Bede BD-4
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
The Bede BD-4 is Jim Bede's four-seat all-metal homebuilt of 1968, a boxy high-wing built around a tubular spar with bonded fibreglass wing panels in the original kits, 1,250 lb empty and 2,400 lb gross, with published figures of 198 mph cruise, a 61 mph stall, 1,700 fpm and 900 miles on a 200 hp Lycoming IO-360; some 700 have flown and Bedecorp sells the updated BD-4C.
The BD-4 was the first homebuilt designed as a practical four-seat family aeroplane and it remains one of the cheapest ways to carry four people at 150-plus knots, with a 1,150 lb useful load on paper; the figures above are the designer's for a 200 hp constant-speed example and most BD-4s were built lighter, slower or heavier with engines from an O-320 to an O-540, so the weight-and-balance is the only trustworthy number. The original bonded fibreglass-panel wing skins (Bede's 'panel-rib' construction) are the inspection item that sets this type apart, and many have been re-skinned in aluminium; the builder's log and any wing work are the history. Handling is honest, the cabin is spacious for the span and the view poor over the nose. The owner may maintain it and the condition inspection needs an A&P or the repairman certificate; Bedecorp supports the C and some legacy parts.
Variants of the Bede BD-4
- BD-4 · 1968 · 70 active · this page
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Partial: 10.6 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)
Among 3–4 seat pistons (223 models)
Compare with…
Put Bede BD-4 side by side with up to three other models.
- Bede BD-4
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What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-360 (200 hp; O-320 to O-540 fitted) |
| Horsepower | 200 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | 1968 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise (75 % power) | 172 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range (75 %, standard fuel, 30-min reserve) | 782 nm |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | 1,700 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 53 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,150 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,400 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,250 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 250 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 70 |
| Median year built | 1985 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 14.29 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 14.29 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 13 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 18.57 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 8 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 70 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 70 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 70 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 3.8 of 103 |
| Support | 3.2 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 3.6 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | Partial: 10.6 out of 30 (safety not scored, too few records)6 |
- Accident record: class median 33.21 · 223 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 796.
- Support: class median 131.
- Liquidity: class median 19.89.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 8 · scores Sep 30