Earthstar Gull / Earthstar Thunder Gull / Earthstar Odyssey

Gull 2000

Mark Beierle designed a stall and spin resistant aircraft with responsive ailerons provide roll control throughout a stall.
Of all metal construction, the Thunder Gull 2000 and Odyssey models maintain the same control. All of the Earthstar Aircraft models are fun cross-country machines and have been flown from coast-to-coast many times.
Flight tested to a G loading of +5.9 and -3 and are designed to +6 and -4 yield. The ultralight model has been certified to meet the FAA FAR-103 requirements. VNE for all models is 120 mph.
Options include engine, instruments, propeller, side windows, and parachute.
Available as a kit or ready to fly.
All kits can be registered Experimental LSA.
The Thunder Gull J first flew in March 1987.
The two seat Thunder Gull JT2 had removable wings and first flew in June 1989.
The Soaring Gull has a cantilevered removable wing. The wingspan is 8 feet longer than the Thunder Gull J. The Soaring Gull first flew in November 1993. The Soaring Gull was available in kit form (and also as a finished product) at US $10,580.

The Odyssey first flew in April 1995 and features staggered, side-by-side seating to provide more useable cockpit space.

Odessey

Gallery

Gull 2000 Single Seat
Engine Used; Hirth F33
HP/HP Range; 28/25-52
Top Speed; 63 mph
VNE: 55 kt / 63 mph / 101 kmh
Cruise Speed; 55 kt / 63 mph / 101 kmh
Stall Speed; 23 kt / 27 mph / 43 kmh
Range; 165 mph
Rate of Climb; 700 fpm / 4 m/s
Glide Ratio: 12:1
Take-Off Distance; 125 ft
Landing Distance; 75 ft
Take-off distance (50ft obstacle): 250 ft / 76 m
Landing distance (50ft obstacle): 200 ft / 61 m
Service Ceiling; 14,000 ft
Lift/Drag Ratio; 11.8
Fuel Capacity; 5 gal
Fuel Consumption; 1.7 gph
Empty Weight; 112 kg / 248 lbs
MTOW Weight: 249 kg / 550 lbs
Height; 5 ft 3 in
Length; 18 ft 3 in
Wing Span; 20 ft
Wing Area; 95 sq ft
Cockpit width: 27 in
Building Time; 150 hrs

Soaring Gull
Engine: Rotax 277, 26 hp.
HP range: 25-52.
Speed max: 63 mph.
Cruise: 55 mph.
Range: 180 sm.
Stall: 23 mph.
ROC: 850 fpm.
Take-off dist: 115 ft.
Landing dist: 70 ft.
Service ceiling: 16,000 ft.
Fuel cap: 5 USG.
Weight empty: 254 lbs.
Gross: 550 lbs.
Height: 5.25 ft.
Length: 17.58 ft.
Wing span: 28 ft.
Wing area: 133 sq.ft.
Seats: 1.
Landing gear: nose wheel.
Glide ratio: 16:1.

Soaring Gull 2000 Single Seat
Top Speed; 63 mph
Cruise Speed; 63 mph
Stall Speed; 26 mph
Range; 180 mph
Rate of Climb; 850 fpm
Take-Off Distance; 115 ft
Landing Distance; 70 ft
Service Ceiling; 16,000 ft
Lift/Drag Ratio; 16.1
Engine Used; Hirth F33
HP/HP Range; 28/25-52
Fuel Capacity; 5 gal
Fuel Consumption; 1.7 gph
Empty Weight; 254 lb
Gross Weight; 550 lb
Height; 5 ft 3 in
Length; 18 ft 3 in
Wing Span; 28 ft
Wing Area; 133 sq ft
Building Time; 150 hrs

