[3e] Bede BD-5J Microjet

[Phaelen Bleux]

Bede BD-5J (TL7)
Holding the record for the world’s smallest jet, the BD-5J was designed by the father and son team of James R. and James A. Bede. The younger Bede wanted to bring aviation to enthusiasts by creating easy to assemble kit planes. The -5J required about 600 man-hours to assemble. The company did very well for 17 years, but ultimately could not complete with copycat competitors. In the early 1990s, James Bede tried to reestablish his presence in the market, but was killed in a test flight of the BD-10, another micro-jet that appears similar to an F-15.
A BD-5J was used in the opening scenes of the James Bond film Octo*****.
The BD-5J has a crew of one. It burns 14.7 gallons of jet fuel per hour of routine usage. It has a range of 400 miles at a cruising speed of 240 mph.

Subassemblies: Body +2, Standard Wings -1, three Small Retractable Wheels -2.
Powertrain: 326-lb. thrust Turbojet, 900-kWs advanced battery.
Fuel: 30 gallons jet fuel (fire 13) in light self-sealing tank [Body] (fire +0).
Occupancy: 1 NCS.
Cargo: 0 lbs.

Armor: 1/1 overall.

Equipment:
Body: Long-range radio (300 miles), autopilot; GPS; flight recorder, transponder, navigation instruments.

Statistics:
Size: 12'x17'x5.6' Payload: 395 lbs. Lwt.: 850 lbs.
Volume: 60 cf Maint.: 90 hours Price: $49,280

HT: 8. HPs: 14 Body, 3 each Wing, 1 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 300 aAccel: 8 aDecel: 6 aMR: 1.5 aSR: 2
Stall speed 67. Take-Off run: 600 yards. Landing Run: 333 yards.
gSpeed: 440 gAccel: 22 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.5 gSR: 2
Ground Pressure: High. 1/6 Off-Road speed.

Design Notes:
The Body is 60 cf with Super-Light frame and Expensive materials. It has Very Good streamlining. Mechanical controls. The Wings have a historical area of 37.8 sf; this translates to a volume of 3 cf. Wheels are 3 cf. Armor is Expensive metal. Design loaded weight was off by ½ lb., however, loaded weight can vary from 700 to 1,100 lbs. Design stall speed was 65 and design aSpeed was 307 mph. The real-world values are shown above; landing and take-off run values are also real-world.

Variants:
The BD-5B was the initial version of the kit, and was powered by a 51-kW engine and propeller. Wing area was 47.4 sf, wing span was 21.5’; aSpeed 200, Stall 59.
The BD-5TP was the turboprop version; 71-kW engine; wing area 41.8 sf, wingspan 19’, aSpeed 240, Stall 63.