# Birdman TL-1

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TL-1 General information Type Recreational ultralight Manufacturer Birdman Aircraft for homebuilding Designer Emmett M. Talley Number built 300 kits sold by 1979 History First flight 25 January 1975

The **Birdman TL-1** was an extremely minimalist [aircraft](/source/Aircraft) sold in [kit form](/source/Homebuilt_aircraft) in the [United States](/source/United_States) in the mid-1970s for US$1,395.[1]

## Design and development

The TL-1's [fuselage](/source/Fuselage) is nothing more than a boom connecting a set of wings with a [V-tail](/source/V-tail). The pilot's seat and a pedestal carrying the [pusher engine](/source/Pusher_propeller) are attached to the top of the boom just forward of the wing. Flight control is provided by a series of [spoilers](/source/Flight_control_surfaces#Spoilers).[2]

Construction is of wood covered with [Monokote](/source/Monokote) and the aircraft was designed to be quickly dismantled for transport or storage.[2] With an empty weight of 122 lb (55 kg), it is held to be the lightest aircraft to have been flown at the time.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Variants

**TL-1A**
- Base model with longer span wing.[2]

**RB-1**
- Later model with shorter 28 ft (8.5 m) span wing and simplified [landing gear](/source/Landing_gear). The empty weight of this model is 122 lb (55 kg), gross weight 350 lb (159 kg), the same as the TL-1A.[2]

## Specifications (TL-1)

**General characteristics**

- **Crew:** one pilot

- **Length:** 19 ft 5 in (5.92 m)

- **Wingspan:** 34 ft 0 in (10.37 m)

- **Height:** 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)

- **Wing area:** 145 sq ft (13.5 m2)

- **Empty weight:** 122 lb (55 kg)

- **Gross weight:** 350 lb (159 kg)

- **Powerplant:** 1 × [McCulloch MC101](/source/McCulloch_MC101) one-cylinder [two-cycle](/source/Two-stroke_engine) [piston engine](/source/Piston_engine) , 15 hp (11 kW)

**Performance**

- **Maximum speed:** 55 mph (89 km/h, 48 kn)

- **Range:** 200 mi (322 km, 170 nmi)

- **Service ceiling:** 5,500 ft (1,680 m)

- **Rate of climb:** 200 ft/min (1.0 m/s)

## See also

**Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era**

- [Aerosport Rail](/source/Aerosport_Rail)

- [Avid Champion](/source/Avid_Champion)

- [Beaujon Enduro](/source/Beaujon_Enduro)

- [Beaujon Mach .07](/source/Beaujon_Mach_.07)

- [Chotia Weedhopper](/source/Chotia_Weedhopper)

- [Zenair Zipper](/source/Zenair_Zipper)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [*A 100-pound plane from a kit*](https://books.google.com/books?id=NwEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA70), "What's New," [Popular Science](/source/Popular_Science), June 1975, p. 70]

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Cliche_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Cliche_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Cliche_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Cliche_2-3) Cliche, Andre: *Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide* 8th Edition, page E-6. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9680628-1-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9680628-1-4)

- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). *Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation*. London: Studio Editions. p. 155.

- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1977). *Jane's Pocket Book 14: Home-Built Aircraft*. London: Macdonald.

- *Trade a Plane* November 1975

- *Sports Flying* December 1975

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Birdman TL-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdman_TL-1) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdman_TL-1?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.