The GStar thunderbird is my go to stable distance driver, as someone with roughly 270' of power. I can throw it hard enough that it goes straight for about 200 and then hyzers out reliably at the end. I think the GStar variant of this disc has a bit more turn than the numbers would indicate, and stronger arms might find this a good disc to hyzer flip to flat. 

The champion variant of this disc is pretty overstable. I pull this one out in the wind, because otherwise it starts to hyzer out a bit too fast for my liking. For beginners, lighter weights will give you more consistent and workable results. I tend to bag one Champion Thunderbird alongside my GStar since it's not quite as overstable as a firebird, but somewhere between a GStar Thunderbird and a Firebird.

This is my go to fairway driver for sure. I love the feel of the G Star plastic and the flight path of this disc. It doesn't matter what course I play on, I tend to use this disc often and especially more so as I've beaten it in. It definitely gains some turn the more you use it but I've found this to be my best control driver as well as the driver that I get the most distance out of.

(Star)

Top three favorite disc to throw on both forehand and backhand with consistent stability and glide. Even in wind my thunderbird has held up just fine over time despite being used in my bag for over a year. Anyone that has thrown a firebird but wants less of a dive at the end should look no further than this disc. It can be used for clean hyzer lines or powered into straighter lines with slow fade to the left as it gets beat in.

The Gstar Thunderbird is one of the most controllable drivers in my bag. A little bit wider rim than a fairway driver but much smaller than a distance driver. This fits in my hand perfectly. Mine has a predictable flight in almost all conditions. I see others turning over Destroyers in stiff winds on a local hole, I reach for my GStar Thundy 170g. I am able to obtain decent distance, but the control this disc offers is unmatched.  Whether open holes that I need to get 350', wooded holes requiring shot shaping distance BH or FH and FH laser beams, I'm getting the Thunderbird.  I believe this is the best mold Innova makes in Gstar. It just feels right. 

I picked up a Thunderbird mainly for forehands.  I found the disc to be a bit more overstable than I was looking for, but it still had a great flight.  The disc I had was very domey and was not very comfortable in my hand. I ended up abandoning the Thunderbird and sticking with an Undertaker.

Gstar thunderbird is my absolute favorite driver. If i only use one driver its the thunderbird. Brand new they are a pretty overstable. I can always get one to fade back. But not to overstable that it hooks. I use it for precise in the woods flick shots. With a slight anhyzer i can get it to go fairly straight with some fade at the end.They also wear really nicely. Very neutral stability. Good for low straight shots

Disc - 172g GStar Thunderbird

This is my point and shoot control driver. Release it flat and hard and it will go flat and straight for a long ways with a small, reliable fade. Release it on a hyzer and it will hold. Release it on an anhyzer and it will slowly come back. Perfect for shots that are just a tad too long for the Teebird. With relatively high glide, this disc is great for long wooded holes or shots that need to stay low.

Beginners may not have the arm speed for this disc. Intermediate/advanced players will see a lot of controlled distance.

To start with: I have to agree with other reviewers that I wouldn't call it a longer Teebird -- the fade at the end is quite different. While the discs' flight paths are similar, if you are expecting exactly a longer Teebird you might be a little surprised. A better way to phrase it would be "sister to Teebird".

I love this disc. I have it in GStar (G*) 165g. I use it for forehands primarily right now (haven't quite developed the power/speed to throw this backhand yet). It holds hyzers really well. Glides great no matter what angle you release it at.

This is my workhose for longer tee shots. It feels great in the hand. Can't say enough good things about it. If I lost it, I would immediately buy a replacement.

While many describe the Thunderbird as a "longer Teebird". I disagree. It is a straight flying, stable disc with a reliable fade. In that respect it is similar to Teebirds I've thrown, but in my experience the Teebird's fade has a lot more "dump" to it. My Thunderbirds all offer great stability even when facing a stiff headwind, and finish left, but don't dump. 

