What was this whistling mini-jet?
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What was this whistling mini-jet?
Just had my collection of 35mm Kodachrome transparancies scanned to DVD and came across this photo of a tiny jet that appreared at Farnborough in the late 1970's.
I don't remember it's name or what happened to it, but doubtless someone will know.
Any clues please?
I don't remember it's name or what happened to it, but doubtless someone will know.
Any clues please?
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The aircraft was registered F-WZAV (cn 5J-0005) and appeared at the Farnborough Air Show in September 1976 - some more photos of it at Farnborough here:
F-WZAV BD-5J | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Bede BD-5J - Large Preview - AirTeamImages.com
Aircraft F-WZAV (Bede BD-5J C/N 5J-0005) Photo by moxy (Photo ID: AC274954)
The UK CAA banned the BD-5 due to high accident rates in the USA.
F-WZAV was still flying in 1984, in a different paint scheme:
Photo Private BD 5J F-WZAV
There is some debate about its construction number - some report it as 5J-0005, others as 5J-0004. Another website (LS 1/72 BD-5J) reports the following:
F-WZAV: entered in French register May 1976, Microturbo (France) owned. Formerly N501AE and N150BD (see there), reportedly cn 5J-0004. Presented at the SBAC Farnborough show in September 1976, with a red-white-blue scheme, flown by Airbus test pilot Pierre Baud. The Farnborough appearance was sponsored by the US company Ames Industrial Corporation, the American subsidiary of Microturbo, and the UK agent for Microturbo. In some photos it does not carry the French registration, but 'MJ90' on the left side of the cockpit. MJ90 (Micro Jet 90, no idea what the 90 stands for) was the designation Ames wanted to use for the BD-5J, the rights of which it had taken over from Bede Aircraft, following a lawsuit following the crash of N5BD with an Air Force colonel at the controls. The aircraft was also noted at the 32nd Salon at Le Bourget in June 1977. Stored later that year by Microturbo. After three years of work and the installation of a TRS18-046 by Microturbo, it was flown again on 7 June 1982 by Jean-Marie Saget, chief test pilot of Avions Marcel Dassault (he flew the Alpha Jet and Mirage 4000). It was owned by the aeroclub 'Cercle Aeronautique Marcel Dassault' (CAMD). A 'Cercle Aeronautique' is an association which takes the name of a man in homage, in this case Marcel Dassault, but it has no official links with the Dassault factory. It was painted in white overall with light and dark blue stripes on the fuselage and wings, described as the colors of Jean-Marie Saget. Further markings are '-BD5J-CAMD-' under the cockpit and '-TRS18-MICROTURBO-' on the rear fuselage. It made a hard landing in 1984/1985 and required extensive structural repairs of (at least) the fuselage. These were not performed, and instead the aircraft was donated to a aeronautical college near Aix en Provence. It was later sold to M. Muller, who plans a rebuild, but confirmed that the fuselage is beyond economical repair. It has been reported that the aircraft was reregistered F-BZAV at some point (F-Wxxx is for prototypes, after receiving a certificate it is re-registered), but this very likely never materialised.
F-BZAV: formerly F-WZAV, see above. Situation is not clear on this registration, and most likely it was never actually used. Listed in this (unofficial) French 2002 register (no longer online but accessed through the Wayback Machine), with c/n 50005 instead of 5J-0004 (see above). Reportedly owned by Chris Esquirrol (spelling not sure). The official French registry has no F-BZAV listed, only a pencil-written entry that the registration was reserved on 21 March 1976 for a BD-5J with cn 5-0005.
N501AE: built by Aeronca (hence AE in the registration) in preparation of a proposal to manufacture the aircraft in series. Incomplete set of parts provided by Bede. Engine installed by Microturbo. Because of legal problems of Bede Aircraft and possible liability of Aeronca, the management did not want to get involved, and the aircraft was registered as a 'Hollenbaugh-Murphy BD-5J' in September 1975 (Bob Hollenbaugh is confirmed as an Aeronca engineer). The plane only made high-speed taxi tests and was not flown, again because of fears of liability. Transferred to Bede Aircraft, paying around 10,000 US$ for expenses made. All links to Aeronca were removed (papers, registration), and almost certainly re-registered as N150BD (see there).
