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Pocket jet


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Most of us, I guess, have in our hangar a few old favourites which have soldiered on through 2004 and FSX. The one I wheel out most often for a spot of fun flying is the little Bede replica. Haven't seen it yet in this forum, but it's an unusual freebie and well worth having. Three varieties: James Bond and  Coors Light jets, and a prop version. Top speed, 260 knots plus. Yours at Fsim.com: 'FSX BD-5 Collection'.

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Short story about the BD-5J.  I was part owner in a C172 back in the 80s with a guy owned one of 3 or 4 BD-5J.  After the 2nd flameout where He didn't make it back to the airport, his wife gave him the old Bede or Me speech.  His brother-in-law was his insurance agent and found a buyer for the wreckage (not totalled, just really dented up a lot).  After repair, it turned out to be the first real "Coors Light" silver bullet.

I got to fly one of the demo birds (prop version) at an airshow in Corpus in Texas in the early eighties when Jim Bede was going strong.  It had Bob Bishop painted on the sides.  He was a no show.  We didn't do much close order drills back then.  I dug out some of the hard prints a few months ago for a story someone was doing on the Bede history.  I think it was for the Smithsonian.

It felt like your butt was about 3 inches off the ground and it needed about 6 more inches of elbow room.  But, I guess it had the first real joy stick in the civilian world.  Kinda neat.  Hot and could be, no air conditioning and the canopy didn't work for airflow on the ground.  Always had to wear a hat to keep the top of your head protected from sunburn.  Ah, the good old days.

Real story.

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