The original version of the T-Bird family was the Teratorn Tierra which was introduced in 1983. The aircraft achieved early success in the ultralight market, particularly in its side-by-side seating version, the Tierra II. The design passed from Teratorn to Golden Circle Air in 1989 and the aircraft was renamed the T-Bird. Golden Circle Air went out of business in the mid-2000s and the design was out of production until 2011, when Indy Aircraft resumed building them. Over 4000 of all models have been built. The T-Bird is constructed from 6061-T6 aluminium tubing, bolted together, with the wing and tail surfaces covered in pre-sewn Mylar-coated Dacron envelopes. The cockpit area has a Lexan windshield and optional zippered cloth doors. The basic versions have conventional landing gear, with some models offering tricycle gear as an option. The cockpit controls consist of conventional rudder pedals and yoke control wheels. Construction time for the T-Bird I was reported as 60 hours. PilotMix describes the T-Bird I as "the most respected kit in the industry, and for good reason. It is absolutely the strongest and the easiest ultralight to build." Reviewer Andre Cliche calls it "robust...heavy and solid". For more details click here and here.