N150BD: cn 5J-0005. Not 100% sure, but almost certainly formerly N501AE (see there). Bob Bishop flew it while at Bede. It went to France as F-WZAV (see there) in 1976. At the time Bede was in a legal dispute with Microturbo about unpaid engines, but this was likely settled by turning over N150BD. N99775 was originally intended, but crashed during tests.
Regards,
David.
F-WZAV BD-5J | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Bede BD-5J - Large Preview - AirTeamImages.com
Aircraft F-WZAV (Bede BD-5J C/N 5J-0005) Photo by moxy (Photo ID: AC274954)
The UK CAA banned the BD-5 due to high accident rates in the USA.
F-WZAV was still flying in 1984, in a different paint scheme:
Photo Private BD 5J F-WZAV
There is some debate about its construction number - some report it as 5J-0005, others as 5J-0004. Another website (LS 1/72 BD-5J) reports the following:
F-WZAV: entered in French register May 1976, Microturbo (France) owned. Formerly N501AE and N150BD (see there), reportedly cn 5J-0004. Presented at the SBAC Farnborough show in September 1976, with a red-white-blue scheme, flown by Airbus test pilot Pierre Baud. The Farnborough appearance was sponsored by the US company Ames Industrial Corporation, the American subsidiary of Microturbo, and the UK agent for Microturbo. In some photos it does not carry the French registration, but 'MJ90' on the left side of the cockpit. MJ90 (Micro Jet 90, no idea what the 90 stands for) was the designation Ames wanted to use for the BD-5J, the rights of which it had taken over from Bede Aircraft, following a lawsuit following the crash of N5BD with an Air Force colonel at the controls. The aircraft was also noted at the 32nd Salon at Le Bourget in June 1977. Stored later that year by Microturbo. After three years of work and the installation of a TRS18-046 by Microturbo, it was flown again on 7 June 1982 by Jean-Marie Saget, chief test pilot of Avions Marcel Dassault (he flew the Alpha Jet and Mirage 4000). It was owned by the aeroclub 'Cercle Aeronautique Marcel Dassault' (CAMD). A 'Cercle Aeronautique' is an association which takes the name of a man in homage, in this case Marcel Dassault, but it has no official links with the Dassault factory. It was painted in white overall with light and dark blue stripes on the fuselage and wings, described as the colors of Jean-Marie Saget. Further markings are '-BD5J-CAMD-' under the cockpit and '-TRS18-MICROTURBO-' on the rear fuselage. It made a hard landing in 1984/1985 and required extensive structural repairs of (at least) the fuselage. These were not performed, and instead the aircraft was donated to a aeronautical college near Aix en Provence. It was later sold to M. Muller, who plans a rebuild, but confirmed that the fuselage is beyond economical repair. It has been reported that the aircraft was reregistered F-BZAV at some point (F-Wxxx is for prototypes, after receiving a certificate it is re-registered), but this very likely never materialised.
F-BZAV: formerly F-WZAV, see above. Situation is not clear on this registration, and most likely it was never actually used. Listed in this (unofficial) French 2002 register (no longer online but accessed through the Wayback Machine), with c/n 50005 instead of 5J-0004 (see above). Reportedly owned by Chris Esquirrol (spelling not sure). The official French registry has no F-BZAV listed, only a pencil-written entry that the registration was reserved on 21 March 1976 for a BD-5J with cn 5-0005.
N501AE: built by Aeronca (hence AE in the registration) in preparation of a proposal to manufacture the aircraft in series. Incomplete set of parts provided by Bede. Engine installed by Microturbo. Because of legal problems of Bede Aircraft and possible liability of Aeronca, the management did not want to get involved, and the aircraft was registered as a 'Hollenbaugh-Murphy BD-5J' in September 1975 (Bob Hollenbaugh is confirmed as an Aeronca engineer). The plane only made high-speed taxi tests and was not flown, again because of fears of liability. Transferred to Bede Aircraft, paying around 10,000 US$ for expenses made. All links to Aeronca were removed (papers, registration), and almost certainly re-registered as N150BD (see there).
