Itty Bitty Jets... FLS Microjet (Neo BD-5J) VS SubSonex JSX-1 (Videos)
Friday, November 30, 2012 at 09:33PM
It's a pretty universal dream: a tiny little jet that feels like it has become a part of you... you think it, and it does it... the perfect dream machine that'll do pretty much anything you can think of. If you really love flying and you haven't had that dream yet, I'm guessing it's just a matter of time. It's a dream first made real by Jim Bede back in mid 70's with the BD-5J: as in J for 'jet'. And now, just about 40 years later, we've got two recent videos worth watching of two airplanes that are born, to one degree or another, out of Bede's original dream machine.
The updated BD-5J concept from bd-micro: the FLS Microjet (photo: flsmicrojet.com)
The FLS Microjet looks like a BD-5J, and mostly it is. But it's been updated, modified, and is actually available as a kit (with builder assistance) for $189,500 from bd-micro.com. The video above gives a very nice overview of the BD-5J and the updated FLS Microjet as presented by AOPA Pilot Magazine. Their full December 2012 article is here: Micro. Little jet, big impact. I very much enjoyed the article on FLS Microjet as well as the video above... especially the pic on the left side of the screen starting at 1:05. Yeah, that's a pic either me (as an 11 year old) or my dad took at the Bede factory in 1972 that shows both Burt Rutan and test pilot Les Berven (see the full post on AirPigz here). It was pretty cool to see the pic in that AOPA video, tho it would have been nice if they woulda asked instead of just lifting it from AirPigz.com. Oh well, welcome to the internets.
And then we have the second video below from Sonex Aircraft and their sorta pre-prototype SubSonex itty bitty jet. The SubSonex JSX-1 uses the same PBS JT-100 turbine engine that powers the FLS Microjet and winds up having size and performance numbers that are remarkably similar. They have the same 416 pound empty weight, with the Microjet having a gross weight 10 pounds higher at 860 pounds. The Microjet has a slightly higher cruise speed (183mph) and a slightly higher Vne (288 mph). What you get in a big way with the Microjet is beauty. The SubSonex looks nice but it can't begin to compare with the flowing compound curves of the BD-5J / FLS Microjet. And you'd expect that cleaner look (and fully retractable landing gear on the Microjet) to yield higher speeds, but the SubSonex (with only a retractable nose gear) runs a very close second in this race.
You can learn much more about the SubSonex here on their Hornets' Nest SubSonex page (most recent update on the project posted today, 11-30-12), and also in this December 2012 AOPA Pilot Magazine article: Jet in a box.
SubSonex JSX-1 single seat jet from Sonex Aircraft (photo: Sonex Aircraft)
What remains to be seen is whether the SubSonex progresses to the point of actually becoming a kit aircraft, and if so, what kind of cash would a fella have to lay down to get one in the air. In theory, it's far simpler construction should make for a more affordable airplane that still brings some seriously large smiles to the guy with the side-stick controller in his right hand... but it's gonna be hard to see ANY airplane ever look as cool as the BD-5J / FLS Microjet!
Reader Comments (2)
lol, that looks like fun. What's landing speed, 150 kts? ~J~
I give up. What's on the little screen on the instrument panel on the SubSonex?