| Free Bird Innovations, Inc. | |
| Type: | Privately held company |
| Foundation: | circa 2003 |
| Hq Location City: | Detroit Lakes, Minnesota |
| Hq Location Country: | United States |
| Key People: | Engineer: Eric Grina |
| Industry: | Aerospace |
| Products: | Kit aircraft |
Free Bird Innovations, Inc. is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota and formed in about 2003. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of ultralight aircraft in the form of plans and kits for amateur construction and ready-to-fly aircraft in the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles category.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
The two-seat Freebird II was introduced by the Freebird Airplane Company of Marshville, North Carolina at Sun 'n Fun in 1996. Two years later they brought out the single-seat Freebird I before going out of business. By 2000 both designs were being built by Pro Sport Aviation of Wingate, North Carolina, who also built a derivative single-seater, the Pro Sport Sportlite 103.[1]
Free Bird Innovations took over the Freebird I and II designs and by 2004 was producing three derivative models, the single-seat Free Bird Sportlite 103 kit aircraft for the US FAR 103 ultralight category and the Free Bird Sportlite SS and Free Bird Sportlite 2 two-seaters. In 2007, they were building three further developed models, the single-seat Free Bird LiteSport Ultra and the two-seat Free Bird LiteSport II and Free Bird LiteSport Classic and continued those models through 2011. The LiteSport II model had been dropped by 2012.[1] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Despite the LiteSport model name, none of the company's aircraft were ever listed by the US Federal Aviation Administration as light-sport aircraft.[9]
The company had been developing a new model, the Freebird 103, originally projected for introduction in 2011, as a single seat US FAR 103 ultralight aircraft with a design empty weight under 2540NaN0. The project received a setback when the lead project engineer, Eric Grina, was killed in a car accident in October 2011.[6]
| + align=center style="background:#BFD7FF" | Summary of aircraft built by Free Bird Innovations and its predecessors | ||
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freebird II | 1996 | Single-seat ultralight aircraft produced by Freebird Airplane Company & Pro Sport Aviation | |
| Freebird I | 1998 | Two-seat ultralight aircraft produced by Freebird Airplane Company & Pro Sport Aviation | |
| Free Bird Sportlite 103 | by 2004 | Single-seat ultralight aircraft produced by Free Bird Innovations | |
| Free Bird Sportlite SS | by 2004 | Two-seat ultralight aircraft produced by Free Bird Innovations | |
| Free Bird Sportlite 2 | by 2004 | Two-seat ultralight aircraft produced by Free Bird Innovations | |
| Free Bird LiteSport Ultra | by 2007 | 357 (2011) | Single-seat ultralight aircraft produced by Free Bird Innovations |
| Free Bird LiteSport II | by 2007 | 352 (2011) | Two-seat ultralight aircraft produced by Free Bird Innovations |
| Free Bird LiteSport Classic | by 2007 | 102 (2011) | Two-seat ultralight aircraft produced by Free Bird Innovations |
| Free Bird 103 | 2011 | One | Single-seat ultralight aircraft planned but never produced by Free Bird Innovations |