Most aircraft engineers, tasked with designing a new STOL aircraft, wouldn’t opt to drill 160,000 holes in the wing and utilize two piston engines to drive a single pusher propeller.
But then again, most engineers aren’t Jim Bede.
Bede XBD-2: Experimental Prototype for Unique Technologies
The clean-sheet aircraft design sought to improve aerodynamics by incorporating its twin engines in the aft fuselage.
Key Takeaways:
- Jim Bede's experimental XBD-2 was an unconventional STOL aircraft designed with unique engineering solutions.
- Its innovations included two piston engines stacked in the aft fuselage driving a single pusher propeller, a Boundary Layer Control (BLC) system with 160,000 wing pinholes to lower stall speed to 42 mph, and a shrouded propeller.
- Despite achieving impressive performance figures for a proof-of-concept, these complex and unique systems were not incorporated into Bede's subsequent aircraft designs, and the XBD-2 remained a singular prototype.
Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->
See a mistake? Contact us.
