From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American aircraft manufacturer
Golden Circle Air, Inc. was an American
aircraft manufacturer based in
De Soto, Iowa . The company specialized in the manufacture of
ultralight aircraft in the form of kits for
amateur construction and ready-to-fly aircraft under the US
FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules.
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[2]
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The company put the
Teratorn Tierra series of aircraft designs back into production as the
Golden Circle Air T-Bird , after
Teratorn Aircraft of
Clear Lake, Iowa went out of business in 1989. Golden Circle further developed the design from the original single seat Tierra and the two seats in
side-by-side configuration Tierra II into the three seat
T-Bird III and the
T-Bird Tandem TBT06
tandem -seat ultralight.
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[2]
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After Golden Circle Air went out of business in circa 2006 the T-Bird aircraft designs were acquired by
Indy Aircraft of
Independence, Iowa and put back into production from 2011 to 2021.
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In 2021,
Tbird Aircraft acquired the T-Bird rights and the assets of Indy Aircraft. The new company sells kits and parts for the T-Bird I and II, refurbishes old aircraft and are developing a new design, the
Tbird TU , which will conform with FAR Part 103 requirements.
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Aircraft
Summary of aircraft built by Golden Circle Air
Model name
First flight
Number built
Type
T-Bird
1983
more than 1500 Tierras and T-Birds
Single seat
ultralight aircraft
T-Bird II
1983
more than 2500 Tierra IIs and T-Bird IIs
Two seat ultralight aircraft
T-Bird III
1990
78 (2004)
Three seat light aircraft
T-Bird Tandem TBT06
1992
21 (1998)
Two seat ultralight aircraft
References
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a
b Cliche, Andre: Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide 8th Edition, pages B-60 and B-106. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001.
ISBN
0-9680628-1-4
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a
b Pilot Mix.
"Golden Circle Air, Inc T-Bird I" . Retrieved January 22, 2011 .
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a
b Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook , page 168-169. BAI Communications.
ISBN
0-9636409-4-1
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a
b Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04 , page 142. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X
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a
b Downey, Julia: 1999 Kit Aircraft Directory , Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 50. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
^
a
b Downey, Julia: 2001 Kit Aircraft Directory , Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 12, December 2000, page 54. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851
^
a
b Downey, Julia: 2002 Kit Aircraft Directory , Kitplanes, Volume 18, Number 12, December 2001, page 43. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851
^
a
b Newby-Gonzalez, Tori: 2004 Kit Aircraft Directory , Kitplanes, Volume 20, Number 12, December 2003, page 59. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
^
a
b Downey, Julia: 2005 Kit Aircraft Directory , Kitplanes, Volume 21, Number 12, December 2004, page 61. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
^ Vandermeullen, Richard: 2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide , Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 56. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
^ Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12 , page 61. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
^ Johnson, Dan:
"Oshkosh 2022 – Day 0… T-Bird is Back; Two-Seat Aerolite; and More As the Show Prepares to Open," July 25, 2022, ByDanJohnson.com, retrieved June 20, 2023
^
"Tbird Aircraft LLC," OpenCorporates.com, retrieved June 20, 2023
External links