Newsletter | July 2015
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Welcome to the brand new edition of The Airplane Factory’s monthly newsletter!
Sling 2: Around the World, Again!
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Yup, you read it right!
TAF is flying around the world again!
Mike Blyth, Jean d’ Assonville (TAF USA) and Patrick Huang (TAF Asia) are heading around the world in a Sling 2.
Having left Tedderfield yesterday, the 9th of July, (before clearing customs at Lanseria) they are now at Ondangwa, where they will be fuelling up for their 15.5 hour night flight to Accra, and they will then be heading on to Oshkosh in a Westerly direction, or what has been labelled as the “wrong way round”. The route will see them heading in a north-westerly direction up mainland Africa, before crossing the Atlantic. Tensions will be high, but they have a capable ground team watching and helping them plan every move.
Once the Sling is back in South Africa, it’ll be shipped back to it’s owner in Taiwan.
Stay tuned for more info coming soon, via our dedicated webpage for the expedition.
There is also live tracking available on our website.
http://airplanefactory.co.za/media-gall … orld-again (http://airplanefactory.co.za/media-gallery/news/sling-2-around-the-world-again)
Presidents Trophy Air Race
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A Sling 2, with the registration ZU-FRX, piloted Grant Raubenheimer and navigated by Vince Aderes won the President’s Trophy Air Race 2015!
We are insanely proud of the accomplishment, and are happy in the knowledge that it’s proof of the awesome capabilities of the Sling range!
Fore more information, head over to our website:
http://airplanefactory.co.za/media-gallery/news/sling-2-zu-frx-wins-the-president-s-trophy-air-race
In late July this year, 8 Slings will be embarking on a trip across the Mozambican channel to Madagascar, for a week-long tour of the island.
Slings leaving from Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town will be converging on Vilanculos in Mozambique. From there, they will make the crossing to Madagascar, over the vast shark-infested expanse of the Mozambican channel.
For more information, and live tracking, be sure to keep an eye on the website:
http://airplanefactory.co.za/expeditions/sling-madagascar-2015
The Monthly Squawk:
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Despite the increase in petrol costs, the farcical Marikana inquiry and Jacob Zuma’s blatant disregard for democratic institutions, The Airplane Factory has more exciting projects and adventures on the go than ever before.
We have joined forces with Patrick Huang from Taiwan to set up The Airplane Factory Asia. Patrick already owns three Sling LSA’s in California which he leases to flying schools, so is familiar with the product. He has opened up one of the floors of his security camera factory in Taiwan to assemble Sling LSA’s. The first three kits hit their shores about two months ago and the first plane is almost ready for final assembly. To drum up some excitement and publicity Patrick has recruited Mike and Jean (former Earthrounders) to fly a Sling 2 from Johannesburg to Taiwan, but not in the obvious direction. Instead of heading north east, they will be heading west, via Oshkosh and around to Taiwan. So Joburg to Taiwan, the Wrong Way Around….. Then to complete the trip they will fly on back to South Africa afterwards.
At Oshkosh this year will be our American Distributers with a couple of Sling LSA’s and a Sling 4 on display, and available for demo flights. Mike and Patrick will be joining them in the ATW Sling 2 for at least some of the show, so if you are lucky enough to be at Osh this year, be sure to drop in and wish them luck. Unfortunately, this year I won’t be at Oshkosh myself as I am joining the annual Sling Africa tour, which is not even actually in mainland Africa this year…. A group of 7 Slings will be piloted across the Mozambique Channel by their intrepid owners, to Madagascar. The trip is 10 days long and takes us up through Mozambique to Vilankulos, across to Madagascar, a loop around Madagascar and back to Vilankulos. From the east coast tropical town of Vilankulos, Sean Russell and I will be flying direct across Africa in one long leg to the Namibian International Airshow. So coast to coast in one flight.
Andrew Pitman
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