Earthstar Thunder Gull


The Earthstar Thunder Gull is a family of cantilever high-wing, tricycle gear ultralight aircraft, manufactured by Earthstar Aircraft of Santa Margarita, California as a kit for amateur construction or as a completed aircraft.

Design and development

Designer Mark Beierle's original goals were an "airplane with the feel of a hang glider, the agility and visibility of a helicopter, the effortless smooth flight of a sailplane, and the utility and economy of a general aviation aircraft--all in the hopes of getting close to the feel and freedom of a bird." When queried by interviewer Don Downie if that was too much to ask, Beierle replied, "You bet! But it didn't stop me from trying."
The Thunder Gull was introduced in 1987 as a development of the earlier Laughing Gull. The aircraft was quite revolutionary when it was introduced due to its high performance and particularly high cruise speed of on just.
The aircraft is constructed from aluminum tubing and sheet parts and covered in aircraft fabric. The aircraft can meet the requirements of the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles category, including its maximum empty weight limitation of when it is equipped with a lightweight engine.
The aircraft has a very small wing for the US ultralight category with a wing area of only and a wingspan of. The wing is equipped with flaps that give it a stall speed of. The small wing gives the aircraft a high cruise speed and better resistance to turbulence than a lighter-loaded wing. The one-piece wing is quickly removable for storage or transport.
Reported construction time of the kit is 150 hours.

Operational history

The prototype Laughing Gull was flown coast-to-coast across the USA seven times with of baggage and a pilot.

Variants

;Laughing Gull
;Thunder Gull
;Thunder Gull J
;Thunder Gull JT2
;Thunder Gull Odyssey
;Soaring Gull
;Gull 2000
;eGull 2000

Specifications (Thunder Gull)