The Sling Squawk – June 2026
7 Jun 2026
A South African kitplane manufacturer – The Airplane Factory (TAF) – is going from strength-to-strength, having just announced a brand new aircraft. The new high-wing version of TAF’s four-seater; the Sling TSi, was revealed at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture event in Oshkosh, USA.
The Sling TSi was, itself, a brand new aircraft just a year ago. Company founder, Mike Blyth, said he expected to have a prototype flying by the end of the year. lf that seems impossible – to go from the drawing board to a new model in less than six months – then some of TAF’s other feats will seem like miracles.
The adventure begins! A month. A fleet of gorgeous aircraft. One unforgettable adventure across Southern Africa with Josh Flowers, Chelsea Smith, their good friends Chris Lammert and Keelyn Costello, and some of us from Sling HQ. In Part 1 of Aviation101’s four-part series, the journey starts with their arrival in South Africa at Sling HQ in the south of Johannesburg, meeting the aircraft that will become their companions, ZU-TSI and ZU-DFU, and taking the first steps — or rather, first flights — into the unknown.