From 26 to 29 November 2010 The Airplane Factory’s demonstration airplane, ZU-TAE, appeared on the roof of the Hyde Park shopping centre on Jan Smuts Avenue at the Joburg Food Wine Design Fair. Set on wood chips amongst SA’s finest culinary and design delights, she created quite a stir. The most regular question asked was, “How the hell did you get your aeroplane up here”, which of course led to more and more elaborate answers. By day three she was “Flown in, full flaps, just on the edge of the stall, against the setting sun and between the parked cars. But we have to wait for a decent headwind to get her out.”
Actually the Sling’s wings and tail are simple to remove and she was trailered from the factory into town in a morning. Three of us then pushed her up the parking ramps and re-assembled her in no time.
Although substantial interest in ZU-TAE was shown by the fair’s many attendants, the ones who really enjoyed her presence were the kids, and there was hardly a moment when she wasn’t being clambered on like a fairground attraction.
