Dear Slingers across the globe,
What a few months it’s been! From international recognition to unexpected trade curveballs, factory hustle, new markets, and even a brand-new look online—it’s been anything but dull at Sling HQ.
We ended last year on a high with a visit from AOPA, who came out to fly our Sling High Wing. The verdict? A glowing feature in AOPA Pilot magazine that gave us at Sling such warm and proud feelings. There’s something pretty surreal about seeing our Joburg designed and built planes featured in the world’s most respected aviation magazine! We hear there might be a video in the making too from AOPA so are waiting with bated breath for that to be released.
Not long after the exciting AOPA visit, the US tariff announcement dropped out of the sky like a rogue air pocket. But in true Sling style, we stayed light on the controls. We pulled out all the stops—working weekends, burning midnight oil, and rerouting shipments—to get as many kits and ready-to-fly aircraft into the USA before the July 7th deadline. A huge shout-out to the factory team for digging deep and pushing hard to make it happen.
In early April, I headed to Aero Friedrichshafen in Germany—our first major European mission since the tariffs were announced. I spent time with our distributors, potential new distributors from unexplored countries, regulators, and some of Europe’s most exciting flying schools. The result? A raft of new opportunities and a growing sense that Europe is about to become an even bigger part of the Sling story. Look out for Sling at next year’s Aero Friedrichshafen show, we will be doing something amazing in four short days…hint hint.
Back home, we’re gearing up for our biggest-ever local fleet delivery—200 Sling LSA trainers to a brand-new flying school right here in South Africa. Deliveries begin in June at a rate of five per month. It’s a major win for Sling, and for aviation training on the continent. Meanwhile, we’ve appointed a new distributor in India and are seeing exciting traction across Asia. The Sling LSA, TSi and High Wing are all generating serious interest from Delhi to Jakarta.
In true Sling adventure fashion, Mike Blyth and James Pitman recently took two proud new Sling owners—Wytze Salomons and Willem Dolleman—on a delivery adventure they’ll never forget. Flying from Lanseria in Johannesburg, on to Club Makakola in Malawi and then on to Wilson Airport in Nairobi, James flew with Wytze and his daughter in a brand new Sling High Wing taildragger while Mike piloted Willem in a freshly minted Sling TSi. It was an epic, scenic and joy-filled journey across Africa, perfectly captured in a short video that’s now up on our YouTube channel, and featured below. If you haven’t watched it yet, do yourself a favour—it’s Sling ethos at its best.
And finally, if you haven’t already, check out our brand-new Sling website. It’s bold, modern, and sexy as hell. A digital home worthy of the planes we build and the adventures we live.
There’s a ton more packed into this edition of the Squawk, so strap in, scroll down, and come flying with us as we keep taking you places—faster, farther, and always with a grin.
Fly good, don’t suck.
Cheers all!
Andrew
Director
