A new unlimited aerobat

Game Composites exists to build one aeroplane, the GB1 GameBird, a two-seat carbon-composite aerobatic machine designed by the German aircraft designer Philipp Steinbach with engineers Jing Dai and Robert Finney. The company is registered in London as Game Composites Limited and builds the aircraft in Bentonville, Arkansas, as Game Composites LLC. The GameBird first flew on 15 July 2015 and set out to challenge the established unlimited aerobats on their own ground.

Certified on both sides of the Atlantic

It was certified fast. EASA approved the GB1 in the CS-23 aerobatic category on 12 April 2017, and the FAA followed on 29 August 2017; an FAA production certificate came in June 2019. The numbers explain the appeal: a 303 hp Lycoming AEIO-580 engine, limits of plus and minus 10g, a cruise of about 370 km/h and a range of around 1,900 km, enough to fly to a contest rather than trailer to it.

From air shows to airline academies

That combination of aerobatic strength and touring range drew customers beyond display pilots. Emirates Flight Training Academy in the United Arab Emirates and the Layang-Layang Flying Academy in Malaysia both operate the type for upset and aerobatic training. Wikipedia records at least 107 built, with 32 on the US register by September 2021. Steinbach, Dai and Finney had taken the aircraft from first flight to certification on both sides of the Atlantic in just over two years.

Заводы

• Bentonville works · Bentonville, Arkansas — Production site

Люди

• Philipp Steinbach · aircraft designer — Designed the GB1 GameBird