21-523: 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 , 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 under Game Composites Limited of London . The aircraft
42-454: A broader set of piloting skills and exposes the aircraft to greater structural stress than for normal flight. In some countries, the pilot must wear a parachute when performing aerobatics. Aerobatic training enhances a pilot's ability to recover from unusual flight conditions, and thus is an element of many flight safety training programs for pilots. While many pilots fly aerobatics for recreation, some choose to fly in aerobatic competitions ,
63-485: A fully aerobatic helicopter, capable of performing loops and rolls, is the Westland Lynx . Most aerobatic manoeuvres involve rotation of the aircraft about its longitudinal (roll) axis or lateral (pitch) axis. Other maneuvers, such as a spin , displace the aircraft about its vertical (yaw) axis. Manoeuvres are often combined to form a complete aerobatic sequence for entertainment or competition. Aerobatic flying requires
84-473: A judged sport. In the early days of flying, some pilots used their aircraft as part of a flying circus to entertain. Maneuvers were flown for artistic reasons or to draw gasps from onlookers. In due course some of these maneuvers were found to allow aircraft to gain tactical advantage during aerial combat or dogfights between fighter aircraft. Aerobatic aircraft fall into two categories—specialist aerobatic, and aerobatic capable. Specialist designs such as
105-462: A month. An Alpha 160A, ZK-FXY, was first off the production line, being test flown on 12 April 2006. It was subsequently used as a company demonstrator. It made its first public appearance at the 2006 Warbirds over Wanaka airshow . In January 2008 production was halted due to the liquidation of Alpha Aviation by parent company Inventis. Alpha Aviation Holdings Limited in New Zealand continues to hold
126-626: Is a two-seat, all-metal training and general aviation aircraft, designed by Chris Heintz and built in Hamilton, New Zealand . It continues the successful French Apex Aircraft 's Robin R2000 series acquired upon Apex's purchase of the Avions Robin company. The original Avions Robin HR200 was designed by Christophe Heintz, to supplement the earlier Avions Robin designs of Jean Délémontez who also designed
147-465: Is built under licence by Game Composites LLC in Bentonville, Arkansas , United States . The GameBird is a composite structure tandem two-seat, low-wing , cantilever monoplane powered by a 303 horsepower (226 kW) Lycoming AEIO-580-B1A piston engine. The GameBird has a fixed conventional landing gear with a steerable tailwheel. The prototype GameBird first flew on 15 July 2015. The GameBird
168-485: Is due to the ability to limit blood pooling for positive g maneuvers, but it is generally accepted that +9 g for more than a few seconds will lead to loss of consciousness (also known as GLOC ). Aerobatics are most likely to be seen at public airshows in the form of stunt flying. Aerobatic competitions usually do not attract large crowds of spectators since the manoeuvers are flown at safe altitudes to avoid accidents. Alpha 2000 The Alpha Aviation Alpha 2000
189-466: Is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment, and sport. Additionally, some helicopters , such as the MBB Bo 105 , are capable of limited aerobatic manoeuvres . An example of
210-634: The Farnborough Airshow in September 1957. Aerobatics are taught to military fighter pilots as a means of developing flying skills and for tactical use in combat. Many aerobatic manoeuvres were indeed developed in military conflicts, e.g. the Immelmann turn or Split S . Aerobatics and formation flying is not limited solely to fixed-wing aircraft; the British Army , Royal Navy , Spanish Air Force and
231-538: The Indian Air Force , among others, have helicopter display teams. All aerobatic manoeuvres demand training and practice to avoid accidents . Accidents due to aerobatic manoeuvres are very rare in competition aerobatics; most of them happen when performing formation flying or stunt flying at very low levels at airshows or air racing . Low-level aerobatics are extremely demanding and airshow pilots must demonstrate their ability before being allowed to gradually reduce
