Golden Circle Air

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.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Golden Circle Air, Inc.
TypePrivately held company
IndustryAerospace
Founded1989 (1989)
Defunctc. 2006
FateOut of business
Headquarters
De Soto, Iowa
,
United States
ProductsKit aircraft
Websitewww.goldencircleair.com

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.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

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.[10][11]

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.[12][13]

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
  1. Cliche, Andre: Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide 8th Edition, pages B-60 and B-106. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0-9680628-1-4
  2. Pilot Mix. "Golden Circle Air, Inc T-Bird I". Retrieved January 22, 2011.
  3. Purdy, Don: AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, page 168-169. BAI Communications. ISBN 0-9636409-4-1
  4. Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04, page 142. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster OK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X
  5. Downey, Julia: 1999 Kit Aircraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 15, Number 12, December 1998, page 50. Primedia Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
  6. Downey, Julia: 2001 Kit Aircraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 17, Number 12, December 2000, page 54. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851
  7. Downey, Julia: 2002 Kit Aircraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 18, Number 12, December 2001, page 43. Kitplanes Acquisition Company. ISSN 0891-1851
  8. Newby-Gonzalez, Tori: 2004 Kit Aircraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 20, Number 12, December 2003, page 59. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
  9. Downey, Julia: 2005 Kit Aircraft Directory, Kitplanes, Volume 21, Number 12, December 2004, page 61. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
  10. Vandermeullen, Richard: 2011 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide, Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 56. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
  11. Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 61. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X
  12. 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
  13. "Tbird Aircraft LLC," OpenCorporates.com, retrieved June 20, 2023
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