BD-5 jet crash, Camarillo

Sad for the loss of the pilot.

I did not know any of these were still flying. The last one I saw was mounted to the outside wall of a hanger at Merrill Field in Anchorage.
 
Sad for the loss of the pilot.

I did not know any of these were still flying. The last one I saw was mounted to the outside wall of a hanger at Merrill Field in Anchorage.

There is a very active FB group. We had a kit in the chapter for a short while. A member gave us $1,000 toward the youth program for it.
 
Sad for the loss of the pilot.

I did not know any of these were still flying. The last one I saw was mounted to the outside wall of a hanger at Merrill Field in Anchorage.

I suspect there are more flying today than were built originally as jets.

Earlier this year I ran into the owner of the BD-5J that was flown in the James Bond movie. The plane needs a lot of work, but he says he'll have it flying again someday.
 
I think you can still get kits to build the jets. It and the Subsonex are the only mirojets.
 
The aircraft that crashed was n501bd. Not s/n 2 501bd but S/n 1039, he must have gotten the n number after bede deregistered s/n 2. It was a prop version, from the pics it looks like a long wing version, not the short wing they use on the j model.
 
Just to clarify, yes, my dad's BD-5 was the prop version and yes, he secured the N501BD tail number as a homage to Jim Bede's original. He switched the wings on it from the "A" to the "B" sometime in the last few years (he'd had an off-field landing in 2004 that had damaged the plane and spent the last 15 years tinkering with it).
 
Just to clarify, yes, my dad's BD-5 was the prop version and yes, he secured the N501BD tail number as a homage to Jim Bede's original. He switched the wings on it from the "A" to the "B" sometime in the last few years (he'd had an off-field landing in 2004 that had damaged the plane and spent the last 15 years tinkering with it).
Elizabeth; So sorry for your loss. Be comforted knowing how much your dad loved flying. Prayers for you and your family.
 
Back
Top