The Bede HB-1 Super Demoiselle was an ultralight aircraft designed by Jim Bede in 1966 and marketed for homebuilding. It was designed to be powered with engines in the range. It was named in honour of Albert Santos-Dumont's pioneering aircraft (French for "Dragonfly"), which had a similar general configuration.
The Super Demoiselle carried its pilot within an open framework suspended on struts beneath a parasol wing. A Bede advertisement of the time described "the 'open-air' flying thrill only possible with this type of aircraft." The prototype featured an aerodynamic fairing in front of the pilot's seat though.
Its V-tail was mounted on a boom that extended from the wing, and a single piston engine driving a tractor propeller was mounted on the leading edge of the wing. Although the prototype was fitted with a Continental A65, the design was intended for various engines up to , with a Volkswagen air-cooled engine named as a specific example.
It had a fixed, tricycle undercarriage, the main units of which were enclosed in spats on the prototype.
The wing was constructed of 15 identical fiberglass sections mounted on an aluminum spar, the first of Bede's designs to introduce this construction method to the home builder. The same Bede advertisement stated that the wing could be fabricated in a single evening.
The tail boom was constructed from the same material as the wing spar, while the tail surfaces were made from an aluminum honeycomb material. The framework surrounding the pilot's seat was square-section alloy tube.
The entire airframe consisted of only 85 components, and Bede claimed it could be built in just a couple of months for $700 (this price not including engine and accessories.)
The prototype was registered N590A in November 1966 and remained on the FAA registry until cancelled in 1974. The design was only offered for sale for a short time, appearing in only a single edition of Jane's All the World's Aircraft, the 1967âÂÂ68 edition.