{{Short description|Canadian aircraft manufacturer}} {{distinguish|Birdman Aircraft}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2022}} {{Infobox company | name = Birdman Enterprises | logo = Birdman Logo 1984.jpeg | logo_size = 200px | slogan = | type = | fate = Out of business | Predecessor = | successor = [[Aircraft Sales and Parts]] (ASAP) | foundation = 1973 | defunct = 1987 | location = [[Edmonton]], Alberta, Canada | industry = [[Aerospace]] | products = [[Hang gliding|Hang gliders]]<br />[[Birdman Chinook|Chinook ultralight]] | key_people = Terry Jones, CEO<br /> Graham R. Lee, Production Mgr<ref name="Janes8283">Taylor, John WR: ''Janes All the Worlds Aircraft 1982-83'' page 625, Janes Publishing Company, 1982. {{ISBN|0-7106-0748-2}}</ref> | num_employees = | parent = | subsid = [[Canadian Ultralight Manufacturing]] }} [[File:Birdman MJ-5 0002.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Birdman MJ-5]] [[hang glider]]]] [[File:Birdman MJ-5 0001.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Birdman MJ-5]] [[hang glider]]]] [[File:Birdman Chinook 2S C-IBPE 0004.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Birdman Chinook|Birdman Chinook 2S]]]] [[File:Birdman Chinook 2S C-IBPE 0003.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Birdman Chinook|Birdman Chinook 2S]]]]
'''Birdman Enterprises Limited''' was a Canadian aircraft manufacturer that commenced business in 1973 and became well known for its line of [[Hang gliding|hang gliders]] and later its [[ultralight aircraft]] until its demise in late 1987.<ref name="Birdman1">Jones, Terry: ''Birdman WT-11 Chinook – A Cabin-Class "Ultra" Lightplane''. Birdman Enterprises, 1984.</ref><ref name="Birdman2">Jones, Terry: ''Birdman WT-11 Chinook – It's A Perfect Aviation Package''. Birdman Enterprises, 1984.</ref><ref name="Hunt1">Hunt, Adam: ''Pilot Report: Chinook 2S''. [[Canadian Owners and Pilots Association]] ''COPA Flight'', October 1999.</ref>
A redesigned version of the company's [[Birdman Chinook|Chinook]] ultralight design was later placed back in production by [[Aircraft Sales and Parts]] of [[Vernon, British Columbia]] in 1989 as a [[homebuilt aircraft|kit aircraft]].<ref name="KitplanesDec2007">Downey, Julia: ''2008 Kit Aircraft Directory'', Kitplanes, Volume 24, Number 12, December 2007, page 37. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851</ref><ref name="Cliche">Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, pages B-72 & E-9. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN|0-9680628-1-4}}</ref><ref name="Aerocrafter">Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter – Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook'', page 105. BAI Communications. {{ISBN|0-9636409-4-1}}</ref><ref name="Hunt2">Hunt, Adam: ''Flying the ASAP Chinook Plus 2 with Ottawa's Capital Air Sports''. [[Canadian Owners and Pilots Association]] ''COPA Flight'', May 2002.</ref><ref name="JohnsonJan08">{{Cite web|url = http://www.bydanjohnson.com/index.cfm?b=3&m=5&i=15|title = Lightplane Offerings From Canada|accessdate = 2009-08-12|last = Johnson|first = Dan|date = January 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110708110501/http://www.bydanjohnson.com/index.cfm?b=3&m=5&i=15|archive-date = 8 July 2011|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="Johnson">{{Cite web|url = http://www.ultralight.ca/articles.htm|title = Saved from Extinction! ASAP's Chinook Plus 2 is a winner.|accessdate = 2009-08-11|last = Johnson|first = Dan|date = August 2000|url-status = dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090820071011/http://www.ultralight.ca/articles.htm|archivedate = 20 August 2009}}</ref>
==History== 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".<ref name="Birdman1" /><ref name="Birdman2" />
The [[Birdman MJ-4]], [[Birdman MJ-5|MJ-5]] and [[Birdman MJ-6|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 [[Birdman Altair|Altair]].<ref name="Birdman1" /><ref name="Birdman2" />
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.<ref name="Birdman1" /><ref name="Janes8788" />
