RA-Aus Sling 2 Cockpit Registration 24-8489

The ''Sling Aircraft Sling 2'', formerly called The Airplane Factory Sling 2, is a South African two-seater light aircraft designed and produced by Sling Aircraft in Johannesburg, South Africa.''African Pilot'', Athol Franz, ''The Aircraft Factory Sling'', Dec 2010, Volume 9, Number 12, pp. 70–71. In 2009 the specially modified second prototype was flown around the world in a westerly circumnavigation which took 40 days. This was the first time any aircraft of this class had achieved a circumnavigation.''SA Flyer'', Guy Leitch, ''Sling around the world'', Oct 2009, No. 168, pp. 20–28. The design complies with the requirements of four different regulatory aircraft classes. The design was originally known as the Sling, but was re-designated as the Sling 2 to distinguish it from the later four-seat Sling 4. The Sling 2 is supplied as a kit and as a ready-to-fly aircraft and can be operated as a

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 ...

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

Design and development

Development of the Sling 2 commenced in 2006. The Sling is a two-seat, low wing, all metal aircraft with

tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle g ...

made from composites. The aircraft is powered by an

Rotax 912UL The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, late ...

,, a Rotax 912ULS, or a 912iS engine, or optionally a

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

Rotax 914 UL The Rotax 914 is a turbo-charged, four-stroke, four-cylinder, horizontally opposed aircraft engine with air-cooled cylinders and water-cooled cylinder heads. It is designed and built by the Austrian company BRP-Powertrain, owned by Bombard ...

, driving a 3-bladed

Warp Drive Inc Warp Drive Inc is an American manufacturer of composite propellers for ultralight aircraft, ultralight trikes, light-sport aircraft, amateur-built aircraft, gyrocopter, airboats and other non- certified applications. The company is based in V ...

propeller. The factory later discontinued the

model. The airplane features a sliding canopy, large fuel tanks, and standard equipment includes a "glass cockpit" style display.Bernard, Mary and Suzanne B. Bopp: ''The Airplane Factory: Sling 2 (and Sling 4)'', Kitplanes, Volume 29, Number 12, December 2012, page 22. Belvoir Publications. Tacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015–16'', page 83. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. Mike Blyth began working on the design of the Sling 2 in 2006; the first prototype first flew on November 18, 2008. A full testing programme followed, with the help of a South African military aerodynamicist, which was completed in 2009. Blyth and partner James Pitman then flew the second prototype around the world to accomplish a challenging circumnavigation. 310 Sling 2s had been completed and flown by the end of 2019. The UK

Light Aircraft Association The Light Aircraft Association (LAA) is the representative body in the United Kingdom for amateur aircraft construction, and recreational and sport flying. It oversees the construction and maintenance of homebuilt aircraft, under an approval from t ...

has limited the airframe structural fatigue life to 500 hours for aircraft in that country. They have also only approved operation for day, visual flight rules.

Operational history

The second prototype Sling 2 was flown on a westerly global circumnavigation in 2009. Blyth and Pitman departed from South Africa flying up through Western Africa, across the Atlantic to Brazil and Guyana, up through the US Virgin Islands and the East Coast of the United States to

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 ...

for

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin ...

2009. After the

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...

they flew across the United States to Los Angeles, then on to Hawaii, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and finally back to South Africa. They completed the whole journey in 40 days. The aircraft used for the circumnavigation was a standard production Sling, but with larger fuel tanks, strengthened landing gear, seats that lie flat for sleeping and removable control sticks. After being modified, the aircraft had an endurance at standard cruise of approximately 24 hours. The aircraft cruised at 89 knots Indicated airspeed (IAS) (98 knots True airspeed (TAS)) with almost full fuel. When more nearly empty, it would cruise at 96 knots IAS (105 knots TAS). With full fuel, fully loaded with crew the Sling weighed approximately 1,984 Lbs (900 kg), or about 600 pounds overweight. At sea level the aircraft would climb slowly, at a rate of 350 feet per minute.

Variants

;Sling 2 :Base model with

Rotax 912 The Rotax 912 is a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder, naturally aspirated, four-stroke aircraft engine with a reduction gearbox. It features liquid-cooled cylinder heads and air-cooled cylinders. Originally equipped with carburetors, late ...

engine, certified either as an E-LSA (limited to a max gross weight of 1,320 lbs) or experimental-amateur built aircraft. ; Sonaca 200 :The Sonaca 200 is an

EASA The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitori ...

-certified variant of the Sling 2, developed in Belgium fitting the Rotax 914F engine, introduced in 2017.

Specifications (2012 model Sling 2)

References

External links