Probably lots of different reasons why it has not achieved the flying
success it should have but you hit on the biggest and probably most
important, no suitable engine. Yeah, I know that there are now many
good engines that could power it well but its time was then and this is
now. It was ahead of its time then and the needed engine wasn't
available. Now, its time has passed and few people are really
interested a plane with such demanding characteristics and limited
usefulness.

Yes, I was one of the many that fell in love with the BD5 the very
first time I saw it. It was then and remains a beautiful design that
seems to scream "FLY ME". It will fly well if properly powered, of
that there is no argument. I also believe there is little argument and
ample historical evidence to show that it is a high performance
aircraft with little room for error on the pilots part.

Ultimately though, I think the biggest reason it has not rebounded over
the years was Van's RV-4, RV-6, RV-7, RV-8 and RV-9 aircraft. Those
aircraft were slightly bigger, appealed to more pilots, were easier to
build, used proven available engines, offered performance galore and
were far easier for the average pilot to fly. They have literally
pushed most other kit manufacturers into the also-ran category. When
Bede first offered the BD5 as a KIT, it was a rather new concept.
Previous designs were just that, designs and you had to build them from
scratch. The idea of buying kits and assembling the parts to produce
your own plane appealed to a lot of people then and still does today.
Van's has taken that concept well beyond its origin of just a boxs full
of cut sheet metal and delivered on a true assembly kit. That was the
promise that the BD5 never really delivered.



Whome? wrote:
Ok, we have roasted the Mini 500, how about the BD5?

First things first, forget the jet. So few people could ever afford such a
thing it hardly seems viable from the get-go. But why has such a popular
design (on paper) found so little success? Thousands of people instantly fell
in love with it immediatley when it was introduced in what, the late 1060s.
So after 45 years or so, and so many parts floating around, what has so
greatly hampered this little birds sucess?

Looking back with my limited aviation experience, and yes I was there. I
visited Newton Kansas in the early 70s, met Jim Bede, and sat in one of the
completed prototypes in the show room floor. But the only thing that seems
apparent to my inexperience is the lack of a reliable piston power plant, due
to weight and power restrictions - and it's a VERY high performance aircraft,
that was gobbled up by a lot of low performance pilots.

Some time around 1980 or so, I saw and airshow demonstration by the Coor's
Silver Bullet, and the craft performed some amazing manuvers. So will this
airframe fly well if properly powered? Is there any way to make one a
workable craft if a pilot is qualified for such a high performance ship?

Let's see how many people can respond with a fair discussion, and ignore
Juan's bias of coarse, and examine the real reason this bird has never
soared.

--
Whome?