N150BD: cn 5J-0005. Not 100% sure, but almost certainly formerly N501AE (see there). Bob Bishop flew it while at Bede. It went to France as F-WZAV (see there) in 1976. At the time Bede was in a legal dispute with Microturbo about unpaid engines, but this was likely settled by turning over N150BD. N99775 was originally intended, but crashed during tests.
Regards,
David.
Last edited by David Eyre; 21st Feb 2012 at 00:34.
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I see a couple of Whirlwinds and an Argosy.
According to Wiki the airfield sequences were filmed at RAF Northolt, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Oakley.
Any idea what the aircraft is inside the hangar that looks like a mini F101?
According to Wiki the airfield sequences were filmed at RAF Northolt, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Oakley.
Any idea what the aircraft is inside the hangar that looks like a mini F101?
Pierre Baud flew both the BD5J and the A300 in the airshow ie smallest and largest aircraft. He originally wanted to fly them consecutively but the Flying Control Committee decided it would not be a good idea.
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That was Corky Fornof doing the flying in the Octopussy clip. Later in the film, the plot reproduced--and Corky re-flew--an event that actually happened to him. He described it to me in amusing detail a few years ago.
En route from South Carolina (maybe North Carolina, don't remember) to DC in the BD-5J, he lost all oil pressure while IFR on top. Shut the engine down and got vectors from ATC to an area where the undercast broke up and an Interstate highway might be visible.
Corky picked up the Interstate, dead-sticked onto it, rolled out and took the (convenient) next exit, rolled down the exit ramp and used the last of his energy to roll into a gas station and up to the pumps, actually setting off the rubber ding-ding hose that signaled a mechanic to come out and service a customer (at least in those days).
Corky told me that when he was about to actually touch down, he came abeam a pickup truck and with hand signals motioned to the driver to back off so that he could land ahead of him. Acting as though this sort of thing happened to him every day, the driver obediently decelerated.
En route from South Carolina (maybe North Carolina, don't remember) to DC in the BD-5J, he lost all oil pressure while IFR on top. Shut the engine down and got vectors from ATC to an area where the undercast broke up and an Interstate highway might be visible.
Corky picked up the Interstate, dead-sticked onto it, rolled out and took the (convenient) next exit, rolled down the exit ramp and used the last of his energy to roll into a gas station and up to the pumps, actually setting off the rubber ding-ding hose that signaled a mechanic to come out and service a customer (at least in those days).
Corky told me that when he was about to actually touch down, he came abeam a pickup truck and with hand signals motioned to the driver to back off so that he could land ahead of him. Acting as though this sort of thing happened to him every day, the driver obediently decelerated.
The BD5 is banned from any flight on the "G" register, on the grounds that about 50% of all BD5s ever built have had a fatal accident. Not an entirely unreasonable basis for banning.
G
G
Never saw a piston BD5 although it was rumoured several kits were imported to the UK. Engine was primarily an air cooled 2 or 3 cyl 2-stroke, but many american builders apparently used an adapted water cooled 1.2l Honda Civic engine.
Residual thrust was quite high with the jet engine hence an attenuator (not quite a thrust reverser) was fitted and it was the premature deployment of this (in the air) which is reported to have caused the accident while being flown by the USAF Colonel.
Pierre seemed to use most of the runway (2400m) to take off at Farnborough; his display was from a 'flying start'. During trade day static displays in the mornings, SBAC parked the BD 5J in front of one of the A300's engines.
Residual thrust was quite high with the jet engine hence an attenuator (not quite a thrust reverser) was fitted and it was the premature deployment of this (in the air) which is reported to have caused the accident while being flown by the USAF Colonel.
