Bede Aircraft Corporation was founded by aeronautical engineer Jim Bede in Cleveland in 1961 to produce the BD-1 kit aircraft, which eventually became the American Aviation Corporation's AA-1. The company also created and produced a number of advanced kit planes including the famous Bede BD-5 (pusher propeller driven) and BD-5J (turbojet driven). The BD-5J has held the Guinness record as the World's Smallest Jet Aircraft for more than a quarter century. Versions of it saw use in various Budweiser commercials (the Bud Light Jet, which was lost in an inflight fire and crash unrelated to airshow work). The tiny jet also appeared in two James Bond movies; Octopussy starring Sir Roger Moore, and later in a cameo appearance, hanging from the wall of Q's workshop in Die Another Day starring Pierce Brosnan as Agent 007.
A later design, the BD-10 powered by the same engine (GE J-85) used on Lear Jet business jets, claimed to be the first supersonic personal jet built from a kit. Five examples were built in total and three of these crashed. Only two examples remain, both unflyable. The second aircraft was built at the Peregrine Aircraft Company in Minden Nevada. During a flight Test at Douglas County Airport, the aircraft far exceeded the maximum safe flight test speed, and broke up inflight, killing pilot Mike VanWagonen. It was estimated that this aircraft experienced catastrophic vertical stabilizer failure, due to the excess speed during the flight. None of them ever broke the sound barrier. This aircraft was featured on the cover of Aviation Week in June 1994, with a full pilots report.
In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases. This occurs when the critical angle of attack of the foil is exceeded. The critical angle of attack is typically about 15 degrees, but it may vary significantly depending on the fluid, foil, and Reynolds number.
The Bede BD-5 Micro is a series of small, single-seat homebuilt aircraft created in the late 1960s by US aircraft designer Jim Bede and introduced to the market primarily in kit form by the now-defunct Bede Aircraft Corporation in the early 1970s.
Aeronca, contracted from Aeronautical Corporation of America, located in Middletown, Ohio, is a US manufacturer of engine components and airframe structures for commercial aviation and the defense industry, and a former aircraft manufacturer. From 1928 to 1951, the company was a major producer of general aviation aircraft, and also produced the engines for some of their early designs.
The Grumman American AA-1 series is a family of light, two-seat aircraft. The family includes the original American Aviation AA-1 Yankee Clipper and AA-1A Trainer, the Grumman American AA-1B Trainer and TR-2, plus the Gulfstream American AA-1C Lynx and T-Cat.
The Bede BD-1 was a two-seat, single-engine, low-wing monoplane, the first design of American aeronautical engineer Jim Bede. The BD-1 was designed in 1960 as a kit-built aircraft intended for home assembly by amateur builders. Design goals included a kit price of $US 2500, including a rebuilt 100 hp (75 kW) engine and a cruise speed of 130 knots (240 km/h). The prototype N624BD first flew in 1962.
The Antonov An-148 is a regional jet designed and built by Antonov of Ukraine. Development of the aircraft was started in the 1990s, and its maiden flight took place on 17 December 2004. The aircraft completed its certification programme on 26 February 2007. The An-148 has a maximum range of 2,100–4,400 km and is able to carry 68–85 passengers, depending on the configuration.
The North American Sabreliner, later sold as the Rockwell Sabreliner, is an American mid-sized business jet developed by North American Aviation. It was offered to the United States Air Force (USAF) in response to its Utility Trainer Experimental (UTX) program. It was named "Sabreliner" due to the similarity of the wing and tail to North American's F-86 Sabre jet fighter. Military variants, designated T-39 Sabreliner, were used by the USAF, United States Navy (USN), and United States Marine Corps (USMC) after the USAF placed an initial order in 1959. The Sabreliner was also developed into a commercial variant.
The Berkut 360 is a tandem-seating, two-seat homebuilt canard aircraft with pusher configuration and retractable landing gear, built primarily of carbon fiber and fiberglass.
James R. Bede was an American aircraft designer. He designed well over a dozen aircraft starting in the 1960s, but a string of business failures kept most of these designs out of widespread use.
A gyrodyne is a type of VTOL aircraft with a helicopter rotor-like system that is driven by its engine for takeoff and landing and also includes one or more conventional propellers to provide forward thrust during cruising flight. Lift during forward flight is provided by a combination of the rotor, like an autogyro, and conventional wings. The gyrodyne is one of a number of similar concepts which attempt to provide helicopter-like low-speed performance and conventional fixed-wing high-speeds, including tiltrotors and tiltwings.
Scott Manning was a Canadian athlete and aerobatic pilot of the world's smallest jet, the BD-5J.
Mexicana Flight 940, operated by Mexicana Airlines, was a scheduled international flight from Mexico City–Puerto Vallarta–Mazatlán–Los Angeles on March 31, 1986, utilizing a Boeing 727-200 registered as XA-MEM, when the plane crashed into El Carbón, a mountain in the rugged Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range northwest of Mexico City, killing everyone on board. With 167 deaths, the crash of Flight 940 is the deadliest aviation disaster to occur on Mexican soil, and the deadliest involving a Boeing 727.
A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine that generates lift using rotary wings or rotor blades, which revolve around a mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines a rotorcraft as "supported in flight by the reactions of the air on one or more rotors".
The Fairey Jet Gyrodyne was a British experimental compound autogyro built by the Fairey Aviation Company that incorporated helicopter, gyrodyne and autogyro characteristics. The Jet Gyrodyne was the subject of a Ministry of Supply (MoS) research contract to gather data for the follow-up design, the Rotodyne.
The SyberJet SJ30 is an American business jet built by SyberJet Aircraft. The SJ30 has been under development since the late 1980s and has been the subject of investment and partnership with a number of companies.
The Bede BD-10 was Jim Bede's attempt to introduce the world's first kit-built jet-powered general aviation supersonic aircraft. After several years of testing and modifications, the project was taken over by investors in order to produce fully completed civilian and military training aircraft, but these projects were never realized. Five examples were built; three of these crashed, and the remaining two examples are unflyable.
The Viper Aircraft ViperJet is a small homebuilt jet aircraft by Viper Aircraft Corporation. It is a conventional, low-wing monoplane with swept wings and tail and two seats in tandem under a bubble canopy. The jet intakes are located at the sides of the fuselage and the tricycle undercarriage is retractable. Construction throughout is of composite materials.
On 5 March 2011, an Antonov An-148 passenger jet broke up mid-air and crashed on the outskirts of Garbuzovo, a village in the Belgorod Oblast of Russia. All six crew members, the only people on board, were killed. The aircraft was on a demonstration flight prior to delivery to the Myanmar Air Force. The subsequent investigation concluded that the aircraft broke up after the crew allowed it to substantially exceed its maximum design speed during a practice emergency descent.
The Dale Weejet 800, or Weejet VT-1 was an early light jet intended for high-speed personal transport or primary military training.
The SubSonex is an experimental, single-place, amateur-built jet from Sonex Aircraft's "Hornet's Nest" development division. The aircraft is often referred to in the industry as a "microjet".