Odyssey Two Seat Side-by-Side
Engine Used; HKS 700 E
HP Range; 60-100 hp
VNE: 104 kt / 120 mph / 193 kmh
Top Speed; 87 mph
Cruise: 76 kt / 87 mph / 140 kmh
Stall: 32 kt / 37 mph / 60 kmh
Range; 348 miles
Rate of Climb; 900 fpm / 5 m/s
Take-off distance (50ft obstacle): 200 ft / 61 m
Landing distance (50ft obstacle): 175 ft / 53 m
Service Ceiling; 15,500 ft
Lift/Drag Ratio; 11.1
Fuel Capacity; 10 USgal
Fuel Consumption; 2.5 gph
Empty weight: 209 kg / 460 lbs
MTOW Weight: 454 kg / 1000 lbs
Height; 5 ft 6 in
Length; 18 ft 3 in
Wing Span; 26 ft
Wing Area; 124 sq ft
Seats: 2
Glide Ratio: 11:1
Cockpit width: 41 in
Building Time; 300 hrs
Landing gear: nose wheel

Thunder Gull J
Engine: Rotax 277, 26 hp.
HP range: 26-52.
Speed max: 63 mph.
Cruise: 55 mph.
Range: 165 sm.
Stall: 25 mph.
ROC: 700 fpm.
Take-off dist: 125 ft.
Landing dist: 75 ft.
Service ceiling: 14,000 ft.
Fuel cap: 5 USG.
Weight empty: 252 lbs.
Gross: 550 lbs.
Height: 5.25 ft.
Length: 17.25 ft.
Wing span: 17.58 ft.
Wing area: 95 sq.ft.
Seats: 1.
Landing gear: nose wheel.

Thunder Gull JT2
Engine: Rotax 503, 52 hp.
HP range: 52-80.
Speed max: 87 mph.
Cruise: 87 mph.
Range: 275 sm.
Stall: 34 mph.
ROC: 800 fpm.
Take-off dist: 200 ft.
Landing dist: 175 ft.
Service ceiling: 14,500 ft.
Fuel cap: 10 USG.
Weight empty: 398 lbs.
Gross: 850 lbs.
Height: 5.25 ft.
Length: 17.58 ft.
Wing span: 24 ft.
Wing area: 114 sq.ft.
Seats: 2.
Landing gear: nose wheel.

Thunder Gull Odyssey
Engine: Rotax 503, 52 hp.
HP range: 40-80.
Speed max: 87 mph.
Cruise: 87 mph.
Range: 300 sm.
Stall: 34 mph.
ROC: 900 fpm.
Take-off dist: 200 ft.
Landing dist: 175 ft.
Service ceiling: 15,500 ft.
Fuel cap: 10 USG.
Weight empty: 420 lbs.
Gross: 1000 lbs.
Height: 5.92 ft.
Length: 18 ft.
Wing span: 26 ft.
Wing area: 124 sq.ft.
Seats: 2.
Landing gear: nose wheel.

Odyssey
Engine: Rotax 503, 52 hp
Wing span: 7.92 m
Wing area: 11.53 sq.m
MAUW: 453 kg
Empty weight: 190 kg
Fuel capacity: 38 lt
Seats: 2
Max speed: 140 kph
Cruise speed: 140 kph
Minimum speed: 54 kph
Climb rate: 4.5 m/s
Fuel consumption: 10 lt/hr
Kit price (1998): US$14,900

Early Bird Fokker D-VII

Designed by Dennis Wiley and built by Early Bird Aviation. LSA approved.

Engine: Rotax 277, 28 hp.
HP range: 28-36.
Height: 6.67 ft.
Length: 16.5 ft.
Wing span: 24 ft.
Wing area: 168 sq.ft.
Weight empty: 250 lbs.
Gross: 525 lbs.
Fuel cap: 5 USG.
Speed max: 63 mph.
Cruise: 53 mph.
Range: 85 sm.
Stall: 20 mph.
ROC: 1000 fpm.
Take-off dist: 80 ft.
Landing dist: 150 ft.
Service ceiling: 12,500 ft.
Seats: 1.
Landing gear: tail wheel.

Engine: Rotax 503, 50 hp
HP range: 28-50
Length: 16.5 ft
Wing span: 24 ft
Wing area: 168 sq.ft
Empty weight: 265 lb
Gross weight: 525 lb
Fuel capacity: 5 USG
Cruise: 65 mph
Stall: 22 mph
Range: 100 sm
Rate of climb: 1000 fpm
Takeoff dist: 75 ft
Landing dist: 150 ft
Cockpit width: 20 in
Landing gear: tailwheel

Early Bird SE-5A

A tube and fabric ultralight designed by Dennis Wiley, built by Early Bird Aviation.

