Birdman Enterprises
 |
|
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Fate | Out of business |
| Successor | Aircraft Sales and Parts (ASAP) |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Defunct | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
|
Key people
|
Terry Jones, CEO Graham R. Lee, Production Mgr |
| Products |
Hang gliders Chinook ultralight |
| Subsidiaries | Canadian Ultralight Manufacturing |
This article is about the Canadian ultralight manufacturer. For the unrelated US ultralight manufacturer, see Birdman Aircraft
Birdman Enterprises Limited was a Canadian aircraft manufacturer that commenced business in 1973 and became well known for its line of hang gliders and later its ultralight aircraft until its demise in late 1987.
A redesigned version of the company's Chinook ultralight design was later placed back in production by Aircraft Sales and Parts of Vernon, British Columbia in 1989 as a kit aircraft.
The founder of Birdman Enterprises, Terry Jones, first learned to fly in 1970 from Bill Moyes, the originator of the modern sport of hang gliding. In 1973 Jones started designing and building his own gliders in Edmonton, Alberta. He named the company after the nickname that he had personally acquired as a hang glider pilot, "Birdman Jones".
The Birdman MJ-4, MJ-5 and MJ-6 were very successful designs and sold in large numbers. Next the company developed a power package for self-launching hang gliders and started marketing it in 1979 as the Altair.
In 1980 the company introduced its first ultralight aircraft design, the Birdman Atlas, which was based on the Eipper Quicksilver. Operational experience resulted in a greatly improved Atlas model for 1981. The redesigned aircraft provided more lift, engine thrust and a better rate of climb. A total of more than 500 were produced.
In 1981, the company hired experienced Ukrainian hang glider designer Vladimir Talanczuk, who had recently immigrated to Canada. He was assigned the task of designing a "clean-sheet" ultralight aircraft for mass-production as a kit. Talanczuk's eleventh design, the WT-11, became the Birdman WT-11 Chinook (later redesignated the Birdman Chinook 1S), first flying on 12 December 1982 and entering production the following year.
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