I have Champion, Star, and GStar Thunderbirds and feel like the Gstar is a bit more flat-topped than the others, and is the one I throw best.

I bag three Thunderbirds in different plastics, all at about 170 grams (and have backups). Aside from a brand new one, they are all reasonably well broken in, but none is particularly old. Thunderbirds are really my workhorse driver whenever shot shape is more important than max distance. They fly pretty well even when not at full speed, so I sometimes use them as a fairway drivers even in fairly short situations where I have room for (or need) a bigger fade. These feel like a fairway driver in the hand, but get almost as much distance as my higher speed discs. I like having one mold I'm familiar with, and the 3 plastic types fly understable, neutral, and overstable, as described below, so I can throw the same mold for very different shot shapes. I mostly play backhand, but as a smaller rim driver, they feel great for forehand. 

The most overstable are in champion plastic. I have one in glow and one and regular champion plastic, and they both fly about the same. I can put about as much anhyzer as I want on these, and I can always count on them to fade back as long as they still have some air under them. I mostly use my champion Thunderbird into strong headwinds, or when I need a sharp left fade. It flies fairly straight early on, but due to its high fade as it slows down, I get slightly less distance from this.

My GStar Thunderbird has an extremely neutral flight and can handle a decent amount of anhyzer without flipping too much if I need to shape a shot. I can get a really straight flight out of this before it starts to go into a pretty strong fade. The fade is strong and can produce skips, but not nearly as strong as a firebird or my champion Thunderbird.

My Pro Thunderbird is the most beat in of all of them. It's still in pretty good shape, but definitely has hit a few trees and the pro plastic breaks in faster. This one is slightly understable, and if I throw it on a slight hyzer, it will pop up to flat and go straight straight straight. It has a bit of fade, but perhaps no more than other driver molds and I can generally count on this to come back at least to flat if I flip it. I just bought a new one that is more like my GStar Thunderbird, but I expect it to lose stability as it ages.

I throw multiple thunderbirds and they are my favorite disc hands down.  Champion thunderbirds are my overstable driver and my g stars are my primary driver.  G star will get some turn after getting a little beat in so I carry a beat up g star for max distance and a fresh one that I know will fade out.  I don't like g star in any other disc because of the unreliability, but it is amazing for thunderbirds.

Flight is very similar to a teebird but with more distance.  I throw max distance of 330-360.

For a beginner this is a good overstable disc or something you could get into before getting into distance drivers.  

I have a Valkyrie and have had great luck with it, but wanted a more stable companion for forehands and wind, which led me to the Thunderbird. New out of the box the 168G GStar it is pretty overstable, so much so I wondered if I would regret ordering this disc. However after playing a few rounds either it’s beating in more like the rating or I’m getting more used to it.

Thrown hard and flat it will fly straight before a reliable but manageable fade. Thrown with hyzer I can’t hyzer flip it but it will do some beautiful hyzer lines. Also works for anny flex shots, and I can throw a (for me) full-on forehand anny rip and still get a reliable fade instead of turn and burn. Handles headwind well.

Overall if speed 9 discs are your jam and you need something between a Valk and a Firebird the Thundy is a good bet.

Probably the most used, most dependable disc in my bag for about 3 years strong. This was my first driver that I really fell in love with.It started out pretty overstable and has beat in to straight with soft finish to straight with no finish, and now it flips over slightly and finishes flat. This is a disc that I throw a ton on new courses when I'm trying to get the feel for the course because it is so consistent. I don't think this disc will ever leave my bag. Hands down my favorite disc to use through different stages of wear.

Man, I love this disc! At speed 9 it's right around the brink of fairway and distance driver. Super stable for me. When thrown flat RHBH, it flies flat for 3/4 or so of the flight, which for me is about 290'-310' then dependably fades left, ending around 350'. This disc is just so dependable. I've had one for about 6 months or so in GStar plastic and have noticed no change in the flight characteristics. The only thing I have not been able to do is throw a flex shot with this disc. I probably end up putting too much anhyzer on it, but I can rarely get it to come back so I use it for shots that I want to fly straight and fade, or hyzer the entire flight. Great disc! I always bag one. 