Engine: Rotax 277, 28 hp.
HP range: 28-36.
Height: 6.67 ft.
Length: 16.5 ft.
Wing span: 24 ft.
Wing area: 168 sq.ft.
Weight empty: 250 lbs.
Gross: 525 lbs.
Speed max: 63 mph.
Cruise: 53 mph.
Range: 85 sm.
Stall: 20 mph.
ROC: 1000 fpm.
Take-off dist: 80 ft.
Landing dist: 150 ft.
Service ceiling: 12,500 ft.
Fuel cap: 5 USG.
Seats: 1.
Landing gear: tail wheel.

Engine: Rotax 503, 50 hp
HP range: 28-50
Length: 16.5 ft
Wing span: 24 ft
Wing area: 168 sq.ft
Empty weight: 265 lb
Gross weight: 525 lb
Fuel capacity: 5 USG
Cruise: 65 mph
Stall: 22 mph
Range: 100 sm
Rate of climb: 1000 fpm
Takeoff dist: 75 ft
Landing dist: 150 ft
Cockpit width: 20 in
Landing gear: tailwheel

Early Bird Spad XIII

A copy of the Spad XIII designed by Dennis Wiley. Available as either of SE-5A, Fokker D-VII, or Spad XIII with the same specifications.

167 were built by Early Bird before manufacture and marketing was taken over by Loehle. Loehle shipped kits pre-built to covering stage. LSA approved.

Engine: Rotax 277, 28 hp.
HP range: 28-36.
Speed max: 63 mph.
Cruise: 53 mph.
Range: 85 sm.
Stall: 20 mph.
ROC: 1000 fpm.
Take-off dist: 80 ft.
Landing dist: 150 ft.
Service ceiling: 12,500 ft.
Fuel cap: 5 USG.
Weight empty: 250 lbs.
Gross: 525 lbs.
Height: 6.67 ft.
Length: 16.5 ft.
Wing span: 24 ft.
Wing area: 168 sq.ft.
Seats: 1.
Landing gear: tail wheel.

Engine: Geo Tracker, 80 hp.
HP range: 80-100.
Speed max: 90 mph.
Cruise: 80 mph.
Range: 270 sm.
Stall: 45 mph.
ROC: 600 fpm.
Take-off dist: 300 ft.
Landing dist: 400 ft.
Service ceiling: 14,000 ft.
Fuel cap: 10 USG.
Weight empty: 550 lbs.
Gross: 800 lbs.
Height: 6.4 ft.
Length: 16.25 ft.
Wing span: 20.17 ft.
Wing area: 142 sq.ft.
Seats: 1.
Landing gear: tail wheel.

Loehle Spad XIII
Cruise: 65 mph
Stall: 22 mph
Range: 100 sm
Rate of climb: 1000 fpm
Takeoff dist: 75 ft
Landing dist: 150 ft


Engine: Rotax 503, 50 hp
HP range: 28-50 hp
Fuel capacity: 5 USG
Empty weight: 265 lb
Gross weight: 525 lb
Length: 16.5 ft
Wing span: 24 ft
Wing area: 168 sq.ft
Seats: 1
Cockpit width: 20 in
Landing gear: tail wheel

Early Bird Jenny

Designed by Dennis Wiley, the Jenny is a 2/3 scale WW I replica biplane. The fuselage construction is welded 4130 steel tube. Wing construction uses aluminium leading and trailing edge spars, and stamped aluminium ribs. The craft is covered in standard aircraft fabric. Building times are reported to be 400 to 600 hours.

A construction video is available which will cut building time considerably. The craft can be powered by the Rotax 503/582, or the AMW. The designer has completed the installation of a Chevy Geo engine on his own craft and had about 40 hours flying time on it.

The Geo is reported to put out about 65 HP and come in at a weight of 135 lbs. complete. The Jenny is a tail dragger, in a tractor configuration. Controls are stick and rudder.

