The Airplane Factory

The Airplane Factory USA (TAF-USA) is located in southern California at Torrence Airport just south of Los Angeles. This is where the Sling is assembled, detailed and certified. The base aircraft is  in Johannesburg South Africa and shipped to Torrance.

The company principles also developed and operate MGL Avionics which is a full line of avionics for certified S-LSA and kit-built airplanes.
TAF produces the Sling series of world-circling aircraft (literally) and now this fine-flying, all-metal beauty is available in the United States as a Special Light-Sport Aircraft.

Slings lead all other aircraft manufacturers by providing the newest Rotax powered  aircraft for the 4 seater and high wing kits.

For the adventure of it, and also to prove the aircraft to themselves and the world, during July and August 2009 Mike Blyth and James Pitman, the company’s founders, flew the production prototype Sling 2 around the world. The aircraft performed flawlessly, flying numerous legs over 2000nm (3600 km) over the world’s oceans, east to west and with almost the entire route in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The only differences between the round-the-world aircraft and the standard production Sling were additional fuel tanks in the wings and an additional 15 layers of glass-fiber in the undercarriage.

Indeed, Sling was created using the latest computer software in so precise a fashion that taking off on an epic global flight shortly after completing the airplane was a well-calculated risk. It was a challenge, aeronautically and physically, but neither Blyth nor Pittman worried excessively about their heavily-loaded Sling…carrying more than 700 pounds in fuel alone! They knew it would do the job and they proved their claim in a dramatic fashion. Now, as they say, “You can fly the adventure!”

You’ll find the aircraft has excellent control characteristics…ease of landing, gentle stalls with ample warning, and predictable stability throughout the normal range of maneuvers. Agreeably priced, the Airplane Factory builds wonderful aircraft to make your own.

Got questions?

Contact Paul