Sling Aircraft (Pty) Ltd, formerly called The Airplane Factory (Pty) Ltd., is a South African
aircraft manufacturer based at
Tedderfield Airpark,
Eikenhof,
Johannesburg South. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of
light aircraft in the form of kits for
amateur construction and ready-to-fly aircraft for the
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
The (; FAI; en, World Air Sports Federation) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintai ...
microlight and the American
light-sport aircraft
A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a fairly new category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight (aka "microlight") aircraft, but LSA restrictio ...
categories.
[Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 80. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ][Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 83. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. ]
The enterprise is a
proprietary company under South African law.
The company has three shareholders: Mike Blyth, Director; James Pitman, Chairman; Andrew Pitman, Managing Director.
Sling Aircraft utilizes
numerical control
Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a pi ...
manufacturing and
computer-aided design
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...
in its aircraft
design and production processes.
The company produces the two-seat
Sling 2
sling may refer to:
Places
*Sling, Anglesey, Wales
* Sling, Gloucestershire, England, a small village in the Forest of Dean
People with the name
* Otto Šling (1912–1952), repressed Czech communist functionary
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ...
, which was first flown in 2008 and the four-seat
Sling 4, introduced in 2011
and
Sling TSi which was first released in 2018. The latest model being developed is a new high-wing model called the
Sling HW that made its first flight in 2020.
In July 2013, a Sling 4 was flown by Mike Blyth and his son from South Africa to
AirVenture in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh.
History
Oshkosh was ...
,
United States. The flight included a 14-hour over-water leg using the modified Sling 4's 20 hours of fuel endurance.
In July 2022, three Sling High Wings (one tail dragger, two with tricycle gear) were flown from South Africa to
AirVenture in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh.
History
Oshkosh was ...
,
United States.
Aircraft
References
External links
*
{{Witwatersrand companies
Aircraft manufacturers of South Africa
Manufacturing companies based in Johannesburg
Ultralight aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft