Bede BD8 (oz6816)

 

Bede BD8 (oz6816) by Dennis Tapsfield 1983 - plan thumbnail

About this Plan

Bede BD-8. Radio control giant scale model. For .90 power. Bede BD-8 by Dennis Tapsfield, plan #886, April 1983.

Quote: "From one of England's top scale designers, Dennis Tapsfield, comes this 613- span, 3-1/2 in scale model of Jim Bede's little jewel. A .90 4-stroke will handle it nicely. Bede BD8, by Dennis Tapsfield.

For me, one of the most difficult decisions to make is on which full size aircraft to base my next model. I probably have the documentation for several aircraft, all of which I consider to have the right attributes for an RiC model. However, the BD8 saga, for me, began when I was in Oshkosh in 1980. If you aren't familiar with Oshkosh, it is an airfield about 100 miles north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and, during a week in August each year, it is the venue for the most outstanding full sized aircraft convention in the world. in 1980, 9000 (yes, nine thousand!) aircraft arrived there, mainly privately owned, and falling into several different categories including veteran, vintage, WW II, replica, etc., etc. A lot of these are parked in fields surrounding the airfield if they are not going to be flown during the convention, and the owners either camp under the wings, or even inside the aircraft! To be able to walk around, talk to the owners and look at and touch the planes was really something.

Anyway, during the flying on Thursday afternoon, out of the blue, in came this unusual little plane; pretty, with an outstanding trim design, and it really looked like a model. I took a couple of color slides of it, and was determined to try to acquire a 3-view drawing from somewhere so that I could build a model of it! It was to be several months before the drawings appeared in the April 1981 AerOmodeller, and set me on the road to building it.

After some thought, I decided that a scale of 3-1/2 in to 1 ft would be about right, since I could buy wheels the right size, 4-1/2 in, and the cowl would completely hide the engine and silencer. The right size spinner was available and, most important of all, it would fit in the car! The last remaining thing was that the canopy that Howard Blackwell makes for his Robin adapted almost perfectly, so I was all set.

If you are interested in the prospect of building this rather unique airplane, then read on. Note that the prototype had foam wings, fin, rudder, and stabilizer. You can cut your own cores using the templates that are shown on the drawing, or if you can raise a mortgage for the balsa, you can build them up in the traditional way as shown.

Construction. Built Up Wing: This has been designed as a simple structure and, being of very low aspect ratio, is not highly stressed. Select your wood with care. Cut out all the ribs, and assemble one wing at a time, by pinning the 1/2 x 1/4 in spar on the plan, and setting the ribs on it. Use some packing under the trailing edge to support the ribs, add the leading edge, and the top spars. When this is set, remove it from the plan. Pin down a piece of 3/32 sheet, leaving room for the trailing edge and, using a piece of packing near the main spar, glue the wing to the piece of sheet. Allow this to dry, and continue to build the wings to the drawing, by joining them together before sheeting. Don't forget the aileron snakes..."

Update 07/07/2015: Added supplemental alternate scan, thanks to JPM. This scan is lower res, but is complete, with no missing central band. If anyone out there has the time and skill to merge these 2 scans together, we'll then have a top class high res full plan [fixed now, see below].

Update 29/12/2021: Added article from Radio Modeller, July 1982, thanks to RFJ.

Update 17/5/2024: Replaced this plan with a clearer copy, thanks to theshadow. This is a 300 dpi print, with no missing central band.

Supplementary file notes

Alternate scan (lower res).
Article.
Article (RM).
Previous scan version.

Corrections?

Did we get something wrong with these details about this plan (especially the datafile)? That happens sometimes. You can help us fix it.
Add a correction

Bede BD8 (oz6816) by Dennis Tapsfield 1983 - model pic

Datafile:

ScaleType:
  • Bede_BD-8 | help
    see Wikipedia | search Outerzone
    ------------
    Test link:
    search RCLibrary 3views (opens in new window)


    ScaleType: This (oz6816) is a scale plan. Where possible we link scale plans to Wikipedia, using a text string called ScaleType.

    If we got this right, you now have a couple of direct links (above) to 1. see the Wikipedia page, and 2. search Oz for more plans of this type. If we didn't, then see below.


    Notes:
    ScaleType is formed from the last part of the Wikipedia page address, which here is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede_BD-8
    Wikipedia page addresses may well change over time.
    For more obscure types, there currently will be no Wiki page found. We tag these cases as ScaleType = NotFound. These will change over time.
    Corrections? Use the correction form to tell us the new/better ScaleType link we should be using. Thanks.

Bede BD8 (oz6816) by Dennis Tapsfield 1983 - pic 003.jpg
003.jpg
Bede BD8 (oz6816) by Dennis Tapsfield 1983 - pic 004.jpg
004.jpg

Do you have a photo you'd like to submit for this page? Then email admin@outerzone.co.uk

User comments

No comments yet for this plan. Got something to say about this one?
Add a comment

 

 
 

Download File(s):
  • Bede BD8 (oz6816)
  • Plan File Filesize: 2478KB Filename: Bede_BD8_RCM-886_oz6816_.pdf
  • Supplement Filesize: 663KB Filename: Bede_BD8_RCM-886_oz6816_alternate.pdf
  • Supplement Filesize: 2506KB Filename: Bede_BD8_RCM-886_oz6816_article.pdf
  • Supplement Filesize: 4796KB Filename: Bede_BD8_RCM-886_oz6816_article_RM.pdf
  • Supplement Filesize: 1903KB Filename: Bede_BD8_RCM-886_oz6816_previous.pdf
  • help with downloads
 

Notes

* Credit field

The Credit field in the Outerzone database is designed to recognise and credit the hard work done in scanning and digitally cleaning these vintage and old timer model aircraft plans to get them into a usable format. Currently, it is also used to credit people simply for uploading the plan to a forum on the internet. Which is not quite the same thing. This will change soon. Probably.

Scaling

This model plan (like all plans on Outerzone) is supposedly scaled correctly and supposedly will print out nicely at the right size. But that doesn't always happen. If you are about to start building a model plane using this free plan, you are strongly advised to check the scaling very, very carefully before cutting any balsa wood.

 

Terms of Use

© Outerzone, 2011-2024.

All content is free to download for personal use.

For non-personal use and/or publication: plans, photos, excerpts, links etc may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Outerzone with appropriate and specific direction to the original content i.e. a direct hyperlink back to the Outerzone source page.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site's owner is strictly prohibited. If we discover that content is being stolen, we will consider filing a formal DMCA notice.