony with the other two controls.

Landing Gear

The main landing gear incorporates a aluminum strut. This is a light weight, trouble free, high energy absorbing design that gives excellent landing characteristics. The nose wheel utilizes a full swivel wheel that permits outstanding ground maneuverability. One of the reasons why the BD 6 can incorporate the highly maneuverable nose wheel is because the aerodynamic design eliminates any engine torque on takeoff. It is, therefore, not necessary to correct the yawing tendency with a steer-able nose wheel that is found on many other aircraft.

Power Plant

The BD 6 can incorporate a variety of light weight engines that have been developed for ultra lights and small aircraft. It is recommended that the maximum weight of 130 pounds for engine, exhaust system, and mount be used. The horsepower can range from 40 hp to 80 hp. Structurally the aircraft can tolerate even more horsepower, but frankly the performance is excellent with even 50 hp.

Construction

The BD 6 has been designed to be a relatively easy aircraft to built by a first time builder. It can be constructed from plans only, however, material kits or special individual items will be available. The airplane is small and light and does not require a large shop area or expensive special tools.

Plans

We have generated the BD 6 plans on a cad computer. The drawings, therefore, are going to very clear and precise with computer accuracy. The drawings are of D size and will have full size templates of the gussets and other segments to provide easy fabrication without tedious measuring. Any new variations or optional design features will be sent automatically to those who have purchased BD 6 plans. The price of the plans are $200.00.