In 1981, the company hired experienced [[Ukraine|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 Chinook|Birdman WT-11 Chinook]] (later redesignated the Birdman Chinook 1S), first flying on 12 December 1982 and entering production the following year.<ref name="Birdman1" /><ref name="Janes8788">Taylor, John WR, ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1987-88'' page 544, Janes Publishing Limited.</ref>
As a result of its focus on ultralight aircraft, including a new factory in [[St. Paul, Alberta]] that became known as [[Canadian Ultralight Manufacturing]], Birdman ceased production of hang gliders in 1983. With the WT-11 single-seat ultralight in production, Talanczuk produced the design for the planned Chinook two-seat trainer, which was designated as the [[Chinook 2S]] (2 seater). The 2S entered production in 1984.<ref name="Birdman1" /><ref name="Birdman2" /><ref name="Hunt1" /><ref name="Cliche" />
[[China Daily]] newspaper carried a story on 9 November 1985 announcing that the government of the People's Republic of China had signed a ten-year contract with Birdman Enterprises to construct 5,000 aircraft in China for sale worldwide. This was announced as part of China's strategy to diversify military production into civil aircraft as part of the nation's modernization program.<ref name="Janes8687">Taylor, John WR: ''Janes All the Worlds Aircraft 1986-87'' page 544, Janes Publishing Company, 1986. {{ISBN|0-7106-0835-7}}</ref>
Between starting Chinook production in 1983 and going out of business in late 1987, Birdman produced approximately 700 WT-11 and 2S Chinooks.<ref name="Cliche" />
==Successor== In 1988 one of the owners of a Chinook 2S, Brent Holomis, decided to start producing Chinook parts to support the existing fleet of aircraft. Once parts were available from his new company [[Aircraft Sales and Parts]] (ASAP), Holomis next embarked on a redesign of the Chinook 2S and by 1989 the [[Birdman Chinook|ASAP Chinook Plus 2]] was available in kit form. The Chinook Plus 2 remains in production.<ref name="KitplanesDec2007" /><ref name="Cliche" /><ref name="Aerocrafter" /><ref name="Hunt2" /><ref name="JohnsonJan08" /><ref name="Johnson" />
==Aircraft== {| class="wikitable" align=center style="font-size:90%;" |- |+ align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"| '''Summary of aircraft built by Birdman Enterprises''' |- style="background:#efefef;" ! Model name ! First flight ! Number built ! Type |- |align=left| '''[[Birdman Falcon|Falcon I & II]]''' |align=center| |align=center| |align=left| [[hang glider]] |- |align=left| '''[[Birdman XC|XC]]''' |align=center| |align=center| |align=left| Single-place [[hang glider]] |- |align=left| '''[[Birdman MJ-4|MJ-4]]''' |align=center| |align=center| |align=left| Single-place [[hang glider]] |- |align=left| '''[[Birdman MJ-5|MJ-5]]''' |align=center| |align=center| |align=left| Single-place [[hang glider]] |- |align=left| '''[[Birdman MJ-6|MJ-6]]''' |align=center| |align=center| |align=left| Single-place [[hang glider]] |- |align=left| '''[[Birdman Altair|Altair]]''' |align=center|1979 |align=center| |align=left| [[Hang glider]] power package |- |align=left| '''[[Birdman Atlas|Atlas]]''' |align=center|1980 |align=center| more than 500 |align=left| Single-place [[ultralight aircraft]] |- |align=left| '''[[Birdman Project 102|Project 102]]''' |align=center|1982 |align=center| 1 |align=left| Single-place ultralight [[motor glider]] |- |align=left| '''[[Birdman Chinook|Chinook WT-11]]''' |align=center|1982 |align=center| 700 WT-11 and 2S |align=left| Single-place [[ultralight aircraft]] |- |align=left| '''[[Birdman Chinook|Chinook 2S]]''' |align=center|1984 |align=center| 700 WT-11 and 2S |align=left| Two-place [[ultralight aircraft]] |- |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Birdman Enterprises}}
{{Birdman Enterprises}} {{Aircraft Sales and Parts}}
[[Category:Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Canada]] [[Category:Defunct manufacturing companies of Canada]] [[Category:Companies based in Edmonton]]