What was the Bede BD-2 trying to achieve, and why did it…

What was the Bede BD-2 trying to achieve, and why did it fall short?

Short answer

Jim Bede designed it to attempt a non-stop round-the-world flight without refueling. What it achieved instead was a world closed-circuit distance record for piston-engine aircraft, from 7 to 10 November 1969, covering 8,973.38 miles (14,441.26 km) in 70 hours 15 minutes. That flight was cut short by a total electrical failure.

Published: November 4, 2026 · Updated: November 4, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What was the Bede BD-2 trying to achieve, and why did it fall short?

Rutan Voyager - DPLA - 6 bead 3e2c523468636761cd6f029a5cc (page 5)

The goal: around the world without refueling

Jim Bede designed the BD-2 to attempt a flight around the world without refueling. The aircraft was based on a modified Schweizer SGS 2-32 and received a specially modified Continental IO-360-C. That modified engine delivered only 30 hp (22.4 kW) during the cruise portion of the flight. The wing and fuselage tanks held 565 US gallons (2,138 liters) of fuel. The BD-2 first flew from Wichita on 12 March 1967.

The 1969 flight and its end

Between 7 and 10 November 1969 the aircraft set a world closed-circuit distance record for piston-engine aircraft. On that flight it covered 8,973.38 miles (14,441.26 km) in 70 hours and 15 minutes. The flight had to be stopped after a total electrical failure. Bede made no further record attempts.

The company behind the project

Aeronautical engineer Jim Bede had founded Bede Aircraft in Cleveland in 1961. The four-seat BD-4 of 1968 was a more conventional design. The company went bankrupt in the mid-1970s.