Hi all,

I have been a big fan of Jim Bede's designs since I first saw the first BD Micro ad with the Vtail which eventually became the now famous BD-5. The final version of this sleek little plane was the BD-5J. This model went on to thrill millions at air shows. I was fortunate to see two of the first ones at an air show in the early 70's. I even helped load them into the DC-3 that Jim used to transport them in.

This was not Jim's last Jet design. In the early 90's the BD-10J was born. It was an instant success with the aviation enthusiasts. Here was a kit built aircraft that would break the speed of sound. Well to my knowledge it never reached that speed and like it's older brother the BD-5 it had it's share of mishaps. I understand that the prototype still exist as well as at least one more example in Canada.
One of Jim Bede's employees, Paul Appelbaum, who worked on the BD-10 was a R/C modeler. Paul went on to design, build, kit and fly a ducted fan model of the BD-10J. There appears to be only about 15 of these kits ever sold. I was fortunate enough to acquire one of these kits recently. About the same time Jesus Cardin in Spain also acquired a complete kit. Yesterday our paths cross on another thread and a decision was made to start this thread which will eventually become a build thread of both kits. It is hoped the any other owners of one of these kits will join in including former owners who may be able to share their experiences building and flying it. Maybe we might get lucky and Paul will join in.

Joe Selila