This is my favorite disc I have in my bag. I have two, at 161g and 162g. Wonderfully overstable. Great for flat shots, flex shots, long shallow-angle hyzers.I'm keeping this review short as I could go on all day about how I love this disc. 

These are the discs that G-star plastic was made for, not really but I swear it feels that way. I bag a g-star and a champ and these are nice nice nice. The g-star can do a lot for flipping up to just about any angle you want. It can flip to hyzer, flat or anni. You can turn the g-star over and not worry too much about it cut rolling because of its fade.

The champ is great to be able to pop out on a hyzer and trust it to not carry off right for you unless you really rip on it harder than you should for a 9 speed. Putting both the g-star and champ out on that hyzer release and letting the discs do what they do is great. Awesome discs. I've been trying to learn these forehand but even if I never do these will be in my bag til they're too broken in or lost and then I'll just go get more. 

The Thunderbird really is a great offering from Innova. Their speed 9 category is already fairly crowded with redundancy, yet somehow Innova figured out how to create a driver with its own niche. The Thunderbird is a stable-semi overstable driver that gets more distance than you'd expect from a speed 9. It has outstanding glide (moreso than the Valk) and will handle huge rips without flipping. Essentially, this is a full blown distance driver in the body of a fairway driver.

I really can't think of anything negative to say about the Thunderbird. It can be used reliably for fairway or distance driving. It has enough stability that you don't have ot worry about it flying all over the place. I think Innova basically obsoleted the Eagle, Teebird, and Viking by releasing the Thunderbird. The Thunderbird is obviously faster than the Eagle or Teebird, but has the same general flight as them, but faster, longer, and with better glide.

Pretty much a must have disc for any skill level DG'er. It will handle all manner of drives and handle them well.

On a side note, champion Thunderbirds are noticeably more stable than G*s. I'd give the G* -1 on turn and the champion 0.

The G-star Thunderbird was my workhorse driver for a while. The G-star plastic knocked the stability down a notch from the Champion version, allowing me to keep the disc going dead-straight much longer before reliably fading. It doesn't hold up too great in a headwind -- it has a tendency to glide away or turn over a bit too much -- so I generally reach for my Champion Thunderbird in windier situations.

I've had this disc for about a year and a half in GStar. I also had one in Champion. I think the plastics make a big difference for this disc, as it is right on the line between overstable and stable.

I have yet to try this disc in Star plastic. GStar is far too inconsistent of a plastic.  Even though I got my second ace with this disc, I can no longer rely on it.  In the Spring and Fall seasons GStar is a decent plastic, but over the last few weeks temperatures have been in the 80's and 90's here, and it is no longer a reliable plastic. The heat makes the thunderbird unexpectedly flippy off the teepad, which has ruined my score a few times. 

I am currently rotating other molds in to my bag in champion/star equivalents (Star-SL, DDX, FD3) but will eventually try a Star Thunderbird this season. The Champion is a bit more overstable than the Gstar, it is a reliable straight flyer, but my run came a touch too domey. I've read that Star Thunderbirds are more reliably beefy, so I'm looking forward to trying one out this season.

Beginners would probably prefer the GStar for a touch more turn and less fade, while advanced throwers should look to the Champion/Star versions of this disc for a straight 300-400 ft drive off the tee. 

I bought a GStar Thunderbird and on my first throw I got a beautiful s-curve around an obstacle. From that moment I have been hooked. I like this for forehand shots (haven't gotten my backhand fast enough yet). The GStar  plastic shows no dings from the NUMEROUS trees that I've hit. I've only had it a few weeks, but it is a mainstay in my bag. Try one if your looking for a disc to bridge the gap between your distance drivers and your teebird. Great disc!

