Build a Golden Circle T-Bird in TWO Days!
CAN IT BE DONE??

On October 7th, 2000 at 8:00 AM, a pile of tubes, some Mylar/Dacron fabric, many bolts, nuts, rivets and other hardware were lying in a pile on the Golden Circle Air factory floor in DeSoto Iowa. This was to become a T-Bird Ultralight Trainer (a 2 seat aircraft) within a two-day period if everything went right. They wanted to finish it within two eight-hour days, however they were ready to work well into the night if necessary.

These were not weak men, but men bent on a mission, a mission to complete the task at hand as quickly and efficiently as possible. The task they were about to undertake was not new to them, only the time restraints were not familiar. Not one of the four men really believed it could be done, but alas, that was the task. It had never been done before, however they were up for the challenge. They were charged and ready for the start.

As the 8:00 AM bell rang, these four hardy souls begin their work. There was Mike, Bill, Gary and a new comer to building, Ken, the mighty parts man. Brendan and Jim started recording the event in pictures as the work commenced. The OM, (Other Mike,) worked as the Super Gofer, bolt injector and nut turner. In any case this world shaking event was off and running, all though a bit shaky and slow to begin with. Like any project of this magnitude, it had to get its feet; it's rhythm, before it ran smoothly. By 10:00 AM it was running like clockwork.

Two hours after the starting bell, the T-Bird wing frames were together, fabric had been pulled on one wing and awaited it's ribs. The rudder sat in a corner finished and ready to install, The tri-gear cradle was assembled and sitting lonely with it's mate, the fuselage, looking thin and undernourished, only half assembled. The horizontal stabilizer was just being assembled by the same humanoid that had finished the rudder....it all seemed so connected, so right on track, so smooth and easy. The men felt in since, Things were looking very good and the T-Bird was flying together. But the real test had not begun and everyone knew it. The hard part was ahead of them... they all worried about the dreaded ''DETAILS''.

Then came the big first Noontime meal. It was four hours into this great experiment, but they had to stop for nourishment, not because they wanted to... they wanted to charge ahead. But the rules said they would take a full hour for lunch. A full hour they didn't think they could afford. Rules were rules and these men played by the rules. So they sat and waited until the full 60 minutes had agonizingly passed. As they sat they surveyed their work. Now four hours after the beginning bell they were all amazed at what they had done... the elevator, horizon stab, vertical stab, rudder and both wings were built and had fabric on them. And the struts had been attached to the wings. The wing fabric didn't have shape yet, the ribs had not been installed, but that would come after they were attached to the fuselage, they knew that wouldn't take very long.

No problem there. Really, no problem anywhere that they could see, except for the DETAILS. They wanted to get back at it... to charge ahead... They wanted to be at a comfortable place when the five o'clock hour stopped their work for the day. They wanted to be ahead of the game. The hour finally passed letting them back into the arena. The third leg of the day began easily.

When next they stopped for a cup of coffee, it had been six full hours into the day. Now the Ailerons were finished, the tail was taking shape, the elevator had been attached to the stabilizer, and the seat belts and shoulder harness were in place. The throttle assembly was in along with other miscellaneous items in the fuselage. The progress was slowing down as the parts and pieces became more complex. Here come the Details. Up to now it had been easy, this was the part that took time, and they knew they were using it up with details, but that's part of the game. That's building, that's what it's all about.

As the first day of this fantastic odyssey came to a close, the T-Bird was taking shape. It was on its wheels now. The wings were actually on the plane. The tail was in place, the rear enclosure of the almost completed fuselage was on and attached. The radiator was in position, ready to cool the missing engine. Missing...but not for long. The engine mount was about to be placed. All of the cables and connections for the control surfaces were in place and connected as much as they could be.

As the second day approached, all participants awaited the 8 am bell. They were ready and not overly confidant about finishing the project before the last allotted eight hours were used up. They wanted the action to began so that their hands could start doing what their minds had told them they had to do during the long sleepless night. Of course, no sleep was wanted or needed with the adrenaline rush that these four brave men had coursing through their veins. They needed no prodding, no pushing, they knew what was expected and they intended, with every fiber of their being to finish the job, and on time. They were itching to get started. As the clock ticked to 8 am they were instantly at work, like they'd never left the task. Things were at last happening again.

