New Sling TSi ZK-SLN at Feilding

Mike Blyth of Sling Aircraft Ltd in South Africa (then called the Airplane Factory) began development of the Sling 2 kit aircraft in South Africa in 2006 and its first flight was in November 2008.  A full testing programme was completed during 2009.  James Blyth and his partner in Sling Aircraft, James Pitman then set out on a 40 day Westerly circumnavigation of the world in the second prototype, which included attending Oshkosh 2009.  We have had only one Sling 2 aircraft registered here, ZK-SLG which was registered on 29/10/14.  You can see details of this aircraft HERE

The Sling 2 proved to be very popular so Mike Blyth and James Pitman and their team at Sling Aircraft moved on to develop a the 4 seater Sling 4 model which was further refined into the Sling TSi with a 141 HP Rotax 915 iS engine, and our first example of this aircraft has now been completed here.

The Sling TSi is 7.17 metres long (23 feet 6 inches).  Its wingspan is 9.5 metres (31 feet 3 inches) and its wing area is 134 square feet.  Its empty weight is around 490 Kg (1,080 pounds) and MAUW is 950 Kg (2,094 Pounds), and on its Rotax 915 iS the cruise speed is around 148 knots.  The stall speed is quoted as 48 knots.  It is a very good performer.

ZK-SLN (c/n 199SK) was registered on 23/3/22 to B L Pearpoint (one of the agents for Sling Aircraft New Zealand), and the photo is from their Facebook page, taken at Feilding on 31/5/22.  I think the Sling will live up to its name of Nemo!

We will see more of these aircraft in New Zealand, and possibly quite quickly.  There are several kits under construction including a Quick Build kit.  From what I have seen the kits can go together pretty quickly, helped by the fact that the rivets are aircraft grade pop rivets.  And I am also aware of a South African built example that is being imported.