The Game Composites GB1 GameBird is a British single-engine, two-seat,
aerobatic aircraft that was designed by
Philipp Steinbach and the first prototype was built by
Game Composites.
Steinbach is a German aircraft designer, but not an
aeronautical engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...
, so he enlisted the aid of two engineers, Jing Dai and Robert Finney, to complete the design. The design work was done in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
under Game Composites Limited of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. The aircraft is built under licence by Game Composites LLC in
Bentonville, Arkansas
Bentonville is the tenth-largest city in Arkansas, United States and the county seat of Benton County. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers adjacent to the east. The city is the birthplace of and world headquarters locatio ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
Design and development
The GameBird is a composite structure
tandem
Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction.
The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...
two-seat,
low-wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
, cantilever monoplane powered by a
Lycoming AEIO-580-B1A piston engine. The GameBird has a fixed
conventional landing gear
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...
with a steerable tailwheel.
The prototype GameBird first flew on 15 July 2015.
The GameBird was
certified by
European Aviation Safety Agency
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monito ...
in the CS-23 Aerobatic category on 12 April 2017 and by the US
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
under
FAR 23 on 29 August 2017.
Game Composites received a production certificate from the FAA in June, 2019.
As of 26 September 2021, there were 32 GB1 aircraft registered in the US.
Specifications
See also
References
External links
*{{Official website, http://www.gamecomposites.com/specifications-1/
2010s British sport aircraft
Aerobatic aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 2015