The Mighty BD-5 - A Kitplane Legend
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- Опубліковано 28 сер 2024
- The BD-5 was a bold airplane, built for an entirely different paradigm of aviation. It was an incredibly popular project too, which had its benefits and downsides. This is one of my favourite airplanes ever, so I thought I would share the story of its development.
What's with the deafening music
yeah sorry about that
@@lochieferrier8024 - Equalization, and Normalization, are important audio Tools. Think: how to keep my sound levels in a decent range; not too loud, and not too soft!
Yeah, would've been great if I could have heard the narration during the blaring music
It is better to have no music at all than that.
@@dkoiro9942 What?
In 1973 I helped my uncle build a BD 5 in his garage. It took the 2 of us about 6 weeks to build. My Uncle then scraped out a dirt runway on his property. On his very first flight, my Uncle flew it the 75 miles over the border into Mexico from Arizona. Had a beer and flew back.
He loved that plane. It was still flying ten years later. Sadly, it was wrecked on a freeway during transport
so cool!
What was her tail number?
@David miorgan There is no 'law" requiring experimental test pilots to perform first flights of aircraft, let alone home-built aircraft.
@David miorgan Does an airworthiness certificate require anger management training?
David miorgan ....He may or may not be a liar....but I guarantee you’re a 1st class asshole. So your opinion means nothing. You lost any chance of credibility.
Excellent video 👌 My grandfather worked with him on the BD-1 in Cleveland. When cleaning my grandfather's house after his passing I recovered a painting from the trash to keep. After having it restored it was later confirmed to be the BD-1. I was fortunate enough to meet Jim Bede at his shop a few years before his passing. Truly an amazing person and quite the sense of humor. Showing him the painting and sharing stories Jim noted most of his artwork was lost in a flooding incident and was surprised to see this painting. I still have the artwork proudly displayed in my house.
I remember this aircraft as a kid growing up in the Midwest USA in the 70s. Saw several at air shows, especially the BD-5J, and like many dreamers always hoped to fly one some day. I’m sure it was part of the inspiration I had in getting my pilot’s license at 18 years old. Later in life, I hosted the BD-10 Jet in the hangar of my FBO at PWK when it visited overnight once. That re-kindled a lot of emotions for aviation dreams many of us had and still have. One thing I didn’t see in this video is mention that the BD-5 kit was actually offered as a prize on a TV game show. I can’t remember if it was Price is Right or another popular show, but, thinking back on it, I am amazed that Jim Bede got it promoted in such a way. Anybody else remember seeing it?
Price Is Right is correct. I remember Bob Barker and the beautiful models standing by the beautiful BD5😉
Thanks for this nostalgic trip back in time .... I had the opportunity to help build a BD5 with a wonderful person I'll never forget - who later had his own BD5J - but lost his life test piloting a BD5 for a friend in Kansas.
I am 58 years young and remember his designs well. I remember seeing a BD-5 for the first time and the engine issues it had. Mr. Bede was way ahead of his time and when time caught up with his prop version in a reliable power plant...the venerable little aircraft had slipped into memory except for the jet version. I saw one in person in the form of the Silver Bullet performance team. I will NEVER forget the in cockpit narration of the flighr. I forget the pilots name but he was very good and had a sense of humor that not only left the crowd amazed but also laughing.
Mr. Bede was and will continue to be an American hero of aviation engineering.
Doran Jaffas
Central Lower Michigan
I also got the pleasure of watching the Silver Bullet team at an air show in Mass. As a kid it was the highlight of the show.
Wow, there’s a lot of angry, negative recent comments on this. That sucks, because this is an awesome video! NICE WORK!
Can’t y’all forgive a guy with 250 subs for making a slight mixing error 7 months ago?! Great stuff Lochie!
I have so many memories of the time when I was learning to fly and reading about the BD-5. I paid my 5 bucks and got the news letter and saw all the reports of a new engine and longer wing versions and runway simulator flying which today I can see as screaming failures in design. My CFI told me to walk away so I did and thankfully so. As we all know there is so much more to the story but he sure did create a lot of hope and excitement in the GA world at that time. 1970 to maybe 73. The sad part is he could have also been successful if he had only been more professional and responsible about what he was trying to do. He had enough very good aeronautical engineers to make an actual great flying aircraft. But you have to put yourself in that time period. If he had the internet’s advertising power he’d have probably made it.
