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BD-5 historical questions
I'm writing a general Wikipedia article on the BD-5 (rewriting
actually) and I'm trying to re-create the story. My interest is primarily from a "Popular someting" or "something Mechanics" magazine (currently at my parents house, I'll see if I can get it over the holidays - I don't think it was either of the "big two") article that made me fall in love with the plane. I've read many articles on the topic, looked over cutaways, and read some of the flamefests here. Many minor details still seem to be missing, however, and I'd like to clear some of these up. Sources would be GREATLY appreciated: 1) when was the -5 first announced? 68 seems to be the number, but I've seen 69 and 71 as well. 2) what was the original planned ship date? 3) can someone give me a rundown of the engine models? I seem to remember the article mentioning a version of the VW bug motor being used, possibly as an option? 4) what was the problem with the original V tail? I believe the magazine article I read referred to the V-tail version AS the A and B (with the wings changed, as in the later A/B), is this correct? .... and at what point did they change it to the later design? 5) am I right in reading that the BD-5D was a pre-built FAR'ed version of the kit? ...if so when did these plans start? ... and was Rutan brought in specifically for this part of the project? 6) when did work on the BD-5J start? ... was this primarily Rutan's work? 7) when did the kits actually start shipping? Yes, even in partial form... 8) I have come across a claim about something like a one-crash-per-flight-hour figure. Why such a high rate? One person (a local friend) mentioned something about the high thrust line making landings difficult (more power, nose down), while a thread here mentioned a 100mph landing speed for the A models, and that the first four A's crashed. I have also seen a breakdown of every -5J, and it does indeed have lots of accidents, but it is not clear if these are being added in or not. .... so any detail here would be appreciated. Much of the flamage has to do with people losing their deposits when the company died. However there are conflicting statements: 9) were the deposits supposedly placed in escrow? 10) I have seen conflicting claims about the "completeness" of the kits as received. Some suggest it was just the drivetrain missing, others that large parts of the kit were missing. And one performance question: 11) The magazine article claimed a 210 mph cruise (max?) for the A model. I realize that it will be difficult to compare, but what sorts of speeds do people get with the B's with the larger (Honda typically) engines? Any answers would be greatly appreciated! Please, no second hand info! "I seem to remember the date being..." is ok, but "I heard about a guy that got a kit and..." is NOT. Thanks! And sorry for being so demanding, but I'd really like to avoid a flame fest. Maury |
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