I have a THUNDERBIRD in the nice GSTAR plastic. This disc feels really solid when released, it holds a line very well and when I throw it flat it has a predictable fade that I find useful. I throw RHBH and I don't turn this disc over. I can get more distance from other discs but I am not always looking for more distance, sometimes I need a smooth accurate disc and this is where the THUNDERBIRD fits in. A nice all around disc.

This Disc is my go to for almost every driving shot wing rain or sun it goes as far as a want it with a flick or back hand if you can throw this disc right it will so what you want it too.

What is the Thunderbird?  That's a good question.  First, my 167g Thunderbird is in GStar plastic, and I fully agree with other reviewers that GStar plastic is more understable than Star plastic both in this disc and other molds, as well.

I understand why Innova discontinued the Firebird-L (FL) (9,3,0,2) as the Thunderbird (9,5,0,2) is being put into production.  Is the Thunderbird the replacement for or successor of the Firebird and/or FL?  I don't think so.  Is the Thunderbird a longer Teebird/TL?  In some respects, I can see that.  Is the Thunderbird a more overstable Valkyrie (9,4,-2,2)?  Now that I can definitely agree with!  It flies a lot like the Valkyrie but not quite as much turn and with a more predictable fade at the end.  My use range is the same as the Valkyrie, but where I need to finish left (RHBH thrower), or get a good s-curve around trees off certain tees at my home course.

I'm working with the Thunderbird as I learn to throw forehand flicks, and while I think I'm getting better results (such as they are) out of the FL for that, I think the Thunderbird can be a good disc for forehand flickers.  All in all, the Thunderbird is a good solid workhorse disc that will find its way into many advanced, intermediate and less-advanced level bags alike.

This disc really is a longer teebird. I have found that the gstar is a bit more understate than its champion and swirly star brothers. I find when released on a slight hyzer angle it will flip up to flat very quickly and fly straight for a good long time then fade forward nicely. I have had issues with this disc skipping a bit more than my star version. I think this may be due to its more gradual fade. Overall a workhorse control distance driver.

It acts and feels like a beat-in Firebird with more glide. I can get this disc to fly dead straight for a long way. In heavy wooded areas I find myself using this disc most for long straight throws through small gaps..

G-star Thunderbird is stable and not overstable. The G-Star plastic is holding up well with some mild beating in and the flight hasn't changed for me at all yet.

All in all Thunderbird has to be one of the best discs I've thrown. 

The Thunderbird has a flight path very similar to the discontinued FL, which apparently flies like a broken-in Firebird.  I like the disc in Champion but GStar seems to make it a little too understable.

This disc is solid. I've been throwing a halloween pumpkin edition 170g GStar Thunderbird. For cold weather, I really like the ultra grippy GSTar plastic for backhand throws.

The Thunderbird is more overstable than I anticipated, which makes it really consistent. I never turn the Thunderbird over with backhand throws. For a consistent go to fairway driver the Thunderbird just works. Yeah, there isn't a lot of difference between the Thunderbird, TL3, Viking, Orc, Starfire, and a bunch of ther stable/overstable fairway's Innova makes, so you might as well choose the Thunderbird because it's the coolest name.

"A longer Teebird." Innvoa's version of it's sister companies--Discmania--popular PD (Power Driver) Freak. Although the speed is listed as 9, it flies more like a 10. Thrown flat, the Thunderbird will fly long and straight (maybe a little turn; more so as they wear in) and finish with a hard, gliding hyzer. The disc is flat, very flat.

I'm an avid PD thrower; the Thunderbird is quite close. Thunderbird may be slightly less overstable and is flater than a PD. I'm not a fan of G-Star plastic (I find that it chunks way to easily), so I'll probably be sticking to the PD for now. The two discs are vary similar.

I actually managed to pick up a champ one, so take that into consideration. I've only thrown this disc a couple of times, but everytime I have it's done exactly what I've wanted it to. Nice in the wind, perfect for long hyzer bomb shots, and a decent amount of fade after a straight flight, this disc will be in my bag for a while.