Octopussy Gadgets

Bede BD-5

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The BD-5 Micro was invented by Jim Bede and made its first flight in 1971. So, as Bond makes his clever escape from the back of a horse box we are left to contemplate why it took so long for it to appear in a Bond movie.
007 was making his getaway but all sorts of armoured vehicles and soldiers were in pursuit. Add that to the fact that he had not completed his mission to blow stuff up, it was on to Plan B.
Plan B, it quickly proved was the world's smallest jet plane and it was being kept in the horse box at the back of his getaway car.
Up lifts the horse's behind and out trundles a toy plane with wings folded upwards. Some spectacular stunt flying saw Bond fly the mini plane through an aircraft hangar before blowing up everything he had planned to.
Well it was all rather silly. Or was it?
The plane, a Bede BD-5, with its stylish jet looks was made to be easy to fly and build yourself. 
It came in kit form and although orders for several thousand were placed, the company had a raft of construction, engine and financial problems and was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1979. Only a few hundred were built and many owners, who had kits but no engines, came up with their own solutions to finish their projects. 
The idea however, was simple - The fuselage was built from fibreglass over aluminium, which reduced construction time significantly. The operating costs were also low, with 40mpg fuel costs.
With the wings removed, or in the case of Octopussy, folded upwards to fit in the horse box, it was easily stored in a small container.
The BD-5 appeared on the cover of Science & Mechanics in the October of 1971 and included a list price of $1,950 and detailed a top speed of 215mph. 
A variety of alterations and improvements were made to this early prototype before we reached the jet seen in Octopussy.
A pilot named Bob Bishop purchased 20 kits of the BD-5J version and they became air show fixtures. Throughout the 1980s, Coors flew two as ‘Silver Bullets’. Budweiser also had one called the Bud Light Jet, and this was the aircraft that was used in Octopussy.

Another video of the BD-5 in action appears above, and you can read more at the official website www.bd5.com
Photo: Octopussy 1983 Danjaq, LLC, & United Artists Corporation. All rights reserved