Pierre seemed to use most of the runway (2400m) to take off at Farnborough; his display was from a 'flying start'. During trade day static displays in the mornings, SBAC parked the BD 5J in front of one of the A300's engines.
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iirc Richard Bach, who was a pretty experienced aviator, described the BD5J as the only aeroplane he'd ever flown that was more dangerous on take-off than on landing. This was due I think to the high stall speed, nasty stall characteristics, low thrust and low inertia which made for poor acceleration plus pitch attitude having a big effect on airspeed, ie a tiny bit too much nose up while struggling for speed and altitude and it's stall spin crash burn die.
I seem to recall Jim Bede designed 3 different lengths of wing for the piston BD 5, plus a glider version with the longest wingspan, the BD 5J having the shortest.
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According to G-INFO no less than 16 Bede 5s (presumably all piston) have been registered in the UK, presumably none had ever flown - I've certainly never seen one (or even a Bede 4 in the UK).
There is one still "current" with a guy in Beckenham - wonder if he is proceeeding with his build or if the CAA have overlooked it during their regular clearouts?
There is one still "current" with a guy in Beckenham - wonder if he is proceeeding with his build or if the CAA have overlooked it during their regular clearouts?
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UK Pilot magazine sometime in 2007 for a BD5 (prop) in Australia. Unfortunately I don't have the edition any more. I do remember that it was a good read.
http://www.pilotweb.aero/assets/cont.../709_Cover.jpg
I sat in one at the Western Museum of Flight at Torrance California.
At 6ft and 200lbs I could just squeeze into it but couldnt close the canopy
It was like sitting in a model aircraft and made a Pitts S1 seem huge !
Some PPRuNe archive related stuff
BD5 Jet Crash [Archive] - PPRuNe Forums
http://www.pilotweb.aero/assets/cont.../709_Cover.jpg
I sat in one at the Western Museum of Flight at Torrance California.
At 6ft and 200lbs I could just squeeze into it but couldnt close the canopy
It was like sitting in a model aircraft and made a Pitts S1 seem huge !
Some PPRuNe archive related stuff
BD5 Jet Crash [Archive] - PPRuNe Forums
I sat in one at the Western Museum of Flight at Torrance California.
At 6ft and 200lbs I could just squeeze into it but couldnt close the canopy
It was like sitting in a model aircraft and made a Pitts S1 seem huge !
At 6ft and 200lbs I could just squeeze into it but couldnt close the canopy
It was like sitting in a model aircraft and made a Pitts S1 seem huge !
I was there last July and I agree. This was the first BD5 I had ever seen. I had always assumed that the cockpit would be like a typical single-seat glider, but it is much smaller. I don't think I could have fitted into it even in the days of my youth.
And after having read about the horrendous accident rate, I don't think I would want to!
Any idea what the aircraft is inside the hangar that looks like a mini F101?
There is an article on the production version (the BD-5B) in the October 1973 issue of Sports Planes. In it, Mr Bede implores every aviation-minded individual who wants one to hand over $400 before April 1 1974 to secure their aircraft and determine the final price.
Here was the breakdown of the final pricing based on some very large production runs...
Here was the breakdown of the final pricing based on some very large production runs...
I sat in a BD 5 at Farnborough, but it wasn't the 5J as it was being exhibited on the 'terraces'. I vaguely recollect it was a demonstrator for a company distributing the kits.
I'm just under 6ft and was about 13st at the time and it was no problem for me to fit in and shut the canopy, although a colleague a couple of inches taller couldn't do so. It struck me that the sidestick was a 'natural' form of control, and 10 years later my ownership of a Monnet Moni confimed this, the Moni cockpit being similar in size to the BD5s.
I'm just under 6ft and was about 13st at the time and it was no problem for me to fit in and shut the canopy, although a colleague a couple of inches taller couldn't do so. It struck me that the sidestick was a 'natural' form of control, and 10 years later my ownership of a Monnet Moni confimed this, the Moni cockpit being similar in size to the BD5s.