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The BD5 was a kit homebuild aircraft, designed in the 1960's by Jim Bede and was offered as either a pusher prop or jet variant, this version is still officially the worlds lightest jet aircaft. Despite great hopes for the company, they went bust in the 1970's after only producing a few hundred unit's and that was even after the extensive publicity of the aircraft starring in a Bond film!
This nice size ARF BD5 is a pre-covered quality balsa airframe that also comes with vac formed parts to finish off the look of the model and an extensive hardware kit. Designed for a pusher prop arrangement, a 300w brushless inrunner motor would be the minimum, don't let the longer than scale wings fool you, the wing is pretty slim and speed will not be an issue! The model is 4 channel with a steerable nosewheel, and for easy transportation, the wing can be removed with 2 bolts. The BD5 is certainly an unusual subject, very capable flown at all speeds and cheap to build!
i am thinking to buy an dymond inrunner 1300 kv 285 w on 3 cells 9x6 prop, but now the quistion is there place for a 9x6 prop or will it touch the ground,do i need a moter with a higher kv and smaler prop
Frenchstan I know what you mean. Just remember that this is HobbyKing's play pen. They let us play in it, but we need to make the items look good. They do need to make money. If you have something NEG to say or a bit off track, then you need to leave that, at the HOME FORUM (Blue Tab at Top of the Page). It is a great place to visit and even stay!
NewTo: I respectfully disagree. I make (many) POSITIVE comments went warrented, but if I have something NEG to say, I'll say it, and in the forum for the product under discussion. And, no, my comment WASN'T "off track"* it originally referred to THIS PLANE, of which I still have two.
i was always scared to get this plane cuz i hate using an inrunner motor with props am used to it with EDFs, but so far i see you guys managed to pull it up,i think i will buy this plane but is it a good flyer? your feed back really will help.
I am beginning to think a 28mm inrunner isn't the ideal motor for this model.
Just spent about an hour grinding some internal plywood constructions at the firewall/motor mount to make the 28mm motor go in, and it still just barely fits. I'm sure a little more work will do it. I think however a 2445 (3200kv) inrunner might be a better fit. I've just ordered one, will let you know how it goes.
Hi,mate. I'm running an E-flite Six Series 2836 Brushless Inrunner, 2700kv, 6x5.5 prop off a 1800mAh 11.1V 3c Li-Po. Great result! You can cruise along at your leasure or tear up the sky! Hope this helps. Nicho
I have also decided that an inrunner is not for me, I bought one and realised it was so heavy and will screw with getting my c of g correct. I've now fitted an outrunner .... a A2826/6 2200kv that I had for another project. I have fitted an 8" prop and plan to use a 2cell lipo
I'm just waiting to test fly it
Steve .. Uk
What's with the rudder pushrod !?!?
I can't think of a good way to place the horn... pushrod comes out of the fuselage PARALLEL to the hinge line, rather than at a right angle
I have same ?... When looking thru the manual from aero-works, it looks like the rudder connection is made internally prefab from factory... But aparently not on the HK version... HELP ? ANy ideas to make the Rudder work is welcome
Hey, just got mine, it looks very nice.
One question though - I'm puzzled as to where should cooling air get into the fuselage?
I see outlet holes at the motor cover piece, but no inlet?
Hi all, I've got this plane on my wish list, should I get the 480 3200kv or can I use a lower kv motor, say 380 2600kv. I don't want it screaming around the skies just a nice sports speed. Thanks.
louise the recommended CG is 1 5/8 inches back from the leading edge of the wing at the wing root where it meets the fuse. there is a very good manual under the FILES tab above. There are a few notes on the C of G that are worth reading. Only 2 mb to down load. I hope this helps
So has anyone done FPV with this bird? Also how does it fly? I have seen no video or no comments of its flight characteristics. Does the rudder make a difference?
NO! No way do you want to put any more weight into this BD5. I have two, and they are a handful. Wants to tip stall a bunch already. Keep it as light as possible and do your best to get weight as far forward as you can.
No, this plane is strictly for electric as the space for the motor (quite small) can only fit the inrunner brushless with diameter of no more than 28mm
medievil1959 NO way sorry. This is a great little bird but the VIBS of a OS15 would kill her. She is covered balsa BUT is made very very light for the electric market. Sorry it is covered with film and am pretty sure it is not fuel safe. Well I know it is not. Take a leap of faith and give electric ago. I hope this helps.
I was using the Tower Pro 2409-12 (1700kv) motor in mine with a 7x6 prop and it was fast but I recently went to a Turnigy D2826-6 (2200kv) motor and a 6x6 prop and it gained about 10 to 15 mph, now it's really fast. I haven't been able to radar it yet but I'm guessing around 80 mph now going level with an excellent climb rate.
Hi Rothmans. I cut 2" off the rear and made a new firewall to mount the motor too and I used masking tape as a guide so my cut would match the original angle.
target=_blank>new firewall
Hi! raz54, thanks a lot for your photo. Please forgive me to ask another question. Can you please show us how do you mount the Rudder Horn position. Please show the photo of the Rudder Horn and the Rudder Servo area photo..
