A Joy to Fly
The BD-18 has outstanding flying characteristics. A relatively high cruising speed is belied by a modest landing speed. New pilots and pros alike will enjoy its sweet and docile flying qualities.

The BD-18 incorporates the best design features and materials that Jim Bede has developed over the past thirty years of designing homebuilt aircraft. It can be built from scratch using plans incorporating a "fast-build" material kit. Dealer assistance is available to help you speed construction. This all-metal plane incorporates modern space-age materials and processes. The BD-18 is a solid, strong aircraft. Although much of this material is expensive, the end result will prove the BD-18 to be one of the strongest of all homebuilts.

The BD-18 has a number of excellent features:

• Large, roomy, wide cabin.
• All-metal construction.
• Large, roomy, wide cabin.
• A simple straight-forward design that can be built from plans or complete kit.
• Outstanding visibility.
• High cruising speeds.
• Exceptionally low maintenance.
• Can be built as tri-gear or tail-dragger.
• Can be built with extra-long-range fuel tanks.
• Excellent flying qualities with smooth, positive control response.
• Extra large space for baggage compartment.

The plane was designed for engines such as the Jaburu 3300 with a fixed pitch propeller and larger Lycomings.

• The fuselage, a comfortable 47 inches wide, is constructed using slabs of all-metal half-inch thick honeycomb panels. Honeycomb is a sandwich of two sheets of aluminum bonded to a center core of vertically aligned honeycomb-like quarter-inch aluminum cells. The panels in tension have the strength of a .040 sheet, with a compression/torsion of 80% of the strength of a solid one-half inch plate, yet weighing only .75 pounds per square foot.

• The all-metal wings feature the famed Bede extruded tubular spar that can handle significant positive and negative G loads. Like the fuselage, the wing ribs are cut from honeycomb panels and arrive bonded to the center wing spar for your building ease.

• Flaps, ailerons, and rudder are sturdy self skinning foam, with molded-in torque-tubes.

• BD-18 kits are shipped with exterior fuselage panels bonded together at the correct angles. You add only the interior angle pieces, adding necessary strength.

• The main landing gear is a one-piece aluminum strut formed from 7075-T6, and it’s a cinch to install. The nosewheel is a simple, maintenance-free design that casters freely under a shock-absorbing donut.