I’m sitting left in the Sling TSi, a four-seater kit aircraft that was designed in South Africa. Not only is it the first time I’ve flown on board but it is also the first time I’ve been behind a 141 hp turbo sport injected Rotax 915 iS. This is probably the reason why my fellow flight companions undergo a series of stalls, wide-angle turns, eight sloths and slow-flying during the first thirty minutes of our test!
“We’re going to perform a speed test”, says Matt Liknaitzky, a partner at the Airplane Factory USA, the branch of the company that markets and provides technical support to manufacturers from Torrance, California. He recommends I push the black controller forward. I’m taking a look at Wayne Toddun, the builder and owner of the machine, to gain his assessment. His vigorous nod shows that he, too, wants to move on!