Power was provided by a Daimler engine, which proved inadequate to fly the aircraft with both seats occupied.

Its reception there was so enthusiastic that Czechoslovak president Tomáš Masaryk awarded Avia a 100,000 CSK development grant.

The BH-1 was subsequently rebuilt with a Gnome Omega rotary engine and was finally able to fly with two people aboard.

It was known as the BH-1 bis in this configuration, and in 1921 won the Czechoslovak national cross-country rally with an average speed of 125 km/h (78 mph) over the 860 km (536 mi) course.

In 2004, Marcel Sezemský built a flying replica of the aircraft, powered by a Walter Mikron engine.