Bede XBD-2
title: "Bede XBD-2" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bede-aircraft", "1960s-united-states-experimental-aircraft", "twin-engined-single-prop-pusher-aircraft", "ducted-fan-powered-aircraft", "low-wing-aircraft", "aircraft-first-flown-in-1961"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede_XBD-2" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox aircraft"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | XBD-2 |
| aircraft_type | Experimental aircraft |
| national_origin | United States |
| manufacturer | Bede Aircraft |
| number_built | 1 |
| first_flight | 26 July 1961 |
| developed_into | Bede BD-3 |
| :: |
| name = XBD-2 | logo = | logo_size = | image = | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Experimental aircraft | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = United States | manufacturer = Bede Aircraft | design_group = | designer = | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 1 | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = 26 July 1961 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = Bede BD-3 | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded =
The Bede XBD-2 was an experimental short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft, with several novel features such as structural use of glass-fibre and aluminium honeycomb, a suction boundary layer control (BLC) system and fuselage-mounted twin engines driving a pusher configuration, shrouded single propeller. The sole example flew in the early 1960s in the United States.
Design and development
Bede aircraft was formed to develop an STOL aircraft of novel construction, incorporating boundary layer control. They placed the design study with the Department of Aerodynamics at the University of Maryland. The boundary layer was controlled with a suction system via 160,0000 upper wing and aileron surface holes, with diameters ranging from 0.020 to 0.029 in (0.51 - 0.74 mm). Aluminium honeycombs were used throughout the fuselage as structural elements. The XBD-2 was powered by a pair of flat-six piston engines mounted inside the fuselage, driving a single pusher configuration propeller, turning within a circular shroud.
The wing of the XBD-2 had an aspect ratio of 9 and 5° of dihedral. It was built around an aluminium box spar, was aluminium skinned and carried sealed all-metal ailerons. A 14 in (356 mm) Joy blower pulled air through the pinholes in the surfaces, venting it in the fuselage to cool the engines. Sealed flaps smoothly changed the wing camber and increased its area by about 15% when extended.
Apart from its use of aluminium honeycomb, the front part of the flat-sided fuselage was conventional, with a cabin with space to seat four, though mostly filled with instrumentation. Aft, two 145 hp (108 kW) Continental O-300 engines were mounted one above the other. They drove the rear propeller shaft through ten V-belts via Sprag clutches to avoid engine speed synchronisation problems. The rear fuselage tapered to a vertical wedge with the propeller shaft emerging at its top. The circular shroud was attached to the fuselage by the fixed triangular fin mounted on the top of the fuselage, the triangular tailplane and a short boom at the bottom. The propeller rotated close to the shroud's leading edge; the shroud was intended partly to reduce propeller tip losses and also to act in the place of conventional stabilizing surfaces. The fin resumed above the shroud and carried the top of a high aspect ratio rudder behind the shroud's trailing edge, its bottom end attached to the tailboom, with a midpoint cutout to allow for elevator movement. The elevator was supported by tailplane extensions beyond the shroud, similar to that of the fin.
Structurally, the shroud was a glass-fibre shell surrounding an aluminium spar and filled with polyurethane foam. The control surfaces were conventionally constructed from aluminium sheet. The XBD-2 had a fixed tricycle undercarriage, with wheels enclosed in fairings. The main legs were glass-fibre cantilevers, unusual at the time.
After the XBD-2 first flew on 26 July 1961 it was flight tested and slightly modified to simplify future production. It was intended to lead to the BD-3, which would have been a six-seater with bigger engines, more use of honeycomb panels, retracting undercarriage and a laminar flow wing, but this was not built.
Aircraft on display
The sole XBD-2 is mounted on outdoor display at the entrance to Manitowoc County Airport.
Specifications
|ref=Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1962-63 |prime units?=imp General characteristics
|genhide=
|crew=one |capacity=four total |length m=7.22 |length note= |span m=11.42 |span note= |height m=3.78 |height ft= |height note= |wing area sqm=13.94 |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil=Göttingen 549 |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb= |empty weight note= |gross weight kg= |gross weight lb= |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight lb=3300 |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |lift note= |more general= Powerplant
|eng1 number=2 |eng1 name=Continental O-300-A |eng1 type=6- cylinder horizontally opposed air-cooled |eng1 hp=145 |eng1 note= |power original= |more power=
|prop blade number= |prop name=Hartzell constant speed |prop dia m= |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop dia note=
Performance
|perfhide=
|max speed mph=204 |max speed note=at sea level |max speed mach= |cruise speed mph=179 |cruise speed note= maximum at 65% power at 9,000ft (2,740 m) |stall speed mph=42 |stall speed note= with BLC. Without BLC 64 mph (57 kn;106 km/h) |never exceed speed kmh= |never exceed speed mph= |never exceed speed kts= |never exceed speed note= |minimum control speed kmh= |minimum control speed mph= |minimum control speed kts= |minimum control speed note= |range km= |range miles= |range nmi= |range note= |endurance= |ceiling ft=21000 |ceiling note= service |g limits= |roll rate= |climb rate ftmin=1050 |climb rate note= |time to altitude= |lift to drag= |wing loading kg/m2= |wing loading lb/sqft= |wing loading note=
|power/mass= |thrust/weight=
|more performance=
- Take-off run: less than 300 ft (90 m)
- Take-off distance to clear 50 ft (15.25 m): under 500 ft (152 m)
- Landing distance from 50 ft (15.25 m): under 500 ft (152 m)
|avionics=
|see also= |related= |similar aircraft= |lists=
References
References
- Taylor, John W R. (1962). "Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1962-63". Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.
- Taylor, John W R. (1966). "Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1966-67". Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd.
- "Bede XBD-2".
- "XBD-2 on display".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::