Years ago I met a guy who had flown a BD-5J micro jet. He said it was a fun plane to fly but you HAD to fly it! It was not a forgiving plane.
We built a BD-5 kit plane in our high school aerospace class back in 1980-82. Absolutely awesome aircraft!
Man it would've been cool as heck to build a BD-5 for a class project, we did however get the Huey's T53 running since it was last used during the Vietnam era.
Thank you for honoring a pioneer like Jim Bede, we miss him terribly as an owner of 1975 BD 4 and owner of not competed BD 4C. In my eyes my BD 4 birds are always sexy. Like they say the beauty is in the eyes of the beholders.
Frank Fakir: You could challenge all the people who plonked down their BD-5 deposit to a coast-to-coast race... you would beat most of them hands down! (In other words, at least you have an aeroplane, not just a dream in a dusty shed!) :o)
I have dreamed of owning a BD-5J since I was 16, Still waiting and keeping fingers crossed, As they say on Galaxy Quest, Never give up, Never Surrender!
You can buy a modern BD-5J kit here: bd-micro.com/
I dreamed too, but when you read the full Bede history, it is a dangerous plane compared to other designs, I fly it only in my dreams and live to tell the tale!
Boy, does that bring back memories. I was a teenager frothing at the mouth to build a BD5 with my friend. We had no knowledge of flying, no experience building anything more complex than a skateboard and no money. But we were inspired to work hard, take flying lessons and aspire to this goal. We never made it but the little BD5 was sure an inspiration for several years. Thanks, I loved your video.
Your Shooting Buddy: You did not need flying or building knowledge, you were 100% sure in your own mind that, by the time you had built it, you would somehow have developed the skills that would let you fly rings around Buck Rogers! And of course, by buying the kit you were guaranteed to be a multi-millionaire at the time you completed.
Thanks for not using a computer to narrate
@Squirt Reynolds me too
i remember seeing an advert for this as a kid. how exciting!
Nicely done... however the Coors Light Silver Bullet Jets performed for millions of airshow fans. Would be great to see them in this video! I was their Program Manager at Coors... Cheers! -Kirby
no freaking way, that's really cool. Let me know if you're ever in Boston, the MIT Flying Club would love to have you for a talk!
I had a chance to see the Coors light jet fly at an airshow in Flint, MI way back in the 80s, I think. Cool stuff.
I absolutely loved that BD-5J routine at the Reno Air Races as a kid. I'd love to see it again for sure; and every year. :-)
My brother and I were at Oshkosh the year it made its debut and it was exciting. The engine problem was a real disappointment until the 5J came out. I still love that plane!
I suspected years later and after considerable experience as a motorcycle tech, that the two stroke twins and triples that were being considered needed some kind of vibration damping flywheel. I was getting a lot of experience with Kawasaki motorcycle triples and twins at that time and they always felt like they were trying to self destruct at points during power delivery. Those kinds of applications aren't for constant high output and I knew it was going to take some fresh thought to make those kinds of engines be up to the task in a light, high performance airplane.
I was their as well it was 1976 if I'm not mistaken..
I flew one years ago for some mechanics that built it and were afraid to fly it. It was wonderful and it had the turbo-Honda engine in it. 1300cc I believe.
In the mid-70’s, someone converted a Honda Civic engine and put it in their BD-5. It worked well enough to impress Honda USA’s marketing folks, who put the diminutive dart and her dad in one of their TV commercials.
We in Iran 🇮🇷 love BD’s story and contributions he made. We followed his teachings about engaging and persistence.
Wing is tapered, yet spar is constant diameter aluminum tube, which makes tip airfoils thicker than root and hence the tendency to tip stall.
the audio needs some work, sure, but the video is really nice, the music fits and I loved it. Great video.
Saliva sounds need to be removed.
Why do producers, like those of CBS television, have to add the music so loud that you cannot hear the speaker give his or her narrative? Frustrating!
sorry about this
Its that "special" RAP music..... They spell it with a silent C
@@lochieferrier8024 Just add captions.
@@davidjones9865 it's a cross of Country & RAP = CRAP
Would rather him speak it than use a computer though, so you have to give him credit for that.
There was a BD-5J at our local airshow many years ago. I remember the whirrr and snap snap snap when they lit the engine and watched it taxi out and takeoff. The pilot put on a very nice flying demonstration. It was one of those planes that everybody watched. DELIGHTFUL!
