 | ||
The Bede BD-12 was an American homebuilt aircraft designed by Jim Bede and produced by Bede Aircraft of Medina, Ohio, introduced in the 1990s. The aircraft was intended to be supplied as a kit for amateur construction, but only one was ever built.
Contents
Design and development
Designed as a scaled-up Bede BD-5, the BD-12 featured a cantilever low-wing, a two-seats-in-side-by-side configuration enclosed cockpit under a gull-wing canopy, retractable tricycle landing gear and a single engine in pusher configuration.
The aircraft was made from fibre-reinforced plastic composite materials. Its 23.0 ft (7.0 m) span wing, mounted flaps and had a wing area of 93.0 sq ft (8.64 m2). The standard engines used were the 100 hp (75 kW) Continental O-200A or the 150 hp (112 kW) Lycoming O-320 powerplant.
The aircraft had a typical empty weight of 680 lb (310 kg) and a gross weight of 1,310 lb (590 kg), giving a useful load of 630 lb (290 kg). With full fuel of 37 U.S. gallons (140 L; 31 imp gal) the payload for the pilot, passenger and baggage was 408 lb (185 kg).
The standard day, sea level, no wind, takeoff with a 150 hp (112 kW) engine was 725 ft (221 m) and the landing roll was 800 ft (244 m).
The company that currently owns the rights to the design, BedeCorp, indicates that production was not started due to the cost of tooling and the lack of funds.
The design was further developed into the Bede BD-14, a four-seat version.
Operational history
In April 2015 no examples were registered in the United States with the Federal Aviation Administration, although one had been registered to the designer at one time. It is likely that no examples exist any more.
Variants
Specifications (BD-12)
Data from AeroCrafter
General characteristics
Performance