The craft can be built from a set of plans and raw materials or was available in kit form.

The Jenny takes off in about 300 feet climbs at about 600 feet per minute and cruises in the 65/70 m.p.h. range.
The designer indicates that the craft has been tested to +6 and -4 G’s ultimate. Apparently 400 plan sets have been sold 40 aircraft are flying, with another 27 under construction.

By 2009, the Jenny was marketed by Loehle Aircraft Corp who carried the design for a while.

John-Hal Barfield
bjohnhal@aol.com
I need plans 2/3 Jenny I would like to put back in the air
12 May 2018

Variation:
Timber Tiger Aircraft Jenny

Engine: Rotax 503 CDI, 46 hp.
HP range: 46-65.
Empty Weight: 419 lbs.
Gross Weight: 800 lbs.
Wing Span: 27 ft. 6 in.
Wing Area: 175 sq. ft.
Wing Loading: 4.6 lbs. sq. ft.
Length: 18.33 ft.
Height: 7 ft.
Speed max: 70 mph.
Cruise Speed: 65 m.p.h.
Stall Speed: 35 m.p.h.
VNE: 80 m.p.h.
Range: 180 sm.
ROC: 450 fpm.
Take-off dist: 250 ft.
Landing dist: 300 ft.
Fuel cap: 10 USG.
Seats: 2.
Landing gear: tail wheel.

Engine: Rotax 503, 52 hp
Wing span: 8.3 m
Wing area: 16.3 sq.m
Empty weight: 190 kg
MAUW: 362 kg
Fuel capacity: 38.8 lt
Max speed: 130 kph
Cruise speed: 100 kph
Minimum speed: 60 kph
Climb rate: 4 m/s
Seats: 2
Fuel consumption: 11 lt/hr
Plan price (1998): US$125
Kit price (1998): US$9100

Eagle Aircraft [2] 150

Eagle 150B

The original design came from an American, John Roncz, who had worked with Burt Rutan on numerous projects. The first flight of the Eagle 150A was in March 1988 using an Aeropower engine. The Eagle 150A was certified on 13 November 1996 and a total of fifteen were built with sales in Perth, Sydney and Asia. The 150B Model was certified in Australia on 11 November 1997, FAA certification followed on 11 February 1999, and its New Zealand Type Acceptance Certificate was issued on 5 May 1999.
Apart from the limited use of fasteners, brackets and control system components, the 150B structure is made entirely of aerospace grade composites, such as kevlar, carbon fibre, nomex and fibreglass. Most of the structure is of a sandwich type construction with carbon fibre laminates separated by a nomex core. Kevlar is used around the cockpit area to improve the crashworthiness of the aircraft.
The undercarriage “bow” is made of fibreglass as it is more flexible than carbon fibre. The basic fuselage consists of two sub-assemblies — the forward fuselage is the canard, cockpit area and the mainplane and the rear fuselage is the horizontal and vertical stabiliser. These are joined just be¬hind the fuel tank which is located behind the seat-back bulkhead — and are fastened by a ring of structural screws accessible from the outside. This allows the aircraft to be broken down in under half an hour to be placed on a trailer. Fuel from the tank feeds directly to the engine through an engine-driven mechanical pump. A two-stage pump is provided to supply both low pressure and emergency fuel flow.
The canard and the mainplane are structurally integral with the forward fuselage and are bonded into place during assembly of the forward fuselage. Similarly, the vertical stabiliser is part of the rear fuselage and can not be subsequently removed.