My old friend Corkey Fornof and his partner Bobby Bishop flew as a precision airshow team as "The Microjets" sponsored by COORS beer as I recall. And it was Corkey who flew the little jet through the hangar in "Octopussy". They probably were the greatest visibility and public recognition of the BD-5 EVER since they did so many airshows together.
They have a functional one at the Evergreen Museum in Oregon, its so small, I didn't believe it was a real plane but a prop or something (so ignorant), my 7yr old daughter fits in there real nice! The plane mounted on front of the truck for training is amazing!
I saw the BD jet team fly at the Reading Pennsylvania air show sometime in the early 70s,
my wife and I had flown our Aeronca Sedan from MA. If I'm remembering correctly the pilots were
Gene Soucy. Charlie Hillard and another whose name escapes me. However all three were national aerobatic champions. The Blue Angles cancelled because of weather but the BD team went up. At one low pass they pulled up into a vertical loop and directly into a huge black could, I could hear the crowd gasp but they appeared out of that cloud in precise diamond formation and the spectators went wild
with cheering and applause. A great memory.
I went to a Reading show in May or June 1972. I have a large reel super 8 of that show, including the BD-5. What a plane !
This brought back a lot of old memories! I wrote & presented a paper on the BD5J in College, for a speech class after I read the article in (I believe...) Popular Mechanics. I saw one in an airshow many years later but lost track of the story after that. Thanks for the video Lochie. It was a very exciting plane from a far simpler time.
you forgot about the sigh of relief part, great story!
When I got my pilots licence in the 1990s I wanted a BD-5 so badly.
I purchased a complete BD-5 kit 17' wings in 1978 with no engine. Ended up selling it because of the engine issue. The quality of the whole kit was outstanding. The blue prints were excellent. It was an amazing design.
KB
Way cool video, I just wish it was longer! Just when it got exciting, you finished up the story. Wah! Dude... AUDIO BALANCE!!!!
I "ditto" Mike Dolan's comment. When Popular Mechanics ran its Kitplane articles in the early 70's, I was hooked. While I still dream of building a kit plane in my little garage, I know it probably won't become a reality. That said, I credit Jim bede for inspiring me to get my pilots license at 17 years of age. The Bede 5 will forever hold a place in EAA lore. If anyone wants to see a Bede 5 up close, go to the EAA Museum in Oshkosh WI. Cheers.
The BD-4 actually was, and still is, a very successful design, They are very efficient, fast and capable machines. and still are being built today.
My son loved the airplane as a kid and now flies airshows across the USA in the FLS microjet
Fun to watch the history here. As a little kid, this *WAS* the planes dreams were made of! Thank you.
Sorry a bit off topic. A friend's dad asked me to build a Vans RV-10. Being a commercial aircraft mechanic, I built it as well as I would work on a B737.
What an amazing kit! Some work had already been done in the Philippines and I could not find one bad hole/rivet. It had a 300hp Lycoming and stick controls. Everyone wanted to fly it because they had so much fun throwing it around.
That's so awesome! I would love to build an RV one day too. Didn't know they people built them with lycomings, very cool
That's a nice video.
You should do a 2nd one, like an update on what's actually flying nowdays. with more low pass, more bd5 and formation flying
I hate the music drowning out the narration.
There is a lot not mentioned here. Bede shipped these kits with significant parts missing, not just engines, but propellers and propeller drives as well, essentially everything associated with the powerplant installation. Even the drawings supplied with the kits were not complete. In Bede's defense, I will say that the kit documentation that was supplied was excellent, very detailed, and easy to follow. But Bede advertised these kits as easy to build with ordinary tools and skills and I can tell you, having built one myself, that this is a huge understatement. There is welding, machine shop work, sheet metal forming that required the builder to make wood patterns, and extensive trimming of the pre-shaped sheet metal fuselage panels that was impossible to do with any semblance of accuracy without alignment jigs. Bede claimed that those sheet metal parts were pre-trimmed and needed no further adjustment, but I will tell you that that was not the case, at least with the kits that I had (I ended up with two in all). Someone below claims to have built one in six weeks and there is no way that can be true.
These kits can be purchased today from the original buyers in various stages of completion for a fraction of the original dollar price because the builders were so disillusioned that they gave up. The BD-5 in fact was a disillusionment for a whole generation of aircraft homebuilders. If you do buy one of these kits inspect it in person first, or look for one that is un-started or with little work done, because I have seen some cases of abominable work quality. Check also for corrosion after long storage because many have been stored in unheated garages or outbuildings.
