What a nice little jet.

[flying dog]

Wow!

 

http://www.flixxy.com/worlds-smallest-jet-plane-bd5.htm

 

 

[facthunter]

Looks exciting and IS. This is not for your average weekend flyer to potter around in. Saw one at Avalon for an airshow in the 90's. Not much endurance. It's a tiny plane. Nev

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Ah Jim Bede's BD5 what a story behind this aircraft. Jim Bede designed several different homebuilts over the years but this was the one that brught him unstuck. mainly due to trouble finding a decent power plant and sorting out the prop shaft issues. originally designed for a Honda auto engine mounted behind the pilot with a shaft extending to the prop. Many builders where left with out a full kit to complete the aircraft. Laywers became involved and it got very dirty. The jet version seemed to get around the problems. There where two BD5J's built and they performed formation aerobatics during the late 70's early 80's. One of these was in Octopussy. Interesting story in 'Air Progress' magazine in the 80's where one of them experienced oil pressure problems and shut down in flight, landed on a road and then during the roll out took a off ramp into a servo and rolled up to the pumps tripping the old driveway bell servos had back then. Imagine the attendants face when he heard 'ding ding' and walked out to find a little jet aircraft parked next to the pumps.

 

A piston version pranged recently in WA.

 

Ozzie

 

 

[Spin]

This one? Nasty incident....

 

[ATTACH]13255.vB[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

[pylon500]

Sorry Ozzie, but a few corrections;

 

The original BD-5 was designed to be powered by a 60hp Hirth two cylinder two stroke, (a few flew like that) which was then replaced with a Zenoah three cylider two stroke around 75hp.

 

The story is that the motor companies would not sell him the engines for liability reasons (this was the middle of the 70's with everybody suing everybody).

 

Hardly any of the kits received their power trains, and most never got finished.

 

Some people experimented and fitted Honda auto engines, made it heavier but the 100hp sure helped.

 

A few managed to get VW engines in there, one even just bolted a VW to the nose, Bottom right of page 75.

 

As for the jets, nearly a dozen have been finished and flown over the years (a few have crashed).

 

A jet powered version was even built here in Australia by one of our own AUF members, before selling it back to the States.

 

There are even a few turbo-prop versions out there.

 

Lots of info here.

 

As for the crashed on above, there is some great footage of it (and another) flying around Serpentine in WA on

 

Arthur.

 

 

[eightyknots]

Here is a Zenith CH-701 STOL plane fitted with a Garrett turbine engine: http://www.zenith.aero/video/video/listTagged?tag=turboprop

 

 

[fly_tornado]

not a lot. 12gallons an hour would mean you will have to carry a lot of fuel

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Sorry Ozzie, but a few corrections;The original BD-5 was designed to be powered by a 60hp Hirth two cylinder two stroke, (a few flew like that) which was then replaced with a Zenoah three cylider two stroke around 75hp.

The story is that the motor companies would not sell him the engines for liability reasons (this was the middle of the 70's with everybody suing everybody).

 

Hardly any of the kits received their power trains, and most never got finished.

 

Some people experimented and fitted Honda auto engines, made it heavier but the 100hp sure helped.

 

A few managed to get VW engines in there, one even just bolted a VW to the nose, Bottom right of page 75.

 

As for the jets, nearly a dozen have been finished and flown over the years (a few have crashed).

 

A jet powered version was even built here in Australia by one of our own AUF members, before selling it back to the States.

 

There are even a few turbo-prop versions out there.

 

Lots of info here.

 

As for the crashed on above, there is some great footage of it (and another) flying around Serpentine in WA on

 

I never read about it with the Hirth engine, as they say something new everyday. I suppose with all the unfinished kits that were out there in the early days that just about anything that could have fitted into it probably was.

 

 

[djpacro]

An interesting little aeroplane. I saw it at some airshows in the USA in the '80s. In the '90s spent some time with ex-Bede test pilot Les Berven so heard a lot about it from him.

 

I recall the USAF operating some at one stage.

 

A guy I know locally is building one.

 

Its been a very long time since I've been in a smallish jet, I'll stick with rag and tube bipes these days.

 

 

[winton]

hi It might be the smallest jet. Until some one comes along with some money to build the Diamond. The Diamond is a single seat Jet desiged by the late Scott Winton. I have a free hand drawing of it. It is a 95-10 Minute FA-18. Many years ago I made a model of it for Scott and it performed very well.

 

Dean has been.