Again, guys, this ain't a plane you want to add any weight to. On one of mine a took off the landing gear to make it lighter. On the other I mounted the hor. stab. an inch to the rear to help the pitch stability. Keep it light, keep the weight forward, and KEEP YOUR SPEED UP or it's stall and lawn dart its way in. Good luck.
What is the purpose of lengthening the wingspan beyond scale?
I have seen both scratch built all foam and all balsa of this aircraft both built with scale wings and they flew great.
Yeah, C'mon Bruce we all know want to put one of your pet pulse's in there, but why do think this plane would a good choice, I ask because it's first time I've seen make such a comment. (LOL - SargeNZ, well said, we know WHO your talking about!)
I like this model, but its a shame the wings arn't scale and neither is the fuselage as the nose is not pointy enough and is slightly streched. I'm sure it flies great though.
I have the AeroWorks BD5B too and they look identical to me. I was told (by AreoWorks) the longer wing was for better slow speed flight. I clipped 2"off each end so it looks much nicer now and it flies great and is one of the most fun planes to fly.
Why not use outrunner instead? There is plenty of space inside and it costs much cheaper. For speed and unlimited vertical, you may consider on using turnigy 2836 outrunner 2,350KV, 5X5 prop, min 40 A ESC (50-60A recommended) and 4S (35-45C) 1,800-2,200mAH Lipo. This is a James Bond's plane and it should fly fast
yes it look lithe aerow...ks price is good , and weight box is ok for good deal it is not a fast plane , but it fly great with 350-450w setup 3S work great
FEATURING Strong Light Weight all Wood Construction Quick - Easy assembly right from the box Precision Laser cut lightweight ARF Professionally covered with Light Weight High Quality film Complete Hardware Package Included Aluminum Spinner Included One piece wing High lift airfoil for stable flight Designed with Rudder for full range of aerobatic capabilities Removable front canopy for easy battery installation Nose wheel steering for easy ground handling Tough pre-bent aluminum landing gear
Model features: Fast accurate assembly with minimal building time. Laser cut wood construction for precise and accurate assembly. One piece, one-servo wing, allows pilot easy assembly and compact for transportation. Elevator and rudder servo’s located in front of fuse for easy installation and precise control. Accessible front hatch for fast and easy battery replacement. High lift airfoil, light wing loading and unique wing design allows for incredibly stable flight performance from a jet style model
I just ordered one. This is a JIT item - they claim those take 3-5 days to despatch and you don't get told that til after you've ordered. The last JIT item I bought delayed my order by two weeks. Yes, I've moaned about this before, and I'll keep moaning about it til they state it clearly in the product listings.
The HK and AeroWorks versions are not identical but they are very close, even the mistake in wing incidence. The wing is 3 degrees positive which is way more than it should be. I cut 1/8" out of the rear of the wing saddle so now it sits at 1/2 degree . I also set the COG right at 1-1/8" from the LE and it flies so much nicer now. Balancing slightly nose heavy really helps take the pitch sensitivity out of it and having the wing incidence set right makes it track level. Huge difference in how it flies now!
HK have Deleted the manual u posted (and all other helpful files) would u please post again i just got it and the main wings connection to the fuse is giving me problems :}
I've uploaded the one I had - probably the same one. It's undergoing review, apparently. It's the Aeroworks one, so they might decide not to allow it...
Customer Reviews
Overall Rating
wacoflyer
2 likes
Value
Quality
1 thumbs up!
What a cool little scale plane! Mine went together fairly quickly but the suggested motor shown above is WAY to large for the plane (and the related esc is far too small for the motor). The aileron servo mount is large enough to accommodate 2 9g servos so adding flaperon function is easy. The supplied instructions are helpful and look like they came from Aeroworks in Colorado. Check the manual out before you buy. PS. No propeller or spinner is included with the kit.
2 comments. Reply..
Overall Rating
UkRobotman
3 likes
Value
Quality
1 thumbs up!
Great kit but lack of advice on suitable motor is a shame, I bought a HK Donkey ST380L inrunner .. Difficult to fit and when I put everything together it's way to heavy. So much weight at the back makes it very difficult to get enough the weight up at the front. I've now fitted a smal outrunner that's much lighter . Doesn't look so pretty at the back but needs must. Not sure about suitable size prop. I can't understand why HK don't recommend a more suitable motor,prop combination, it shouldn't be down to me to experiment!
Vac formings are a completely different white to the covering on the plane.
Stil for the price I can't really complain, it's great quality but is let down by the above, can't wait to fly it.
Steve... UK
2 comments. Reply..
Overall Rating
PEDRO PAULO DA CUNHA
3 likes
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Quality
Like it?
I bought S2445-3200 Brushless Inrunner (3200kv) for my HK BD-5B and I can't use it because the shaft is to short. When I put the motor inside the fuselage the shaft part on the outside was very short to grip with spinner. For this airplane, the motor shaft have to be 12 mm in the minimal to grip a spinner.
2 comments. Reply..
Overall Rating
aviatortom
7 likes
Value
Quality
Like it?
Got my kit last week or so - haven't started it yet, but t's beautiful! I thought I was missing the assembly instructions, but HK customer support pointed out that they are downloadable under the "FILES" tab on the product's site page that's cool - I never noticed the FILES tab before. Like others, my kit was missing the main wheels and the spinner no response from HK on that issue. I hope I don't find other missing parts as I go through the assembly.
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