2 August 2016
Game Composites, the Lincolnshire-based British company which designed and developed the Game Bird 1 (GB1) aerobatic two-seat aircraft, is to manufacture the aircraft at a new production facility in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Bentonville is the headquarters of Walmart, the world’s largest retail chain. Steuart Walton, grandson of the man who founded Walmart, is chief executive of Game Composites and investor in the project.
The GB1 made its US debut at this year’s EAA AirVenture Oshkosh with designer and co-founder of the company, Philipp Steinbach, flying the aircraft in displays. This came after the aircraft had completed its EASA ground and flight tests in June, and its validation flight test in July, just before departing for the US.
GB1 has a carbon-fibre airframe and a 315hp Lycoming engine. It’s claimed to be lighter than the world’s leading aerobatic single-seater, has load limits of +/-10g and a roll rate of 400 degrees per second. Steinbach has also designed GB1 to be a good cross-country machine with a cruise speed of 200kt and a range of 1,000nm, a stylish roomy cockpit and easily removeable wings for transport. Base price is $399,000.
