The Sling Squawk – June 2026
7 Jun 2026
“Mechanical engineer, Ashok Aliseril, spent 18 months building his four-seater Sling TSi aircraft so that he could fly his family around the UK.
It wasn’t until he moved near to an airfield in the UK over a decade ago that he began to seriously consider learning to fly a plane. He got his first taste of flying a few years later, when his wife, Abhilasha, bought him a 30-minute flight experience for his birthday.
Aliseril, who is based in Essex, England, booked in some flying lessons at a local airfield and flew to the Isle of Wight, an island off the English south coast, during his first session. “That was quite an eye-opener into how flying gives you the freedom to just go places if you have that ability and access to an aircraft,” he tells CNN Travel. “So that really got me hooked.”
– Tamara Hardingham-Gill (CNN)
After reaching Cape Town in Part 2, Josh Flowers and Chelsea Smith of Aviation101, along with Chris Lammert and Keelyn Costello, reunite with friends and fly their Sling aircraft north from Stellenbosch through the Tankwa Karoo, before crossing into Namibia and exploring the spectacular Fish River Canyon. From formation flying and the Tanqua Kuru Bicycle Race to fireside celebrations and an off-airport landing in the desert, the journey becomes less about following a plan and more about embracing whatever comes next—because sometimes the most memorable part of flying happens after the engine shuts down.