denverpilot
Tied Down
Hmm. I recall one may be in a museum but I’m not going to cheat and Google it. Ha.
Did anyone else buy a BD-5D? "Guaranteed $4,400!!!"
- Thread starter kgruber
- Start date
Hmm. I recall one may be in a museum but I’m not going to cheat and Google it. Ha.
wanttaja
En-Route
They appear to be N21AP and N45DH.
N21AP is still on the active registry; it's owned by Aerial Productions International in Arizona. Looks like they use it as a simulated cruise missile for testing with the US Government.
N45DH crashed fatally at an airshow in 1992. "WITNESSES OBSERVED THE PILOT PERFORM A 'SPLIT S' MANEUVER, DURING WHICH TIME THE EXPERIMENTAL MICRO JET WAS ROLLED INVERTED TO A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED FROM THE ENTRY PORTION OF THE MANEUVER IN A WINGS LEVEL DIVE TO ABOUT A 60 TO 70 DEGREE NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE UNTIL COLLIDING WITH THE GROUND. A VIDEO TAPE TAKEN BY A SPECTATOR SHOWS THAT THE AIRPLANE'S ATTITUDE DID NOT CHANGE PRIOR TO IMPACT. " (LAX92LA381)
Ron Wanttaja
denverpilot
Tied Down
Different kind of museum I guess. Landfill. Ouch.
Googling around, looks like this may have been due to a medical event:
https://www.historicracing.com/driverDetail.cfm?driverID=7810
(I guess the "DH" in the tail number was for "Dave Hoover")
wanttaja
En-Route
Perhaps; however, the incidence of medical events is less than many pilots want to believe. About 0.6% of homebuilt accidents are attributed to pilot medical incapacitation.
However, the BD-5 case does remind me of the loss of the Berkut factory airplane during an airshow in 1995. Similar sort of inexplicable loss of control.
I talked to one of the principals in the company after this. He mentioned that the pilot had gotten really angry at something just prior to takeoff. This would have put a dose of adrenaline into his system, which would have driven his blood pressure up. When the adrenaline was used up, his blood pressure would have dropped precipitously. Not a problem standing around on the ground, but if this happened during a high-G portion of the flight, he could have passed out.
Not mentioned in the NTSB reports for this accident nor the BD-5 one, but sounds like a potential issue on both.
Ron Wanttaja
denverpilot
Tied Down
Don’t read dumb aviation stuff online pre-flight that will raise blood pressure ... added to checklist. LOL 
ChemGuy
Cleared for Takeoff
I saw a former flying plane in rough shape in a hanger at KVPC several years ago.
God they are small. I think I heard/read the CG limit is only a few inches...like from aft limit to forward limit is only 2 or 3 inches. Can anyone confirm that?
God they are small. I think I heard/read the CG limit is only a few inches...like from aft limit to forward limit is only 2 or 3 inches. Can anyone confirm that?
