Bedson

Gordon Donald Bedson was born on 23 September 1918 in the Channel Isles. His first job was with the Miles Aeroplane Company which he joined in 1933 aged 15, but in 1935 switched to the Airscrew Company at Weybridge, making propellers for Tiger Moths. The next year saw Gordon Bedson working with Robert Kronfeld to develop a ground trainer based on the concept used by the German gliding community at that time. By 1938 he was with Bristol Aircraft training aircrew. He is also recorded [4] as being connected with the design and development of the Chilton, but this author considers that most unlikely.

Gordon Bedson spent the World War serving in the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and rose to the rank of Commander. At the end of the War he flew for BOAC as a flight engineer flying Halifax Bombers converted to passenger aircraft.

In 1950 Gordon moved to Vickers as Chief Experimental Engineer on the Vickers Valiant. In 1948 Gordon Bedson had designed an ultralight, the Resurgam (Latin for 'I shall rise again.') The idea was that there would be a ground trainer version like the ground trainers used by the pre-war German gliding movement, and a flying version. Neither the ultralight nor the ground trainer were to be built at this time.

Whist at Vickers, Bedson was working for Alan Brown as a mechanic on Alan's racing cars and he became interested in designing racing cars. Together with 'Mac' Mcgee Gordon Bedson designed the successful Mackson. Bedson left Mackson to join Kieft in 1951 and in 1953 designed the Kieft Formula One.

As a complete change of pace, Gordon joined Henry Meadows Ltd of Wolverhampton in 1954 as Export Sales Manager.

In 1958 Gordon Bedson was head hunted by Harold Lightburn, an Australian washing machine manufacturer, to assist with the development of a light car for the Asian market and migrated to Australia to join Lightburn's in March of 1959. According to Bedson, the finished product, the Zeta, owed nothing to him and when another Lightburn-associated sports car project failed to materialise, Bedson left to work first for the Australian-British Trade Association and then as a restaurateur on the Gold Coast. Later he moved to Bundarra, NSW to return to the occupation he had held prior to World War II; making wooden aircraft propellers. Perceiving a future in lightweight sports flying he developed a "...concept of camping-seminars to teach a new generation of young light-weight sports pilots". Bedson wanted to use the idea of ab initio use of a ground trainer similar to the Kronfeld Ground Trainer before advancing to his Resurgam ultralight aircraft. Although the Resurgam became a reality the ground trainer did not.

The Resurgam prototype was built in 1979. It was constructed of timber and fabric in the style of light aircraft of the 1930s. The timber was aircraft grade spruce and the fabric covering was Dacron. The engine was either the 24 h.p. twin cylinder horizontally opposed Skylark engine or the 24 h.p. 3 cylinder radial Konig engine. The aft fuselage was constructed of aluminium tubing. Resurgam purchasers had the option of building from the plans or by purchasing ready-made fibreglass components, wing spars, ribs and undercarriage. By 1983 the tubular cage which formed the rear fuselage had given way to a single large diameter tube supporting the empennage. This modification formed the Resurgam Mk II. Several examples of the Resurgem were built, firstly in Bundarra in NSW and then in Tamborine North in Queensland.

While working on the production of the Resurgams Bedson was acting as design consultant for Don and Peter Adams of Seabird Ultralight aircraft of Pt Vernon, Queensland with the construction of their Rouseabout, which is basically a Resurgam Mk II but manufactured using fibreglass and kevlar. By 1984 he had completed the design of a training twin seater version of the Resurgam, the Magra. Tragically, during its second test flight in May, it suffered a wing strut failure whilst banking at 200ft and plummeted to the ground. Bedson was killed instantly.

The Rousabout continued to be developed by Seabird Aviation and its general layout has led to the Seabird Seeker of today.