title: Kasper Bekas
text: # Kasper Bekas
  
  The Kasper Bekas is a family of American mid-wing, tailless gliders designed by Witold Kasper and derived from the earlier 1959 Brochocki BKB-1 design.
  
  ## Design and development
  
  The Bekas series was an attempt by Kasper to create an experimental tailless glider with a higher glide ratio, better ground handling and rigging, using a flexible wing to study the effects of wing flexing on stability and controllability in flight.
  
  The Bekas is built from wood and covered in plywood. The wing uses a NACA 8-H-12 airfoil and has greater span and higher aspect ratio than the BKB-1 to achieve its goals. The wing features outboard trailing edge control surfaces that act both as elevator for pitch control and aileron for roll control. The wing is swept 15° and has a chord of 38 in (97 cm). The landing gear is a fixed monowheel.
  
  The design resulted in a high glide ratio for a 15 m (49.2 ft) wingspan of 45:1, along with a reasonably low sink rate of 2.0 feet per second.
  
  ## Operational history
  
  The first Bekas, an "N" model, was built by Kasper in 1968. It was destroyed and removed from FAA records in 1977.
  
  Two others were completed. One model 1-A was started by Al Wilson of Seattle, Washington and completed by Clifford Johnson of Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1972, which features a wider chord wing. The final one was completed by Don Mattson of Seattle.
  
  ## Variants
  
  ### Bekas N
  
      The "N" (for narrow wing) was first flown in April 1968.
  
  ### Bekas 1-A
  
      Variant with longer wing chord.
  
  ## Specifications (Bekas N)
  
  Data from Sailplane Directory and Soaring
  
  General characteristics
  
  * Crew: one
  * Length: 12 ft 0 in (3.66 m)
  * Wingspan: 49 ft 3 in (15 m)
  * Wing area: 158 sq ft (14.7 $m^2)$
  * Aspect ratio: 15.3
  * Airfoil: NACA 8-H-12
  * Empty weight: 350 lb (159 kg)
  * Gross weight: 550 lb (249 kg)
  
  Performance
  
  * Maximum glide ratio: 45:1 at 66.5 mph (107 km/h)
  * Rate of sink: 120 ft/min (0.61 m/s) at 50 mph (80 km/h)
  * Wing loading: 3.48 lb/sq ft (17.0 $kg/m^2)$
  