Bede BD-5 comes to grief

A couple of photos taken in New Plymouth, NZ last spring of a really nice example which was still on test at that time.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb105/Skybolt_photo/NZpart2-2006127.jpg

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb105/Skybolt_photo/NZpart2-2006132.jpg

Looks gorgeous but I reckon it would bite very hard given the chance.

Cheers,

Trapper 69
:rolleyes:

PS – Hope the Aussie pilot continues to make progress with his recovery.

PPS – This from one with an excess of two in takeoffs versus landings. A superior, or perhaps lucky, pilot keeps them equal.

Peter is in a rehabilitation……..physiotherapists.

Thanks for that Wingman. – was wondering how he was – the papers are not renowned for follow up to these stories.
JL – Toodyay

I don’t even know if this is still a hot thread, but to update you on the condition of the Pilot, Peter is in a rehabilitation facility over here in Western Australia, and he is doing okay. His back injury is such that he will require a wheelchair from now on but his burns have recovered nicely. We are hoping that he will be allowed to go home in a number of weeks rather than months, but it will all depend on the doctors and physiotherapists.

Thanks Wingman for the update. I’m sure everyone on this forum will want to pass on our very best to Peter.

Please let him know there’s a lot of people on this side of the equator who’ll be wishing him well, as well as his mates back home.

I don’t even know if this is still a hot thread, but to update you on the condition of the Pilot, Peter is in a rehabilitation facility over here in Western Australia, and he is doing okay. His back injury is such that he will require a wheelchair from now on but his burns have recovered nicely. We are hoping that he will be allowed to go home in a number of weeks rather than months, but it will all depend on the doctors and physiotherapists.

Pete is recovering from a back injury and burns, but his enthusiasm for flying is still there. We all just thank God he was gotten out of there, and thank those brave people who risked themselves to help him. I don’t know if he subscribes to this list, but I will pass on the best wishes to him when I go to see him in hospital in the next couple of days.

Yes please Wingman. Pass on our very best regards to Pete, from all of us on this forum. Here’s hoping he’ll have air back under his feet very soon!

Newforest,
I am currently building a Rand KR-2S. Peter (the BD-5 pilot) is restoring a KR-2. This is how we originally met. He is a real whiz in composites and he is helping me to better understand how to do the fibreglass work on my project.

Best wishes and prayers for the Pilot.

Always loved the look of the BD-5, very smart little A/C. Saw the Coors team “J” version in action. The small size made it look VERY fast, though if I recall correctly, it was in the 250 MPH range.

First flown here at Farnborough in 1976, the Bede was banned by the CAA following a very high ratio of serious accidents in the USA. Two examples have been placed on the Irish register.

Pictures of the two Irish BD-5’s, EI-DNN and EI-DNO are shown on the following web site, one red, one yellow.

http://www.bd5.com/

O.K. Wade and what is in your hangar? Thankyou for speaking English, there are other forums with a high Oz content where I often think they are speaking a foreign language. Come to think of it, we have one of those on this forum, I am sure you will meet him one day, but he does have a genuine excuse for his posts, you may notice the profusion of smileys.

Thanks for the kind words Newforest. My name is Wade, and the pilot of the plane is a very good friend of mine, Peter. His hangar is just a stones throw from mine. I have known Pete and his family for about 5 years. We are based at Serpentine Airfield over here in Western Australia, and it was one of only 2 BD-5’s flying here in Australia. Pete is recovering from a back injury and burns, but his enthusiasm for flying is still there. We all just thank God he was gotten out of there, and thank those brave people who risked themselves to help him. I don’t know if he subscribes to this list, but I will pass on the best wishes to him when I go to see him in hospital in the next couple of days.

Thanks Mr Wingman for the update and welcome to the Forum. Keep posting! Our best wishes for the complete recovery of the pilot.:)

BD-5 Crash

I actually went to retrieve this aircraft this morning. It is a complete write off. This one is powered by a Honda engine, not a Nissan. I went and saw the pilot last night in RPH and he’s doing pretty well, all things considered.

I seem to remember it was done with a very large Dodge pickup truck and a long boom with the aeroplane on the end of it. I’ll try to dig out a photo!

According to the DVD extras the model was mounted on a pole in a Jaguar and driven through the Hangar with a minature frontage for the side closest the camera. They also show footage of it.

The CAA banning of the BD-5 family in the UK is a fairly recent development, certainly within the last year. This has resulted in a couple of examples being moved on to the Irish register but whether they will be allowed to fly in the UK I don’t know.

Addt. info.

I didn’t know the BD-5 was banned by the CAA.
If so, how did Corkey Fornoff do the flying for the Bond film in the 80s?
US registered?

Yes, and the film was ‘Octopussy’. The plane was an Acrostar Minijet a conversion of the BD-5. Some planes were modified by Corkey Fornoff and Bob Bishop. The film plane is now grounded and either with Corky or in a restaurant in Florida. For the hangar scene, the plane was mounted on a pole and pushed through the hangar according to IMDB. Great link for Acrostar details below.

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0256.shtml

Give those guys pulling him out a medal,the sort of friends you need!!!.

Totally agree. But the guy wearing the plastic trainers and polyester fleece, is probably well advised not to rush to join them! 😮

Give those guys pulling him out a medal,the sort of friends you need!!!.

There’s one hanging on the back wall of the hangar at Old Buckenham.

Moggy

I think the Bond movie sequence (filmed at Northolt) was done with smoke and mirrors, or at least models and special effects.

I seem to remember it was done with a very large Dodge pickup truck and a long boom with the aeroplane on the end of it. I’ll try to dig out a photo!

A pity to see the BD5 down in Australia. It was powered by a converted Nissan Micra (honest!) engine, but apparently suffered an engine failure just after take-off. Apparently the pilot is recovering from minor burns and a back injury.

Well done.

I was wondering who would be the first to spot my deliberate mistake.

I think the Bond movie sequence (filmed at Northolt) was done with smoke and mirrors, or at least models and special effects.