Selwyn_Times: January 31, 2024

Selwyn Times Wednesday January 31 2024
16
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
World’s smallest jet plane takes flight
• By Connor Haley
ONE OF the world’s smallest
and rarest planes has been
flying under the radar in South
Canterbury skies as it is put
through its paces.
Rolleston man Andrew Vincent
and his Bede BD-5J microjet
have found a home at Timaru’s
Richard Pearse Airport as he
completes his required 40 hours
of flight testing, after converting
the original piston-powered
engine to a jet configuration.
With only eight jet versions
left in the world, Vincent, who
has been involved in aviation as
a commercial pilot and aircraft
engineer for more than 40 years,
said he had dreamed of having
one since he was a kid.
‘‘I saw a picture in a magazine;
it’s quite a nice looking little
aeroplane, so I was captivated by
that as a kid and always wanted
one.
‘‘A few years back I was in a
position where I could either
build one or buy one and there
was one that happened to be flying
in Tauranga at the time with
a piston engine in it.
‘‘I bought that, flew it for a
couple of years but decided I
might change it to a jet and did
that over a period of two or three
years and here we are.’’
He said despite the jet engine
making the plane a bit funner
and faster to fly, there were also
practical reasons for the switch.
‘‘The aircraft was designed in
the 70s and the aircraft designer
thought it would be a good idea
to put a little two-stroke, twocylinder
engine in it, and that’s
what this one had when I bought
it.
‘‘It was a Yamaha snowmobile
motor and there are a few challenges
with that.
‘‘The engine normally sits in
behind the pilot, it’s quite hard
to get cooling air in and quite
hard to set the engine up to run
properly, whereas the jet engine
is nice and smooth – it’s simple.’’
Despite the rarity and nature
of the project, Vincent said he
was happy just quietly getting
the work done but admitted it
was great to see a lot of likeminded
people taking interest.
‘‘I haven’t made a big fuss of it,
I’ve just pottered away in the garage
in Rolleston, so I don’t think
a lot of people have known it’s
really out and about. I’m starting
to get a bit more interest around
the place now that it has been in
a magazine and on Facebook.
‘‘A lot of pilots especially know
the aeroplane and I think it has
captivated a few other people as
well. Interest is building and that
makes me think maybe I was on
the right line and maybe it wasn’t
too left field after all.’’
He said Timaru was the ideal
location to do the test flights.
‘‘After all the work that I did,
it was a bit of an unknown about
how it would perform and such.
Christchurch was the obvious
place to do the first four flights
and after it flew exactly how I
thought it would, it was time to
get out of their hair – I didn’t
want to be in the way.
‘‘The aircraft itself needs a tar
sealed strip. It can’t fly from the
grass, the poor wee wheels are
tiny.
‘‘Timaru is close, I needed a
pretty long runway and the great
thing about Timaru is all the flat
paddocks around the area, it just
couldn’t be a better place to do
the test flights to be honest.’’
Confined to flying in a 40 mile
radius around Timaru, he said
everyone on the airfield had been
very welcoming and helpful.
‘‘There wouldn’t be a better
place in the country I think.
‘‘I am really appreciative of
getting to fly it out of here, it’s
just the perfect spot.’’
The Bede BD-5J was one of
the first kit planes available for
purchase.
Vincent said his plane in
particular weighed only 185kg
empty and when fully fuelled its
maximum takeoff weight was
450kg.
It has a wingspan of just over
five metres and can reach a top
speed of 460 km/h and has a stall
speed of 110 km/h.
He said he would carry 140 litres
of fuel with him on test days
which gave him about 1 hour
and 15 minutes of flight time.
Notably, the Bede BD-5J
featured in the opening scene
of the 1983 James Bond film
Octopussy.
Vincent planned to finish his
remaining test flying hours out
of Timaru and would potentially
look at flying it in airshows but,
for now, he just wanted to focus
on enjoying flying around in the
smallest jet plane in the world.
Fit to fly:
Andrew
Vincent sits
inside his Bede
BD-5J as he
completes his
flight testing at
Timaru’s airport.
PHOTOS:
CONNOR
HALEY ​
Over 10 Years in Selwyn
ROLLESTON OFFICE
80A Rolleston Drive, Rolleston
Belinda Ferguson
Anita Molloy-Roberts
Olivia Johnston
Maddy France
Kieran Heenan
Ruby Jones
W: www.meareswilliams.co.nz
T: (03) 374 2547
E: rec@meareswilliams.co.nz
Offices also located at:
43 Gerald Street, Lincoln
225 Papanui Road, Christchurch
SUPERVISOR WANTED IN ROLLESTON
We are looking for a well organised person to manage the distribution of
advertising material & local newspapers into household letterboxes.
This is a part-time contract position where you can co-ordinate most of
your work from home, allowing the opportunity to continue or apply for
work in other fields. The position includes managing a team of deliverers.
This role could suit an at home parent, retiree or someone returning to
the workforce.
You will need a suitable vehicle, mobile phone, computer with internet
access and be able to provide short-term undercover storage.
For further information please contact Mark
mark.kelly@mainlanddistribution.co.nz