This piece originally ran in the June 2023 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.

Jim Bede began development of his Micro homebuilt aircraft concept in the late 1960s, which eventually emerged as the BD-5. While the BD-5’s fighter-like looks and projected low cost made the design attractive, numerous technical and financial challenges dogged the type. Designed to use either a short “A” wing for aerobatics or a longer “B” wing for cruising, this wind tunnel model was built to test the BD-5’s low-speed performance with the larger wing.