Sling Squawk – August 2024. Available Now!
Dear Slingers across the globe!
It has been an exciting four months since we last wrote to you. We have been to Oshkosh, competed in the Sling Cycles Tanqua Kuru Bicycle Race, won awards, sold lots of planes (and delivered more than we ever have in a five-month period), taken on new contracts, and, of course, had lots of fun doing it.
This year’s Tanqua Kuru Bicycle Race was the best ever. We descended into the harsh and rugged Tankwa in six Slings, with 14 Sling cyclists competing. The ride on day one was grueling and hot but we had a winner among us and took three of the top ten positions! On day two, we rode the fun ride and made it extra special by providing what we believe to be the first-ever airborne water stop. Lucky riders arrived at the Sling Saloon water stop and were ushered into a Sling TSI for a long circuit around the desert airstrip to enjoy their refreshments high above the barren landscape. What an experience!
Next came EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024. An estimated 686,000 attendees from 94 countries across the globe made their way to Wisconsin for the annual week-long extravaganza. Over 10,000 aircraft converged on Wittman Regional Airport and it felt like most of them wanted to come and see the Sling crew on Sling Island. We had a non-stop flow of hundreds of interested clients and positive, happy customers. I had not been to Oshkosh for a number of years, so it was mind-blowing to see how far our reach has grown and how excited people are about our products. We were extremely honoured to be awarded the August Raspet Memorial Award for the most outstanding contribution to light aircraft design. Mike Blyth, James Pitman and I received the award in front of crowds of supporters with a big South African contingent always there to cheer us on. Thank you to the EAA and special thanks to all our supporters.
Back at the factory in Joburg, the Sling crew is buzzing with excitement and busy building Sling trainers for the USA and South African markets. We are delivering five per month at the moment and ramping up to eight per month by the end of the year due to demand. Sales of High Wings and TSi’s continue to flow in and we are consistently delivering five of each per month. We continue our steady ramp-up as demand continues to outstrip supply. Our biggest focus over the last three months though has been safety and quality—an area that one can never get too good at or focus too much on.
For local Slingers, the next Tedderfield Sling breakfast fly-in is on the 28th of September. Once again, we will be doing a factory tour and handing out some free merchandise to like-minded adventurers. Fly in for a free breakfast and have a look at what we are doing to take people places! In addition, we will be hosting a Sling fly-away weekend at a bush lodge in early October so look out for more info in your email boxes and on social media!
There are loads of videos to watch, blogs to read and adventures to follow, so dig into the content below and enjoy.
“Fly Good, Don’t Suck” and remember to always have fun!
Cheers all!
Andrew
Co-CEO
