Option Air Acapella ![]()
The Acapella is the creation of Carl O. Barlow, president of Option Air Reno, and sprung from his idea in 1977 to “re-do” the no longer available BD-5 design utilizing about 65 percent of the BD-5 hardware including the fuselage from the firewall forward, the nosewheel, canopy and the short wings.
Design of the Acapella began in January 1978 and prototype construction started in June the same year. Registered N360CB, it achieved its first flight on June 6, 1980. After flying the prototype Acapella with both the short and long Bede wings, Barlow recommends using the long wings on the Acapella.
Production of kits began in June 1981, they include an engine mount, glass fiber cowling, new 8 ft (2.44 m) wing center section, tail booms, tail plane, elevator, main landing gear, many smaller components, and all necessary plans for the conversion. The prototype Acapella was powered originally by a 200 hp Avco Lycoming IO-360-A1B engine driving a Hartzell Q-Tip constant-speed pusher propeller, and in this form was known as Model 200-S.
It was re-engined subsequently with an 118 hp Avco Lycoming O-235 and fitted with longer-span wings to become the Model 100-L, with increased fuel capacity. The 200 series aircraft were not being made available to amateur constructors to build from plans or kits. This is because the majority of builders expressed interest in the smaller-engined Acapella 100-L, for which plans, kits and glass fiber components were available.
Work on a second prototype to carry a 118-hp Lycoming and a fixed-pitch propeller with a gross of about 1000 pounds was to be completed.
The Option Air Acapella N360CB crashed on July 28, 1982.
![]() Option Air Acapella 100L N360CB
![]() Only two aircraft were finished, the second one was registered N455CB on February 24, 1989, and it was this aircraft which was eventually donated to the EAA AirVenture Museum.
Gross Wt. 1350 lb
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