But I am talking here about the original kits supplied by Bede Aircraft. Today there are third-party services that can help, at a cost, with the missing parts and can even supply complete kits, and they can help with the fabrication challenges including jig alignment of wings and fuselage. Engines are available as well, so anyone who is determined should be able to complete one of these. I don't think building a BD-5 is more difficult than other scratch-built airplane projects, but it is not easier despite the claims. But once complete it is a great flying airplane with good performance.
You can still buy new BD-5 kits FYI. Also the nastier flight characteristics of the aircraft were later corrected by aftermarket modifications that became available.
Atomicskull how can I buy one? From whom?
You can buy a brand new modern BD-5J kit here: bd-micro.com/
I was amazed to see they are still a company, thanks
@@EdgardoAlessio They're not brand new... in fact, it's hard to find the differences between old kits and what they're shipping except for the optional 5" and 14" stretch (which wasn't developed by them.) They're basically taking old kits, adding the new wing skins and calling it a new aircraft from what anyone can gather. They're also not affiliated with the original Bede Aircraft company in any way. Think of them simply as a kit builder... they buy old kits and then help you build them. They do a great demo with one of their planes that Justin Lewis flys.
I almost heard what he was saying over the music
Element of Kindness I heard it all
When it was announced, the BD-5 was "the stuff dreams are made of"... for a lot of people it went on to show how little difference there is between a dream and a nightmare.
We still yearn after those dreams though, don't we!? :o)
I read the magazines and as a kid wanted one of these BAD! oh yea some X-ray glasses too. But really wanted wanted the jet powered BD-5
I was all set to buy when it was still the built up aluminum framework - started checking my workshop for room enough. When the engine problems dawned, I began to doubt - I was an experienced motorcycle tech - and finally decided against it. Years later, I was working at a small municipal airport near Wichita and we had a BD-5 operating from it using a Honda car engine. It was fairly regular to be in action flown by a Beechcraft test pilot. One afternoon, he began a take-off and it blew the l.h. main gear tire and veered off into the dirt on the side, taking out a runway light. We improvised a dolly system to pull it back to our maintenance hangar. It wasn't badly messed up but did not fly again for the remaining months I worked there.
@@whalesong999 You can buy a brand new modern BD-5J kit here: bd-micro.com/
Saw one for the first time in 1976. Still in love them!
I once saw one in 1984 powered by a BMW R100 motorcycle engine.
I was thinking about an airhead engine as a powerplant when sourcing issues were mentioned in the vid.
@@sumdumbmick it was at a BMW motorcycle rally in Bloomington Illinois that was held at the fairgrounds beside the airport. It sounded so good!
Thank you Lochie, well done history of the legendary BD5.
I placed an order for a BD5 after seeing a ad in Popular Science magazine in 1971or72. I believe the advertised price was $4400 and down payment was $400. My production number was 412. I held the order paper for two years and sold it to an acquaintance of mine and got back my deposit. My acquaintance lost his money a couple of years later when the company went belly up. I did fly the trainer attached to a pickup truck, scary situation. 39 years later I finally built my first plane...RV12 in 2011.
Stephen Garrett: Nice choice!
When I was a kid in the 80s I remember seeing the "Coors Light Silver Bullet", which was a brightly polished BD-5J. Very cool to see fly.
Kiekhaefer marine is Mercury outboards'
manufacturer , an American company that still makes outboard Motors. At the time these were super reliable and powerful water cooled 2 strokes.
I was 25 YO when the first ads and magazine articles came out. By that time I had already built two very fast speed boats. I had big dreams of building one but it just never happened.
Gave me chill bumps 👏👏👏thx for this great video!
Might want to add something about the flying team - Corky Fornoff and Bob Bishop if I remember correctly. Best airshow performers I ever remember seeing. BD5J team.
My dad flew the orignal BudLite Microjet until just before Leo Loudenslager died..
-EdJohnson
I have their autographs- actually met them at Sun-n-Fun in Lakeland. Also sat in the 5j prototype in Oshkosh at the ripe old age of 8.
Great point! If memory serves they were the Sonic Acrojets. I used to have an 8.5x11 airshow handout from them that hung on my bedroom wall as a kid.
VERY VERY COOL. My cousin Rick Brickert was killed in the Burt Ratan designed Pond Racer that needed some bad ass jet engines and the Jet class. Very cool story Lochie............. very cool.
