Gamebird Aircraft - It's not often these days that a new aircraft design has the potential to be a complete game changer. But I'd argue that German aircraft designer Philipp Steinbach created it, at least for pilots who want to challenge their stick-and-rudder skills, or "keep the green side" so to speak. Steinbach's new, versatile aerobatic aircraft, called the GB1 Gamebird, will soon receive EASA and FAA certification. It incorporates many innovative features, making it an excellent cross-country aircraft with aerobatic capabilities that have impressed the likes of freestyle world aerobatic champion Rob Holland.
I had the opportunity to fly with Holland out of Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin during this year's EAA AirVenture to experience the edge of the Gamebird's flight envelope. I can tell you it was a ride. We started with an aileron roll of 180 knots to get a feel for the aircraft. At the end of the flight, we rolled the plane to zero airspeed and 230 knots airspeed, and we did it through some maneuvers that I had never experienced before.
Gamebird Aircraft
While Steinbach was not a trained engineer, he designed, built and tested a long list of aircraft during his career. For Gamebird, he collaborated with two young but talented design engineers: Jing Dai and Robert Finney. Together they have found ways to create a 1,000 nm flying aircraft, which can be used as a basic tailwheel trainer or meet the extreme needs of those who want to play in the aerobatic competition arena up to unlimited range. The design of the plane is simply genius. Gamebird would be produced by a new company called Game Composites, which Steinbach founded with Stuart Walton, a young lawyer, businessman, and pilot who is the grandson of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.
Paving The Way For Potential Stc
The Gamebird project began in Britain in 2013, and the team used computer-aided design (CAD) software to create the aircraft. "The first drawing was two people and a machine," Steinbach said. "Then we design the aircraft around them. With composites, you can do almost anything." The GB1 first flew on July 15 last year and made its public debut at the Flying Legends Airshow in England earlier this year.
The Gamebird was introduced to the United States at AirVenture, where a steady stream of people explored the aircraft in front of the International Aerobatic Club building near the show center. I enjoyed watching Steinbach perform a beautiful aerobatic routine in front of a large AirVenture crowd. The performance included tricks I had never seen before, proving that, in addition to being a brilliant designer, Steinbach was a talented aerobatic pilot who had seen great success in competitive aerobatics.
One of the many design elements that make the Gamebird a great aircraft is its fuel system. Three fuel tanks feed the aircraft. The aerobatic tank in the nose section holds 25 gallons, enough for an hour of hardcore aerobatics. The tank can also be used for takeoff and landing. This eliminates the possibility of engine failure due to the transfer of fuel to the tip of the wings while sliding.
Each wing holds an additional 28 gallons for a total of 81 gallons of fuel if you want to cruise smoothly across the country. International travel with Gamebird is easier than traditional aerobatic aircraft. Steinbach said he and another man took the plane apart and placed it on an airfreight pallet in 2.5 hours — a task that takes days for many aerobatic planes. Despite their stellar strength, each wing weighs only 80 pounds.
Gamebird Gb1 Certified For Sale In Us
For long cross-country flights, some people may request autopilot. Steinbach said that's not currently in the plans for weight reasons, but the team is looking into the possibility of installing a wing leveler. Another benefit if you take the Gamebird on the road is that you don't have to keep all your stuff in a small pouch stuffed somewhere in the cockpit. The Gamebird has a decent-sized luggage compartment, capable of carrying 30 pounds of gear behind the two tandem-configured seats.
The seats are firm and slightly reclined, making for a comfortable ride. Adjustable air vents provide plenty of airflow in the glass cockpit. The rudder pedals are adjustable from the rear seat via a tool-free system. Visibility from the cockpit is excellent, and the ground, even from the back seat, is easier to see through the nose than in many high-powered taildraggers. Only partial S turns are required in taxi operations.
The rudder control surface tapers from top to bottom, reducing adverse yaw. Like many aerobatic aircraft, the Gamebird can fly without much rudder input. However, there is plenty of rudder authority for difficult aerobatic tasks.
The final design was light and strong, with an empty weight of 1,290 pounds, using carbon-fiber wings, pushrods, and a monocoque fuselage. The aircraft is certified to plus and minus 10 Gs. Steinbach said the structural test prototype was hit in every imaginable way up to 19 Gs without structural failure.
Gamebird Returning To Oshkosh With Special Look
When I first sat in the pilot's seat, the stick felt too high - I'm not used to being a pilot for the quick, sudden maneuvers required for extreme aerobatic flying. I usually like to rest my hand on the armrest or footrest, but even if I can't, the stick position feels right when I'm flying. Of course, since the Gamebird is a brand new prototype, I wasn't able to fly it from the back seat — designed for solo flight — so this isn't a typical flight review. But I didn't care. After all, I was flying with the world's greatest aerobatic pilots.
Like many high-performance aerobatic aircraft, the Gamebird's ailerons do not have spars, which reduces drag and the number of aircraft parts. However, the aileron design enabled a roll rate greater than anything I had experienced before. Holland did a roll that ended before I had time to say the roll. The trick also sent my headset flying. And I was surprised to learn that full aileron deflection can be done at any airspeed up to vne.
Steinbach said that the successful design was achieved by experimenting with several factors, such as the thickness of the airfoil and the location of the hinge points on the ailerons running along the trailing edges of the wings. During several test flights, Steinbach constructed a linear graph, determining the roll rate at 1.874 times the airspeed in knots. That translates to a roll rate of 400 degrees per second at 200 kias. Yes, what you read was correct. It can complete a roll in less than a second.
Another clever design element that adds to the Gamebird's versatility is the ability to quickly shift its center of gravity based on the mission. Below the horizontal stabilizer is a chamber on each side of the empennage, each of which can hold up to 25 pounds of ballast to move the CG aft. A change in CG makes the aircraft more maneuverable but less stable to enable extreme aerobatic maneuvers. The controls felt balanced, but I felt the pitch instability. "Stability is the enemy of aerobatics," Holland said.
Aviation Photographs Of Game Composites Gb1 Gamebird
There is a ballast chamber on each side of the empennage that allows rapid CG changes. John Whittle
Noise is a growing problem at airports around the world, and naturally, high-efficiency, high-horsepower engines generate a ton of noise. To reduce the noise footprint of the GB1, the Lycoming AEIO-580-B1A engine is limited to 2,600 rpm and 303 hp. The Gamebird's mating call was also reduced by adding a four-blade, wood-core/composite MT-propeller prop to the engine. Steinbach's AirVenture Flight was significantly quieter than that of other artists.
The aircraft has plenty of power, however, and very good vertical penetration capability. With a full aerobatic tank and Holland and I in the plane, we climbed directly from 2,300 feet to 4,600 feet before Holland pushed the GB1 into the hammer. Holland also guided Gamebird through the fray. GB1 complied without complaint.
Gamebird's slow-flying qualities are incredible. Below 60 knots, I can still comfortably control the plane in pitch and roll. The stall was a bit of a buffet at about 55 knots, and with just a touch of power, I had to push the stick forward to recover. Steinbach says the symmetrical wing thickness adds strength with low weight, while the beautifully curved leading edge, with uniform radius from root to tip, allows for a smooth transition from stall to post-stall maneuvers. To show the trailing edge of slow flight,
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