BD-6

You might do some checking around and talk to owners of BD-12s, BD-14s, BD-17s, and BD-10s.  See if they think they were misled by the company.

Thanks, Ron.

It's amazing how little real information I can find on the subject of Bede airplanes besides various kinds of promo and Wikipaedia.  

 And, on a  related subject, why is there so little information on the manufacturers' websites in general?   Or does it not seem to others that this industry is poorly utilizing a resource of fantastic potential with antiquated graphics and incomplete data?  I mean, are they not trying to sell parts and kits for serious money?   Do they not see the potential market for their goods?

For now, I'll just concentrate on sheet metal construction.  While the BD6 kit components look great and seem to be reasonably priced, I would prefer to build from plans to the greatest extent that my ability allows.    What I need to know are details and particulars about the construction and fabrication of parts.  I've seen several websites/blogs that deal with building kits, but nothing much on building such things from scratch.   

I've also been looking at the Zenith website.  Does anyone know if the construction is similar?

That's probably too many questions for one message but answers or hints regarding any of them will be appreciated!

Dave

Since the bd-6 is an offshoot of the bd-4,
you could check with the couple of hundred bd-4 owners who love their aircraft.
http://www.bd-4.org/
I'm scratch building a bd-4.

Louis

I'm building a BD-4 as well (from plans) that will be skinned in composite, allowing some of the boxiness to be smoothed out.  A great thing about the BD-4 is that there is a lot of information, especially on the old web site, a builder's archive that has a large amount of accumulated expertise that dates back to the 70's, I believe.

And if you want to see some footage of BD-5's you can check out  The Amazing BD-5 at  tookytuu.com...

For an all-metal, plans-built, LSA plane, you might want to take a look at the Sonex.

What I need is some information on building metal airplanes: a tutorial, some good photos of the process, something like that.  I must know what is needed in the way of tools and skills, then I can decide whether I build in wood or metal.

Hi Dave,

It all depends on your experience as a builder. If this is your first project, stick with something that has a good track record of completions. It's important to pick a designer and manufacturer that is honest, honorable, and also has a long record of customer service. The BD-6 would personally be my last choice. If you like small high wing all aluminum airplanes that you can build from plans, the Zenith 701 or 750 would be my choice. Not only that, there are a lot of 701 kits in any stage of finish for sale on places like Trade-o-Plane, or Barnstormers. You can get a really sweet deal on a used kit and save yourself a lot of time and money. Good luck with whatever you build.

Joe  

Dave,

Having started on a BD-4 over 20 years ago, I didn't find working with the aluminum (sheet metal) all that difficult.  I had minimum space and tools, and yet the fuselage went together quite easily.  The work was rewarding, but as with many of the builders work got in the way of the fun.  I still have an unfinished BD-4 with much of the aluminum, bolts, nuts,etc.

I had the opportunity to fly with some of the pilots in their BD-4's and found it to light, fast for the engines installed which would compete with many of the newer kits.  The early support/assistance/help did not come from BD, but from the other builders of like aircraft.  That hasn't changed much.  But not knowing anyone working on the BD-6, I'm not sure what you can expect. And as far as I know the E-SLA issue is still up in the air.   It's always nice to have a support group.

Good luck on whatever you choose!  There's a lot of help out here.

Stan

Hi Dave,

Why dont you come and take a look at our group site at Yahoo Groups. A lot of information there......

I think the BD-6 has wonderful possibilites. The Kit that Bede is advertising now is surely a great deal,,,,,HOWEVER,,, the question is about delivery.....  I've tried to call Bede various and sundry times,,,, nobody home,,,,,

No, seriously, I think you can build the BD-6 with a set of plans [ not really great, following reports] and a set of BD-4 plans for guidance.

Would be a great addition to the Homebuilt Fleet.

My two-bits, Ron

Dave,

Maybe just a picky detail, but we are talking aviation where details make a world of difference.

I doubt that the BD-6 would ever be an E-LSA. For that to happen, BD Corp to spend the time to get one copy approved as an S-LSA.  Without the S-LSA approval, there can be no E-LSA.

Besides, if you're building from plans anyhow, you would go for an Experimental Amateur Built aircraft that meets the LSA requirements. An EAB LSA is legally very different from an E-LSA.  The two terms are not interchangeable.

Bill