Dear Slingers across the globe!
I hope you are all finding 2024 to be a positive year so far and that you are still sticking to your New Year’s resolutions (Yeah right…).
We ended 2023 with fantastic output and deliveries that have continued into the first quarter of 2024. We have got ourselves into a solid state of ramped-up production and since June last year, have been consistently delivering 13 complete aircraft per month (15 in some months). This is roughly made up of five Ready-to-Fly Sling LSA’s or TSi’s each month and, then 40 airframe kits per month. We supply Sling kits as five different airframe kits, namely the empennage kit, fuselage kit, wing kit, undercarriage kit, and then the canopy and final assembly kit, so in total, that adds up to eight complete airframe kits per month. Our total aircraft deliveries for the financial year March 2023 to February 2024 combining RTFs and kits was 152 complete aircraft. In addition to that, we delivered 82 upholstery kits, 72 firewall forward and fuel kits, 78 propellers, and 66 engines to kit builders across the globe. This is a 34% increase in deliveries year-on-year, but the real increase has come over the last eight months. Whoooohoooo!
High Wing fuselages are now flying out the door at a rate of five per month and will increase to eight per month from September 2024. So far, we have sent out 21 High Wing fuselages as kits, 32 wing kits, and 32 empennage kits. RTF High Wings have been slightly slower with the first one being shipped to Australia in February, however, two RTFs completed test flying in March and are now in the spray shop for touch-ups before shipping and a further two will be complete by the end of April. RTF deliveries will continue at two per month until July and then increase to three per month.
To achieve the above ramp-up and increase in output, 2023 has been a year of gradual expansion. We have rented a further factory in Alrode (about 20 km from Tedderfield) and over the last eight months, have moved our Quality Control, Stores, Sub-Assembly, Upholstery, Acrylics, Welding, and Small Sub-Assembly departments into this new 5,800sqm factory. We have been gradually increasing our staff complement to match the space we now have and currently employ just over 400 people across the entire company. To take a peek at our move and new facilities, dip into the three-part series “A New Beginning” from the links below.
In tandem with our ramp-up, we have continued to have fun and adventures here at Sling. We raced our demo Sling TSi with its new 916 Rotax iS engine and MT prop against a commercial airliner from Joburg to Cape Town for the sake of going for a bicycle ride on Spier Wine Estate. James and Mike set off from Tedderfield in the TSi loaded with weekend bags of clothes and toiletries and two of our titanium gravel bikes in the back, while I set off for OR Tambo International Airport with my bike in a bike bag to board the 737 down to Cape Town International and on to Spier Wine in Stellenbosch. Watch the exciting video below to see how it went!
I feel incredibly positive and excited about the year ahead as it feels like it’s once again going to be our best ever. Despite seeing a large increase in low wing sales since releasing our 916 Sling TSi with MT prop, our delivery times ex-works Johannesburg are five months for an RTF Sling TSi or RTF Sling LSA, and only two months if you order a TSi or LSA kit. MT prop lead times are four to six months and Rotax engines are three to four months, so if you build fast, your engine and prop will be with you in perfect time.
I wish you all the best for 2024 and hope your year is filled with adventure and experiences. Enjoy the stories below and remember to let us know where and when your Sling has taken you. As always, we remain grateful to you all for your unwavering support of our brand and hope you enjoy being part of the Sling family.
Cheers all!
Andrew
Director