I wanted one of these as a kid and I STILL want one today!!!
Now paramotors and microlights (as far as cheap diy flying goes) seem to be all the rage lol! Would be awesome to see one of these little badass BD's in person :) Nice little documentary BTW
dude, background music gets so loud, I cant hear what you're saying.
The one I wish he'd finished was the BD-10. That was a SUPERSONIC jet.
no, it never went supersonic and would never have gone supersonic. there were 4 inflight structural failures of the ones built. it was an engineering disaster. typical bede, all flash no substance. one of the test pilots, a very well know test pilot told me it would never have gone above about 350kts.
The BD-10 design looked beautiful.
I love people like Bede, a man for the people.
Great video thanks for posting
Nice !
You. can add up : BD still exists but doesn't build kits for the bd5 anymore.
Brought back lots of memories from when I was a kid and first saw BD5 on the cover of a magazine. I was obsessed with wanting one. It was a fun dream that never happened😎
Great information in your video but the music was way too loud and distracting. This would have been much better without the music or at least if it had been much quieter
Awesome video brought a tear to my eye
Great legacy, the opening scenes of "Octopussy" I'll never forget.
Remember when i saw the BD-5 with jet engine in James Bond Octopussy. That experience made me want to be a engineer
I was there for the first BD5 open house in Newton Ks. As a young teen this was way beyond cool to me. Finally a plane my size and my mind was filled with wild dreams of aerial combat and strafing runs. Lol
Great vid. I remember the ads in Air Progress in the sixties at home in Australia and have been hooked ever since. Thanks for the history.
Great little piece of history! At 2:00 minutes in the music track drowned out the narration. This happened several times in the video.
Neat vid. I had a friend who built and flew a BD-5. I always thought it was one of the coolest aircraft I had ever seen. Unfortunately, my friend would later die in his BD-5 while trying to landing during an emergency.
I learned to fly in a American AA-1A. This was another really fun airplane. I flew this aircraft for many years starting at the age of 12 with my father. When I was younger, I did not realize the AA-1 was derived from Bede’s BD-1.
Ever since seeing the magazine adds for the BD-5 I’ve wanted one, even more so the 5J when it came out. Would have loved to have built one, but the Canadian Ministry of Transportation deemed them “too small and too fast” to get an airworthiness certificate in Canada. You’d occasionally see one at an air show for a while but they had to be trucked across the border and only flown at the air show.
Thanks for the video.
Beautiful video,I'm sure this will inspire future generations to innovate in the world of Aviation.
So I work for the company whose jet you showed up there, the SMART-1 that picture is of N55PQ. So the original TRS-18 only put out around 218 lbs of thrust, through research and development we have been able to punch that up to the 326 lbs of thrust. The TRS-18 was being purchased back buy the manufacturer because of several crashes that happened using the TRS-18, my old boss bought as many as he could before they were all gone. We now have a fleet of 4 airworthy BD-5J all SMART-1 variants 2 with a 5" extension for military tracking packages. There are still many many kits out there and a company who will build the fuselage for you, and the BD-5J community is fairly small but we all help each other out. There are now 2 engines available for the BD-5J that we are looking at one is from the Netherlands with 352 lbs of thrust, and the new TJ-150 with 336 lbs thrust. Up until this point our problem has been not having enough engines to build planes but now since those became available in Dec, we are looking to build many many more BD-5J.
I liked the video I saw some footage I had never seen before, my old boss was one of the original test pilots and engineers, he was still flying up until last year at age 72. His last flight was flight testing our newest jet N78AP. The flight through the hangar for James Bond was done by Bob Bishop and Corky Fornoff.
Great video. Thank you for posting. Amazing piece of machinery
There was also a BD10 jet, only 5 ever built. It was to be the first kit that would break the sound barrier. The only one left is somewhere in Toronto ON.
My dream airplane. Didn't get one until the mid eighties already started. Turns out the first owner drilled the rivet holes all wrong so the fuselage was crooked. Sold it for $1000 but kept the plans and all the letters to Bede. Later I met Jim Bede at Oshkosh around 1996. Love that plane.
Richard Bach the author of the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull had a BD5J. He use to fly it from his home in Florida to the Embry-Riddle campus in Dayton Beach to teach a course in 1975. I was a student at Riddle at that time and I checked out his BD5J and the only thing I vividly remember is that it had shag carpeting.
