Can James Bond's miniature fighter jet, the BD-5J SMART, really fly?

Those who have seen it have noticed. In the 1983 Bond film Octopussy, James Bond (Roger Moore) uses a very small plane in one scene. I'm talking about the skilful miniature fighter plane in which he almost dogfights with the missile chasing him. In this plane, Bond enters the front door of the closing military hangar, exits through the closing back door, and in the meantime, he causes the hangar to explode by crashing the missile coming after him into the hangar. Thus, he destroys his enemies. The name of the aircraft that is the main actor in this scene is BD-5J SMART. He gives a very successful Bond performance.

This plane, BD-5J SMART, which does not actually fly in the film, but is 'flown' with stage effects and auxiliary apparatus, is a real plane that continues to fly even today. Its biggest feature is that it is very small. The BD-5J SMART, made famous by the film Octopussy, has been in use for half a century as the world's smallest manned jet aircraft. SMART (Small Manned Aerial Radar Target) performs an important service as a target aircraft to simulate cruise missiles in air defence tests and training. The aircraft are owned by a civilian company. They are flown by civilian pilots.

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The original name of these aircraft was the Bede BD-5 Micro. It was developed by the US aircraft designer Jim Bede in the late 1960s and introduced to the market in the early 1970s by Bede Aircraft Corporation, primarily in kit form. In this respect, it is also called a kit aircraft. It is also known as a small, single-seat homebuilt aircraft. I believe that the fact that the kit of a manned model, such as the aircraft models that are sold even in supermarkets today, was offered for sale in the American market in the 1970s should be seen as an important clue to understand the dynamics of the origins of the American aerospace industry, which has reached a size corresponding to almost half of the world's aviation industry. Civil and military aviation flourishes in this climate, and whatever is produced can make a worldwide impact.

At that time, more than 5,000 of these kits produced in a small workshop were sold. The company then decided to open a factory and launch a more advanced model of this aircraft, which was certified by the American Aviation Administration (FAA). 12,000 orders were received. However, when the company called Bede Aircraft went bankrupt in the mid-1970s, all plans were cancelled. Kit aircraft production did not continue. Very few of these 50-year-old aircraft from those days can continue to fly today.

The BD-5J version holds the record for the world's smallest jet aircraft, weighing only 358.8 lb (162.7 kg). The fact that even some radio-controlled models are larger than this target aircraft makes it even more remarkable. We're talking about a tiny little thing with a pilot inside.

Nowadays, it is fashionable to fly everything unmanned. Contrary to this fashion, a group of contract pilots in Tucson, Arizona, USA, where I was once an F-16 instructor, continue to use these aircraft, which are operated by a company called Annapolis, owned by Bob Bishop. The company is looking for pilots to be as short and thin as possible. Consequently, pilot candidates with body characteristics like jockeys, which we are familiar with from horse races, are more preferred by the company in recruitment.

This target aircraft can reach a speed of 514 kilometres per hour. It has an engine power of 70 horsepower. It can reach up to 30,000 feet altitude. It burns 15-20 litres per hour. Incredible figures. It can successfully fulfil the target aircraft missions expected of it in a very economical way. In our aviation industry, TAI's Simsek (unmanned) target aircraft is being used. SMART aircraft continue to fulfil this function in a very narrow area, together with other unmanned target aircraft. Since it can easily perform manoeuvres that most target aircraft cannot, it seems that no one has any intention of giving up this mini aircraft as long as it flies. With an operational radius of almost 1,000 kilometres, these aircraft are seen as a real training aid and a good target aircraft.

During the 1970s and 1980s, when the aircraft first appeared, it was also used as a demonstration aircraft in some air shows. Nowadays, this is not preferred. The aircraft's designer, Jim Bede, used a concept based on a short stubby delta wing fuselage with an elevator mounted in the centre of the tail. In order to minimise friction, a V-type tail structure was developed, as well as a mechanism to raise the landing gear. This was a basic design that had been known and used since the early 1960s. It is considered to be a proven aerodynamic design for many military training aircraft. Aircraft using this design include the A-4 Skyhawk and the BAE Hawk 200.

Expected to reach speeds of 250 - 300 knots, this aircraft, which was required to withstand high G-loads, had to be produced in a light weight that would allow it to find a place in the market, which was also seen as the biggest handicap of this aircraft. In its production, a tight engineering tolerance and the materials to be used in the aircraft had to be selected in accordance with the requirements of the structural design. Any flexing in these areas would impair the aircraft's overall performance. The most successful aspect of the aircraft was its small size, light weight, very low drag values, and therefore its ability to achieve high performances. In time, the use of an almost all-metal fuselage with a predominance of aluminium alloy in the construction of the fuselage resulted in the production of the aircraft being completed in a few hundred hours.

Bede, the engineer of this miniature fighter aircraft, published a booklet when it was first released on the market, which enabled anyone who bought the kits to easily build an aeroplane. With the wings removed, the aircraft could be placed on a small special trailer. It could then be towed by car for storage in a garage, and from there taken to any flat area suitable for take-off. The commuting scenes in the Jetsons were almost realised with this miniature aircraft. In the 1970s, publications promoting the aircraft and encouraging such civilian use helped to sell the kits.

The BD-5 aircraft was featured on the cover of the October 1971 issue of Science & Mechanics magazine, priced at $1,950. The article showed the construction of the original prototype and made numerous claims about how easy it was to build. The August 1973 issue of Popular Science magazine also featured the aircraft, but the price was listed as $2,965 with a 40 horsepower engine. In those years, perhaps due to the influence of these publications, this miniature fighter aircraft was in high demand. In the words of one writer, "Even before the aircraft had made its maiden flight, the thought of flying this sleek, bullet-shaped aircraft stirred the imagination of almost everyone who heard of the programme."

Among the general characteristics of this single-pilot aircraft were the following. Its length was 4.13 metres, wingspan 6.55 metres, empty weight 161 kilograms, maximum take-off weight 299 kilograms, take-off distance 225 metres and landing distance 255 metres.

Although there is no production of the BD-5J today, this manned miniature fighter aircraft continues to be kept in the air by its fans as a hobby aircraft, and even continues to serve as a good training aid in some military missions as a target aircraft, simulating a missile, in the combat readiness training of soldiers defending a radar, base, ship.