Two people started to install the ribs into the awaiting wings. Two others started the final assembly of the dual controls inside the fuselage. Then it was time to get the engine. A 75 HP Wankel Rotary engine needed to get wired and ready to install. All these time consuming projects are what these four men had been worried about. Here time was so important. These things had to be accomplished without delay to meet the deadline. Two hours had been used up, then three; nothing seemed to change very much. Sweat was pouring from their brows, not from over work, but from the rapid, unnatural speed of the clock. Time was slipping by.

Then...all at once, without warning, Mike, yelled ''clear'', The mighty Rotary sprang to life... The first sign that there was really life in this assembly of tubes, fabric and now electricity. Now we had a living, breathing T-Bird. It was christened Ol' Blue right then, right there on the spot. Even without the fuel and propeller of a full-fledged Aircraft. At least now they could say... here's real Golden Circle Air life. It now had personality. After the brief respite, the cheers and adulation's died down and the boys were back at it. They knew they'd made it now, they were closing in quickly, and still hours left to them. They dare not get complacent now... They wanted to shorten the allotted time. Now more for bragging rights than getting it done on time. This was heady stuff, they had the gold, now they wanted to shine that gold to brilliance never before seen.

The prop was installed, the fuel was added, and the cooling anti freeze was pumped through the veins of the beautiful 108-pound Rotary. It was ready to bring it out into the world. It was a birthing time. Now they could slap it's bottom and see if it really lived. They wanted this baby roaring down the runway, and soon.

Mike, Gary, Bill, Ken and OM, proudly pushed big blue through the wide open doors of the Golden Circle Air hangar, out into the sunshine. Brandon and Jim filling the air with flash bulbs as they captured the moment on film. The ropes were tied to the tail, the people were moved back out of harms way. Nothing had been left to chance. Things had a way of happening during the initial startup procedure, bad thing. These men had been there, they wanted nothing to ruin their accomplishments. They had success within their grasp and wanted to relish the full taste of it. Don't cross us now... stand back and let us finish our work.

Some backed the folks out of harms way, one sat down at the controls, one stood in back to make sure nothing unexpected came into the vicinity.... the other just stood guarding against surprises ... It was time.

As clear was yelled, the switches were turned on, the short few seconds time between ''clear'' and starter button, seemed an eternity. When it finally came the engine sprang to life with in the first three revolutions. It just sat there purring. Then came the cheering and the whooshes of those that had held their breath. Everything was coming up roses. After the engine was warmed up, rived up, run at full throttle and cooled down, it was switched off. The break-in on the engine was done in Germany so no other break-in is necessary. So.... There it was. They had done it. It was 3:30 Sunday afternoon. They stood there silent for a moment, not knowing what to do next. Everything was done. The Men had done it and they didn't know for sure what to do now. Didn't know what time it was for sure. All that was left was the FIRST FLIGHT.

All four of these hardy, self made men walked around their creation. Then bent to the work of the preflight. More because they needed something to do. They didn't know quite how to stop working. They needed to kind of wind down. This would do it. All four took turns with their own preflight. There were some nuts tightened, some safety rings put in place, ... all minor, non-life threatening items. The plane was ready to fly.

First Flight

It sat there at the end of the Airstrip. People lined the edges, not really believing what had taken place, not really expecting Ol' Blue to leave earth. Not really. Ol' Blue was beautiful. Hardly a sound could be heard from the engine. The only clue that Mike had throttled up was the movement of the Grass behind the plane, Then the tail rose, almost before Ol' Blue started rolling... a moment, a short moment later the plane was flying. After 14.7 hours of work by four determined men, an aircraft arose into the sky. Starting as a pile of tubes and fabric lying on the floor at 10 Ellefson drive in DeSoto Iowa. It was done. They had assembled and flew a T-Bird 11 well within the 16-hour timetable. These brave, undaunted souls from Golden Circle Air, Inc. DeSoto, Iowa.

Thank you for your time.

Golden Circle Air Inc. By Bob Ellefson

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