Bede BD-10

History of the Bede BD-10

The Bede BD-10 is designed to fill a specific niche in general aviation by providing private pilots with a high performance jet power solution. Built from off-the-shelf components using a "kit" approach, the aircraft is affordable and serviceable for those with the funds to make such an investment.

Despite being the first home supersonic performer in history, the series has been plagued by technical and legal issues throughout its existence, resulting in only five airframes being completed, only three of which are airworthy - all These lead to a fatal crash with time they lost mid-air.

The origins of the BD-10 lie in the early work of aircraft designer Jim Bede in 1983, and the project was officially announced before the end of the century. The first engine of choice was the General Electric J85 turbojet, which was already in widespread use at the military level and had a place in the civilian market as the "CJ-610". The new jet has opted for a single-engine design configuration that accommodates two passengers side-by-side under a one-piece side-hinged canopy. Essentially, the aircraft closely follows in form and function the military-grade Northrop T-38 Talon Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) aerobatic aircraft heavily operated by the United States Air Force (USAF).

By contrast, the Bede design is much smaller in size and relies on a single jet engine armature.

The end result is an aircraft with "fighter jet-like" lines and performance. It has a tapered nose cone at the front, shoulder-mounted, swept back on the central main plane, and two vertical fins at the rear.

A retractable tricycle landing gear was used for ground operations, and the airframe was derived from a single GE CJ-610 afterburner turbojet (replacement possible modifications eventually became the GE J-85 and Pratt & Whitney JT-12).

The empty weight of the aircraft eventually increased to 2,250 pounds, with a maximum gross weight of 4,400 pounds. The aircraft has a top speed of Mach 1.4, a top speed of 595 mph (Mach 0.90), a service ceiling of up to 45,000 feet and a climb rate of 20,000 to 30,000 feet per minute.

Takeoff is 850 feet and landing is 1,800 feet for a total range of 1,350 nautical miles. Relatively light, with a powerful jet engine, the BD-10 is a true high-performance platform on paper.

Internally, it's very easy, the plane is cold-started and ready to taxi within minutes. Testing of the BD-10 prototype, conducted in mid-1992, revealed weaknesses such as a weak landing gear, increased operating weight (resulting in reduced onboard fuel consumption and therefore shorter range), poor performance, and concerns about weak tails.

Eventually, due to mounting problems, the project was abandoned despite client deposits reaching over 60.

To achieve this, the Fox 10 Corporation was tasked with better assisting buyers with their BD-10 kits, and the company eventually renamed the aircraft the "Fox-10" - which eventually evolved into the "tourist" Falcon". Newly formed group Peregrine Flight International.

Fox's prototype entered service in December 1994, but killed its test pilot after the plane broke away mid-flight. A subsequent prototype also crashed in August 1995 due to flap failure, killing test pilot Joseph Henderson, who was also the company president of Peregrine.

Military rights to the aircraft were sold to Canada-based Monitor Jet, which developed the design as a simple jet trainer, designated the "MJ-7", equipped with a Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) JT -15D turbojet. Jet engines were sold, but the initiative never gained much traction, and the plan failed when the sole example ended as a museum exhibit at the Toronto Air and Space Museum.

After Bede filed for bankruptcy in 1997, investors formed Vortex Aircraft and promoted the renamed "PhoenixJet" as a military trainer. The move also failed, with the last airworthy BD-10 lost in 2003 - again mid-flight - and taking the life of the pilot (Frank Everett).

At the time, the BD-10 was of modest interest to the world's budget air forces, who envisioned assembling a simple jet trainer fleet through the product's kit manufacturing method. Other aviation services see some value in low-cost, high-performance skilled trainers, while other potential military roles include unmanned drones and aerial targets.

However, none of these initiatives came to fruition.

Specification

Base

Years in Service

1992

Origins

United States

Status

Cancel

Development ended.

Crew

2

Production

5

Manufacturer

Bede Jet Corporation - USA

Carrier

United States (removed)

Dimensions and Weight

Length

28.9 feet

(8.80m)

Width/span

21.5 feet

(6.55m)

Height

8. 0 feet

(2.45m)

Cured weight

1,598 lbs

(725kg)

MTOW

4,442 lbs

(2,015 kg)

Wgt Difference

+2,844 lbs

(+1,290 kg)

Performance

Installed:

1 x GE CJ-610 non-afterburner turbojet rated at 2,950 pounds of thrust (alternative modifications include GE J85 and Pratt & Whitney JT-12 and JT-15D engines).

Maximum speed

1,075 km/h

(1,730 km/h | 934 knots)

Maximum

44,997 feet

(13,715 m | 9 km)

Area

1,553 km

(2,500 km | 4,630 nautical miles)

rate of climb

30,000 ft/min

(9,144 m/min)

Range (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: > 19030

Armor

None.

VARIANTS

BD-10 - Base project name; five examples completed.