The design of the M-4 was started in 1956 by Belford Maule and the prototype Bee Dee first flew in February 1957.

The M-4 is a steel-tube and fabric high-wing braced-monoplane with a cantilever tailplane with a single fin and rudder.

It has a fixed tailwheel landing gear, and the prototype was powered by a nose-mounted 145 hp (108 kW) Continental O-300 engine.

It has an enclosed cabin with two rows of side-by-side seating for a pilot and three passengers.

[citation needed] Other variants were introduced including the Rocket which is powered by a 210 hp (157 kW) Continental IO-360-A engine, a deluxe Franklin-powered M-4 Astro-Rocket and a Franklin-powered Rocket which is known as the M-4 Strata-Rocket.