Monday, 19 June 2023

Another BD 5B On the Way

We have not had any report from the recent NZ Warbirds on Parade airshow at Ardmore on 4/6/23.  The airshow sneaked in with the weather and the usual aircraft were displayed including the Warbirds WW 1 collection and several great aerobatic displays were flown.  However one aircraft that was on display in the restoration hangar caught my eye:

This is the BD 5B that has been being built over many years by Peter Sheehan and it looks to be getting towards being finished.  Back in May 1984 it had the registration ZK-TCH reserved and its c/n was AACA/685.  ZK-TCH was used for John Best's Taylor Titch but obviously Peter Sheehan has kept working on it over the intervening 39 years!

In comments to a post I did on BD 5s in New Zealand back in July 2009, the following information was supplied by Peter Lewis and Dave Paull:

ZK-DVE c/n 3886 15/7/1974 NZ Aerospace Industries Ltd., Hamilton
8/10/1979 J V Hodge, Auckland 13/2/1984 A C Kenworthy, Christchurch (later Auckland) 16/3/1992 Canceled as not completed.
ZK-DYL c/n 3902 NTU Became ZK-RMT.
ZK-DYM c/n 3903 D F C Rose, Auckland 1974. NTU. Became ZK-ZIP.
ZK-DYN c/n 3904 B Weinstein, WN. Then to Neil France NTU.  Became ZK-XBD
ZK-DYO c/n 3913/AACA/240/1 J L Williams, AK 1974. Presume not completed.
ZK-DYP c/n 3882/AACA231/1 G Jones, AK 1974. NTU.
ZK-DYT c/n 3877 K E Yeo, Hobsonville 1974. NTU.
ZK-RMT c/n 3902 (ex ZK-DYL NTU) Registered on 6/11/1997 to Bede Enterprises, Porirua (Barry Ralston)
14/10/2002 Cancelled as Sold.Abroad.
ZK-RWF c.n AACA/629  Registered on 3/7/1987 to R W Foley, Wellington 17/12/1998 Cancelled as WFU
ZK-TCH c/n AACA/685 P J Sheehan, AK 5/1984.
ZK-XBD (ex ZK-DYN NTU).  Completed by C A McMillan of Mosgiel, first registered on 30/6/04.
to G S Nicholls of Tauranga on 30/6/07 Then to Andrew Vincent of Christchurch who flew it for a couple of years, and has since re-engined it with a PBS TJ100B jet engine.  Registered as a BD 5J on  17/3/23.
ZK-ZBD c/n 3898 Built by Dr Ian Griffin at New Plymouth and was first registered on 21/8/01.  Has flown but has been inactive for many years.  Currently owned by the ISJ Griffin Family Trust of New Plymouth
ZK-ZIP Ex ZK-DYN but with the c/n AACA/365/1.  Built by David Rose of Auckland and registered on 19/7/82.  Flew several times, initially way back in 1982.  Cancelled on 2/5/13 as exported. .

 Of interest in the above list is c/n 3902 which was registered on 6/11/97 as ZK-RMT before being being cancelled on 14/10 02 as being sold abroad.  Does anyone have any information on this BD 5?  Was it completed in New Zealand?

9 comments:

  1. The other thing in that hanger that caught my eye was the SE-5a replica ?
    Anybody have information on that aircraft ?.

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    1. That SE5a is the replica serialled E1294 that was at the Tim Wallis fighter museum Wanaka.

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  2. On 20 May 2007 a bd-5 crashed shortly after take-off at a Sport Aircraft Asoc fly-in near Northam western Australia the pilot suffered back injuries and burns. I recall seeing a TV news item about this crash and seem to recall the aircraft was wearing a kiwi rego. It may have been the illusive ZK-RMT

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    1. There is a report of the 2007 incident here:
      http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=29914a59-8734-4989-9d3c-a3822ee70b0b
      It was registered VH-NZG at that time. Photo halfway down page:
      https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=45094.0

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    2. RMT was not sold overseas, but deregistered, it was previously TCH previously owned by Peter Sheehan.
      I part owned it and owned RWF.
      Sold RMT back to Peter Sheehan recently and its at Ardmore

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  3. flyernzl - thank you very much for the info on the SE-5A

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  4. Understand now with VH-NZG rego why I associated it with a kiwi aircraft

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  5. Many years ago former PAC sales manager Alan Thoresen had several BD -5 kit sets and about 20 years ago I saw an assembled one in a workshop near Ardmore

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  6. Hi Peter, there is a BD5 fuse in the restoration hanger at the Ashburton Aviation Museum.

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