150B

The flight controls are operated from a centrally located “jet fighter” style control column, which has trigger to talk, a button to change radio channels and a hat switch for the electric elevator trim.
The 150B is comfortable to fly with a central padded arm rest to lean on when in control and good air vents are found on the edge of the instrument panel. The aircraft’s two sets of rudder pedals are individually adjustable through a switch on the cabin wall console that operates an electric actuator. Pitch control is achieved through a conventional elevator fitted to the horizontal stabiliser — no elevator is fitted to the canard. All surface controls are operated through pushrods and not pulleys and cables. A pitch trim indicator for the electrical elevator trim tab is found on the instrument panel.
Like the pitch, control of yaw is through a conventional rudder fitted to the vertical stabiliser. The rudder control is combined with the brake system and is unconventional in that the brake action is not associated with a pedal rotation, that is, toe brakes. The aircraft is fitted with a fixed tricycle undercarriage with a free-castoring nose wheel. The first movement on the pedal (about 5 cm of travel) operates the rudder in the conventional way and further pressure begins the application of the main wheel brakes; when force is applied to both pedals simultaneously both wheel brakes act together. This is new to a lot of pilots and it is very important to feel the pedal forces.
Ailerons are fitted to the outer section of the mainplanes and, as expected, these provide roll control. An aileron trim, found on the central console, uses a small torque tube to offset the centre position of the control column in the roll.
The 150B has trailing-edge slotted flaps fitted to both the canard and the mainplane which are lowered or raised by a switch (duplicated on both sides of the instrument panel). All four flap segments are interconnected and are operated by a single electrical actuator driving a pushrod mechanism. The electric flaps are continuously variable and are rather different with coloured marks on the inboard face of the canard tips indicating their position. This will be changed to a light indicator on the panel (which will be retrofitted).
The one-piece, front hinged canopy offers excellent visibility and requires most pilots to take a hat for protection from the sun. The canopy can be secured in a partly open position for taxiing during hot days and when the canopy is closed it is locked by a single lever behind the pilot’s head.

Approved maneuvers are normal flying, stalls and lazy eights, chandelles and step turns in which the angle of bank is not more than 60 degrees. With the flaps retracted, limits are ±3.8g and -l.9g, but there are plans for this be increased to +8.8g and -4.3g.The Eagle 150 had the MTOW increased from 640 kg to 650 kg by the Australian CASA.
Manufacturing of the Eagle 150 moved to Malaysia.

Eagle 150B
Engine: Teledyne Continental IO-240B, 125 hp.
TBO: 2000 hrs
Fuel type: 100/100LL
Prop: McCauley fixed.
Seats: 2.
Height: 7 ft 7 in (2.32m).
Main wingspan: 23 ft 6 in (7.16m).
Wing area: 95 sq. ft
Wing loading: 14.5 lb/sq.ft.
Canard wingspan: 16 ft (4.88m).
Pwr loading: 11.2 lb/hp.
Overall length: 21 ft. 2 in.
Height: 7 ft. 7 in.
Wheel base: 4 ft. 7 in.
Wheel track: 6 ft. 4 in.
Seating capacity: 2
Cabin width (in.): 42 Cabin height (in.): 32
Baggage capacity (lbs.):80
Empty wt: 941 lbs (427 kg).
MTOW: 1430 lbs (650kg).
Useful load: 489 lbs (223kg).
Payload with full fuel: 333 lbs (151 kg).
Max ramp weight: 1430 lb
Max landing weight: 1430 lb
Ave fuel consump: 23 lt/hr.
Fuel cap Total: 100lt (156 lbs, 71 kg),
Useable fuel: 97lt / 153 lb / 69.5 kg / 26 US gal
Endurance With res: 2.8 hr.
Max range (w/ reserve) 75% power: 520 nm
Baggage cap: 100 lbs (45 kg).
Take-off dist (ground roll): 834 ft.
Take-off dist (50-ft): 1145ft.
ROC: 1051 fpm@ 77 kts.
Max X-wind: 15 kt.
Max level speed: 130 kts.
Cruise speed @ 75% power: 120 kts @ 2000 ft.
Ldg dist (ground roll): 513 ft.
Ldg dist (50ft): 1198ft.
Service ceiling: 15,000 ft
Vx (best angle of climb): 74 KIAS.
Vy (best rate of climb): 77 KIAS.
Va (manceuvring): 106 KIAS.
Vfe (max flaps): 89 KIAS.
Flaps (0-20 degrees): 104 KIAS.
Vno (max structural cruise): 129 KIAS.
Vsi (stall clean): 55 kts.
Vso (stall): 45 kts (full flaps).
Vne: 165 knots
Landing gear type: Tri/Fixed
Price: $119,000