Bede BD-5J

Bede BD-5J
Real-world information
Model	Bede BD-5J
Manufacturer	Bede Aviation
Role	Very light jet
Crew	1 (pilot)
Dimensions	L 3.66 m (12 ft), W 3.9 m (12.79 ft)
Empty weight	200 - 204.5 kg (441 - 450 lbs)
Armament	Unarmed
Powerplant	Sermel TRS-18-046 turbojet
Behind the scenes
First seen	Octopussy (film)
Last seen	Die Another Day (film)

The Bede BD-5J, also known as the Acrostar Jet, was an American single-seat very light jet aircraft, designed by Jim Bede and produced by Bede Aircraft of Medina, Ohio. The aircraft first appeared in the 1983 James Bond film, Octopussy, and subsequently featured in the 1986 James Bond 007 tabletop role-playing game.

History

A low-winged miniature jet aircraft, the BD-5's pilot is seated in a semi-reclined position under a plexiglas canopy forward of its single jet engine. It used the Sermel TRS-18-046 turbojet which produced a maximum speed in excess of 310 mph (269 kn; 499 km/h), with a cruising speed of 260 mph (226 kn; 418 km/h) and a climb rate of 2800 ft (853.44 m) per minute to a maximum altitude of 30,000 ft (9144 m). Its tricycle landing gear was fully retractable and it had wings which could be folded upward for compact storage.

A BD-5J was supplied by Q Branch during 007's mission to destroy aeronautical equipment at a Latin American air base. Intended as his escape vehicle, the tiny unarmed jet was concealed in a phoney horsebox complete with a plastic horse's hindquarters. After the mission went awry, Bond escaped from his pursuers and used the BD-5J to guide a heat-seeking surface-to-air missile into the enemy's equipment hangar - destroying the facility and its research. Running low on fuel, 007 crossed the border and landed at a ramshackle petrol filling station; nonchalantly requesting, "Fill her up, please."

Alternate Continuities

James Bond 007 (role-playing game)

To be added

Behind the Scenes

Originally intended to be included in the 1979 James Bond film, Moonraker, three previously constructed BD-5s were used for Octopussy's pre-title sequence. The entire sequence was a mixture of scenes shot at RAF Northolt, the United States and Pinewood Studios. The idea for the sequence stemmed from stunt pilot and aerial co-ordinator, John William "Corkey" Fornof, who showed the production team a Japanese commercial he had shot of him flying through an empty hangar building. While the specific stunt involving the hangar would be replicated for Octopussy using special effects trickery, Fornof flew the BD-5 for wide-shots of the aircraft. Additional wide-shots of the aircraft being chased by a heat-seeking missile were achieved by tying a firework to a remote-control miniature BD-5.

The BD-5 mounted atop the Jaguar XJ6 stunt car (circa 1982).

In order to create suspense, a sequence of Bond flying through the hangar interior was staged by special effects coordinator, John Richardson. To achieve the effect, Richardson attached the BD-5 to a stripped-down Jaguar XJ6 using a steel pole and tilting mechanism. Richardson and an assistant then drove through the hangar at 75 mph with actor, Roger Moore, in the plane cockpit. The unit added people and objects in the foreground to hide the car and the pole. The scenes where the aircraft enters and exists the hangar were executed using foreground miniatures - a third scale door and a third scale model plane - shot in front of the actual hangar doors and actors. For the explosion after the jet escapes, a 1/12th scale model of the hangar was constructed and filmed up close. Richardson notes that the exploding pieces of the hangar roofing were in reality only four inches (10 cm) long.

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