1st Production High Wing build has begun!

Model Specific Discussions about the Sling High Wing.
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SlingHighWing
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2021 8:23 am
Location: Building at the Factory in SA, Live in NC and FL
Contact:

1st Production High Wing build has begun!

Post by SlingHighWing »

Further to the Introduction post, I am excited to have begun building the first production High Wing Sling in the factory in an extended “factory assist” program in South Africa in November 2021. And yes - the high wing flies BEAUTIFULLY! Solid and stable yet light and responsive and ever so capable and accessible. Soooo excited!

It has been a great, and fun, honor to be the first to build this plane with the factory. The entire team has been great! Dayne and Dillon are our main accomplices, patiently teaching and assisting us every step of the way. They are spectacular! They have worked on and built the first two High Wing Prototypes and really really know the plane. Together we are working with the manuals and doing our best to ensure they are clear and accurate (they didn’t have manuals for the first two). As my husband and I have essentially no previous build experience, we are perfect test subjects to see how easy they are to follow.

I can not tell you how wonderful it has been to be able to walk over to the Research and Development when we run into issues or get ideas. Again, patience is the modus operandi. They listen, welcome our input on some design decisions, work with us on additional options we want to install, and patiently explain why something won't work or is not the best approach. We have been giving them feedback on the manuals and other aspects of the build and hope that will help make the Kit product and manual even better. We have enjoyed working closely with Vernon (I have included a link of a recent interview with Vernon below) and Jarryd as well as other in the R&D team. Kudos and gratitude to them all!

My build log is at http://www.slinghighwing.com and is primarily for myself and the DAR, but have been getting lots of requests from the Sling community and others to share my progress so enjoy. For those that have been though the process, kindly let me know you think I am aiming at the right level with my log, keeping in mind that this will be an elaborate factory assist. I see other builders posting about issues they run into, but given that part of my value add in this adventure is to identify those things so Sling can resolve them, I am not highlighting those, but will include that gotcha’s as best I can. I have more to post from my first visit and return mid January so stay tuned.

BG8473
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2022 11:28 am
Location: Southern California, U.S.A

Re: 1st Production High Wing build has begun!

Post by BG8473 »

I've looked at all the build photos on the websites and it looks amazing. You guys did a great job. I followed the flight(s) to Osh 2022, and it was very impressive.

I'm wondering if you can share more details about the plane now that you've finished it and flew it. I'm curious about weight and balance with the parachute, and whether it has aft CG issues like the low wing TSi. I'm also curious about performance at cruising altitudes. I've recently seen the projected speed and fuel consumption change on the Sling website (lower speed, more fuel consumption). I know it's slower than the TSi, but I'm curious by how much, especially around 8,500 to 12,500 MSL. I wonder if the higher fuel consumption now warrants longer range fuel tanks, beyond the standard 52 gallons.

Does the higher CG affect crosswind landing performance? Looks like the same landing gear track (distance between the mains) as the low wing TSi. I know the early high wing Cessna's had issues in crosswinds until they widened the landing gear track.

Thanks!
rdt7
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2023 5:39 am
Location: KCLT

Re: 1st Production High Wing build has begun!

Post by rdt7 »

I'd also like to see more frequent updates from the factory on the HW. And if any of the few existing owners are on this Forum, please share some of your ownership details with us. We're fans and want to hear!
BG8473
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2022 11:28 am
Location: Southern California, U.S.A

Re: 1st Production High Wing build has begun!

Post by BG8473 »

Maybe we'll get some new information out of Sun-n-Fun in Florida. Linda posted something about Sling doing something today at Sun-n-Fun.

I'm guessing the new Rotax 916 will be standard. It would be awesome if Sling has already done flight testing with the Rotax 916 and was able to release performance numbers. I understand from the Rotax announcement at Sun-n-Fun that other airframers besides Cub Crafters may be poised to make revelations about the 916 on their aircraft.

I have heard the High Wing is heavier than anticipated and this has impacted performance. The Rotax 916 should help address that. The 160 hp max will certainly help takeoff and climb. The max continuous horsepower is 137 vs 135 hp on the 915is. That extra couple horsepower probably will not be very noticeable during cruise.
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