I'm a private pilot who has primarily flown flying club aircraft (see my signature). My wife and I are also both mechanical engineers, and I'm looking forward to retirement from my career in spaceflight avionics later this year. Construction and flying a Sling TSi will keep us busy, along with enjoying our grandkids.
After many years of dreaming about building our own airplane, my wife and I started very slow construction of a Van's RV-14A in October 2022 after ordering our empennage kit 10 months earlier. When the company finally admitted that they had issues with laser cut parts in 2023, we paused our project until they determined the extent of the problem and proposed a solution. Unfortunately part of their solution was to declare bankruptcy, increase prices ~30%, and charge for replacement of their defective parts. Based on their uncertain plans, price increases, indefinite future delivery schedules, and (in hindsight) awful business operations, we decided to pursue a different path to our dream.
The silver lining for us was to take a closer look at the Sling TSi, and we're glad we did! After reviewing our goals for our plane, evaluating performance specs, comparing construction costs of the sling to the RV (after the 30% price increase), and learning that construction should be substantially shorter and less complex with pulled rivets (my wife is happy to not have to buck or squeeze 20000 rivets
), we decided to change course and build the TSi.We spent several hours with Henry and Nicole Rise of Midwest Skysports in late December 2023 and were impressed with their shop, the quality and the completeness of the kits and the overall good looks of the plane. They have a terrific build center and it was very cool to see 9 Slings in various stages of assembly there.
Thanks to their testimonials about the quality of the kits, we ordered our empennage kit thru Midwest Skysports in mid February; it's currently en route with an expected arrival at TAF-LA in early May. We will be doing a slow build at our home shop, but Henry and his team will be a valued resource for us too.
While I've been in Denver the first quarter of 2024 for my job (and ski season), I was able to get together with Brian and Laurie Garrett to see their TSi project too, which further reinforced our decision to build a Sling. I even was able to help them move the plane out of their garage to their hangar in Broomfield! They also have a beautiful panel from Midwest Panel Builders, and we may copy much of their design.
Finally, I was able to meetup with Aaron Stampa and see his completed TSi at KAPA, and he graciously offered me a short flight to experience the Sling Smile (much like the RV Grin, but better!). This completely clinched the decision to build a TSi.
Bob Kartman