I got in on the build of a BD-5 during my apprenticeship in the 1970's. We built the fuselage and wings using solid rivets instead of the pop rivets in the kit. Today I still wonder what happened to it.
That must have been a tough build with solid rivets. Did you use flush or domed rivets?
@@mcdoctorglock Yes big time pain e dimpled every one!
Dimpled every one of them, just like the ones on the real planes. Interesting note There is a story going around that North American glued the halves of dried peas to the flush rivets of a P51 Mustang and it flew faster. Like I said a story but a good one!!
We actually have one you can sit inside at the Cradle of Aviation on Long Island.
I've been to the cradle of aviation museum, way cool! Didn't spot the BD-5, will definitely have to check it out next time. Thanks for the note.
A two seater would have been a game changer and if mass produced..probably would have changed the homebuilt aviation world!!! thanks Mr. Bede!!!!
The passion you have is contagious...so awesome i so love this and cant wait till im building my own in the garage. Which will happen after i get garage ...oh and maybe a house but just a garage would be ok by me. Excellent job again and thanks fo sharing!
All the best
Michael Cunha
Love this homage to an American aviation pioneer.
Nicely done, thanks. :)
I want the jet version so bad!
This video was really well done! Thanks for posting. 👍
Very nicely done. I expected you to have more subs! I’m ready for the next vid.
I saw the BD5 perform in the 70s and was mesmerized by the small size and high speed.
Thanks for blasting the music
The music is not supposed to completely overwhlem your voice. Chill with the volume.
New subscriber! What a amazing story the history of ppl never giving up!!
The music didn't overwhelm, I was able to hear every word.
I am very pleased to see this video. When I was young, sometime in the 70's, my mom was driving down the freeway and a tiny jet was flying beside us. I could clearly see the pilot as he waved and smiled. For years I wasnt sure if it was a dream I had or reality. Now I'm positive it was one of these. Thank you for clearing that up for me😊
Saw a jet version fly once , guessing it was the 70s off the beach in Fairfield CT,, cool as all get out !
Cool Post! Thanks ! My dad and I were looking for home built plane project in 1970 and we looked at the Volksplane plans but when the BD 5 info kit showed up in the mail we were sold. While we were poring over the specs and pictures my mom came into the room with tears in her eyes and begged us not to build that plane because she KNEW that I would die in it. Well time passed I went to collage and later became a C.F.I. and dad and I never built a plane , just rebuilt and old Corvair together. I threw out the BD 5 info packet decades ago. I wonder what it would bring on E bay these days? You can get a BD 6 from and outfit down on Florida . To Infinity and Beyond !
Very good video. Thank you. Its really cool.
Love at first sight!
Aircraft mechanic since 82. I would like to be buried in a BD_5 . I think it would make an awesome casket.
I comes for the story and I goes because of the music.
Wow the loud music man!! Great plane!!
This was and still is a very dangerous plane, my uncle who was an engineer for Pratt and Whitney and then a captain for untied airlines built one with a newer Polaris snowmobile engine, He had it on a test stand for years before installing on his BD_5, he was killed in it in 1996, he had the kit since it first came out, Jim Bede left a lot of people hanging with the Engine debacle.I believe he cost a lot of lives.
Thanks for sharing it, I love this AIRPLANE
Please turn the music volume higher, I can still make of some of the words.
At a Florida Airshow in the mid-1970s I remember seeing the Bede jet and watched it fly. I remember being amazed that a Volkswagon with wings could go so fast. LOL.
Awesome, spot-on video. Thanks for making it!
Thanks Bill! Made it cause I thought it might be fun to tell airplane history. I was wrong, it's no fun and you end up having to use a lot of stock footage. Was good to try out though :)
@@lochieferrier8024 I built and flew a Honda Civic powered BD-5 in 1985 N20768. First flight on 4-23-1985. A very nice flying aircraft but problems solving the cooling issues. I have to laugh every time I hear that it pitches up if the engine quits. My wife and a mechanic were standing near the runway when I came in for a landing one day, I made a perfect landing ( one of very few in my life ) and didn't have to add power until I turned toward the taxi way. It was only then that I realized the engine had quit. My wife was very upset as she and the mechanic heard the engine quit on final. It really was no big deal or pitch problems at all. I sold the BD-5 to Keith Hinshaw and it went back East. Last I heard it departed the runway on landing, blown tire or something