Albright !1 Nate Albright" Mr.

Harrell" English Composition One" 27 October 2013" Passion is the Mother of Invention" " At one point or another most of us have probably ridden on a commercial jet,

whether it be for work or vacation. During that ride most people either love it or hate it. I am the type that loves it, to me ying was always a thrill, soaring through the air going 400+ MPH was just an amazing experience that cant be beat. Aeronautical engineer and business owner, Jim Bede, knows this feeling all too well." " Mr. Bede has been designing his own eet of jets for over 30 years now, and hes

had his fair share of ights. Ever since a young age Mr. Bede knew he wanted to make airplanes. I used to sit on the side walk and draw airplanes with chalk. He says. My Uncle was a pilot, my dad was a pilot, and my grandfather was a machinist, so it just all made sense to me. This sort of reminded me of myself a little because Ive always wanted to be an engineer. I just sorta knew that it was meant for me. Mr. Bede designed his rst plane when he was just a teenager. He strapped a rocket to a rather larger model plane he built. This is where things differ, I took apart remote control cars and Mr. Bede built scaled down jets. From there he progressed to building and designing full scale single and double seater jets of all types. " " When I rst met with him I started asking all sorts of questions, all pertaining to

engineering. I found that we shared an interest and from there on out he just dove into every detail of what it means to be an engineer and how he goes about it. He started off

Albright !2 by telling me about his education. In 1957, he received his Bachelors degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Wichita. At this point he had nally become what he always wanted to be, an airplane designer. Mr. Bede worked for the Navy for a short while, but soon left to pursue his own designs. He founded his own company, Bede Aviation, with the help of his dad. From there he designed his own rst kit plane, the BD-1. At this point Bede knew he was on to something. Mr. Bedes plan was to bring airplanes to the everyday person, By allowing the customers to assembly everything themselves, it makes it way cheaper for them. he says. Guys all over the country could just buy my kit and make it in their garage! Bede didnt stop there though, he went on to design 12 other aircraft, all of which went into production, most of which are still ying to this day " " Mr. Bedes shop in medina is his current building grounds for all of his projects.

He can be found working on drawings, working on the plane itself, or hanging out in his ofce making phone calls. Mr. Bede says, My building is like a playground for me I just have so much I can do here. Clearly building airplanes is more of a passion or a hobby to him than just his job. This is something Mr. Bede is thankful for, he says, You need to nd something you enjoy doing, and do it! To Mr. Bede his company and his airplanes were his passion. Since his name is on everyone of his planes, he does whatever he can to constantly improve his designs. Mr. Bede worked with ghter pilots, amateur pilots, and even engine manufacturers, to make the best possible aircraft he could." By doing this, Mr. Bede has managed to take the corporate side out of his business, something that is rare among the aviation industry."

Albright !3 " The small business aspect of Mr. Bedes company also had its downfalls

however. At one point, we had so many orders for the BD-5 we couldnt even ll them and people ended up waiting longer than they shouldve. He says. Mr. Bede also faced design challenges that had to do with people not correctly assembling their planes # correctly and crashing them:" " " " " " " We had to design a system that wouldnt work unless absolutely everything was " correct. We ended up incorporating all the control lines into the body, so even " when you pack away the plane they dont disconnect. Making a user friendly " design is something not all engineers are capable of. You need to make it simple, any engineer can make things complicated, its the ones that make something " simple that does a complicated job that make the best engineers."

This is just a prime example of Mr. Bedes ability to overcome obstacles and be the best engineer that he can possibly be." " When Mr. Bede reects on the people who have crashed their plans, and how he

feels about that he instantly became quit somber. He says:" " " " " " " Well Ive had a few of my planes crash, mostly the BD5, and every time it " " happens I try to x what went wrong. I really do try and make the best product, " and stuff like that hits home, ya know? Just knowing that I couldve designed it " differently, added some other sort of safety feature that couldve prevented this, " makes me try harder and harder everyday to make the best and safest planes " possible for my customers."

Clearly being an engineer is more of a way of life to Mr. Bede than just a job, he lives for "

Albright !4 his projects and his company. Even at over 70 years old, he still continues to create new planes, working everyday to put out the best product he possibly can, and for as cheap as possible also Its a way of life for me. He says. Selling planes to people and allowing them to y is a way he can share his passion with others. This sort of devotion isnt common in todays world, and when you do nd it the product tends to be great. Being an engineer major myself, Mr. Bede makes a great role model. He lived for his products just like a professional athlete lives for their sport, or a service member lives for their country. " " Being so devoted however can have its downfalls. One of the biggest side

effects of spending too much time designing was letting the business slip. One major problem Mr. Bede had with his designs was the company, more specically the organization of it. Mr. Bede kept his business small, just a few workers, and every time a # new plane came out, they struggled nancially. Im an engineer, not a business man. That was my father! Mr. Bede says. However, being behind on orders isnt the worst thing a business can have, it just shows they are in high demand." " Unfortunately things got too out of hand and funds fell short. Mr. Bede shut down

his company when they were evicted from their hangar. Mr. Bede took his time, regrouped with his engineers and reopened his company under the name BedeCorp. This time he planned to have a better business strategy and make sure he could afford to build anything before building it. He explained this when he says, I took my time with my business plan. I talked to some of my friends who owned businesss and got a lotta advice. I knew I couldnt let this sort of thing happen again or Id be done. His rst plane

Albright !5 under the new name was the BD-16. Ever since the new startup things have been running smoother for Bede." " "

I cant help but think that a reason for the business problems he faced may not

even be his business at all, it could just be the world we live in today. One problem Bede saw with his planes is that there wasnt a huge market for personal aircrafts. Not yet at least! In 15 years there denitely will be. Bede says. The way Mr. Bede sees the future is great because he believes his company could help bring us in that direction. With his personal aircraft we could live in a world where cars become a thing of the past, and traveling in two dimensions is old school. Being able to ip the world above your head when you're ying is a crazy feeling Mr. Bede says. Not something you can do in a car without hurting yourself! Mr. Bede also at one point even designed a single seater car that got upwards of 120 MPG. It used an impeller fan and a motorcycle engine to propel itself, something that isnt seen on any type of automobile even today. This just goes to show the out of the box thinking Mr. Bede has, and how it could change our everyday lives.5 ! " " Mr. Bede has lead the way for personal aircrafts for many years. He is known all

throughout the aviation world for not just his planes and there ease of use, but for how well the respond to the pilot and the over all feel. This comes from his relentless passion for airplanes and helping to allow people all over the world experience it for themselves. Mr. Bede is also a visionary in the sense that he is designing products for the future. At some point driving will be outdated and ying will be the predominate means of travel. Bede aviation will be ahead of the game with their many years of

Albright !6 experience in this eld and will most likely lead the market and the future of aviation itself." " "

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Albright !7 Bede, Jim. Personal Interview. 5 October 2013