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#1733093264081252-912: The Pitts Special , the Extra 200 and 300 , and the Sukhoi Su-26 M and Sukhoi Su-29 aim for ultimate aerobatic performance. This comes at the expense of general purpose use such as touring, or ease of non aerobatic handling such as landing. At a more basic level, aerobatic capable aircraft, such as the Cessna 152 Aerobat or the R2160 Acrobin , can be dual purpose—equipped to carrying passengers and luggage, as well as being capable of basic aerobatic figures. Flight formation aerobatics are flown by teams of up to sixteen aircraft, although most teams fly between four and ten aircraft. Some are state funded to reflect pride in
273-412: The armed forces while others are commercially sponsored. Coloured smoke trails may be emitted to emphasise the patterns flown and/or the colours of a national flag. Aerobatic maneuvers flown in a jet-powered aircraft are limited in scope as they cannot take advantage of the gyroscopic forces that a propeller driven aircraft can exploit. Jet-powered aircraft also tend to fly much faster, which increases
294-710: The Olympic games, and are governed by the FAI Aerobatics Commission (CIVA) Competitions start at Primary, or Graduate level (in UK "Beginners") and proceed in complexity through Sportsman (in UK "Standard"), Intermediate and Advanced, with Unlimited being the top competition level. Experienced aerobatic pilots have been measured to pull ±5 g for short periods while unlimited pilots can perform more extreme maneuvers and experience higher g levels -possibly up to +8/−6 g. The limits for positive g are higher than for negative g and this
315-698: The Robin HR200 and Robin R2000 series. Alpha Aviation has recommenced production of the Robin R2120 as the Alpha 2000 120T and of the Robin R2160 as the Alpha 2000 160A and 160Ai. Apex continues to market the aircraft in Europe. Production of the New Zealand development began in 2006 against orders for nine aircraft and eighteen options (including orders from the UK, South Africa and Australia), with capacity to build four aircraft
336-434: The aircraft. Due to safety concerns, the smoke is not a result of combustion but is produced by the vaporization of fog oil into a fine aerosol , achieved either by injecting the oil into the hot engine exhaust or by the use of a dedicated device that can be fitted in any position on the aircraft. The first military aerobatic team to use smoke at will during displays was Fleet Air Arm 702 Squadron " The Black Cats " at
357-460: The height at which they may fly their show. In the EU, flying aerobatics requires special training and a rating. In Canada, no licence is required to perform aerobatics, but to carry passengers during aerobatics a pilot must have at least 10 hours dual flight instruction of aerobatic manoeuvres, or 20 hours of total aerobatic experience. Aerobatic flying competitions are a worldwide phenomenon, rather like
378-504: The popular post war wooden Jodel . The HR 200 prototype first flew on 19 July 1971, and entered production in 1973. The R2000 Alpha name was applied to a new aircraft which shared the fuselage of the HR 200, but had all new wing and tail surfaces, to allow aerobatics . The prototype R2000 Alpha flew on 15 January 1976 and production followed in 1977 to 1983. The aircraft features side-by-side seating, an innovative control stick mechanism which reduces
399-593: The risk of blockage and an unusually large payload for an aerobatic aircraft, making it useful for overland trips as well. Licensed production was also undertaken in Canada. The R2160 model was returned to production with minor modifications in 1994 by Apex Aircraft. It was stressed to +6/−3 g and has a MTOW of 900 kg. There was also a fuel injected model (R2160i) and a non-aerobatic 120 hp trainer. In 2004 Alpha Aviation of New Zealand bought engineering jigs and equipment and worldwide production rights to both
420-416: The size of the figures and the length of time the pilot has to withstand increased g-forces. Jet aerobatic teams often fly in formations, which further restricts the maneuvers that can be safely flown. Aerobatics done at low levels and for an audience is called "stunt flying". To enhance the show effect of aerobatic manoeuvres, smoke is sometimes generated; the smoke allows viewers to see the path travelled by
441-844: Was certified by European Aviation Safety Agency in the CS-23 Aerobatic category on 12 April 2017 and by the US Federal Aviation Administration 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. Data from European Aviation Safety Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, Flying . General characteristics Performance Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Aerobatic Aerobatics
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