Overslaan en naar de inhoud gaan

NEDERLANDSE VERENIGING VAN AMATEUR VLIEGTUIGBOUWERS

Building the Sling 2 - PH-SEE

BY: KEITH SMITH


ss1I had my first flying lesson when I was 20, but it was another forty years before I finally got my pilot’s licence.  The aircraft I learned to fly in were nearly as old as me.  I was keen to fly something more modern.  Having taken early retirement, I had the time to build my own plane with some help from Jenny, my wife.
I’m a low-wing man and when I started looking around, the Sling 2 from TAF (The Airplane Factory, a South African based company) caught my attention,  as it looked like a “proper” aeroplane, made from riveted aluminium panels.  The Sling 2 is a 2-seat aircraft. I visited the UK distributor, had a fly in his Sling 2 and liked it.  


I bought the empennage kit from him a few days later (early 2019) and took it home in my car.  I was able to quickly assemble the elevator and tail parts using Cleco® fasteners to get an idea of how they would look.
The next stop was HBM Machines to stock up on tools.  I decided to prime all the components and my spraying technique rapidly improved. The box, where the empennage kit came in, made an excellent spray booth!
The remainder of the kits I ordered directly from South Africa, as at the time TAF did not have Dutch distributor.  
 
The wings were more challenging to assemble, especially getting the same washout (the change in an airfoil's angle of incidence – red.) on both wings.  The most frustrating things however were the fuel tanks. There was an option to buy them pre-assembled but I chose to build (and rebuild them) myself, there was always a leak somewhere.
I ordered the fuselage and finishing kit together and they arrived in December 2019, so I had plenty of things to keep me busy during the first lockdown. The engine, prop and avionics arrived in the summer.  I chose the Rotax 912iS, which uses mogas, the Airmaster constant speed propeller and Garmin avionics (based on the G3X with a G5 as backup).
I installed the steel cables for a ballistic parachute but not the parachute itself.

ss2


I decided to have the plane painted prior to final assembly and used a local paint shop.  This meant I could just wheel the components round on a trolley or on the undercarriage for the fuselage, there was no shortage of volunteers to help me there.
At the end of 2020 I was ready to start moving the parts to the hangar at Rotterdam, and borrowed a car trailer. Transporting the wings along the A13 motorway was very stressful, as I felt they wanted to fly.
By the beginning of 2021, it was starting to look like an aeroplane, and in March I ran the engine for the first time!

ss3


Now it’s mainly bureaucracy to deal with and I hope the first flight will be soon.
I was supported during the build by Jack Hoogewerff from the NVAV and fellow Sling 2 builder Pascal Latten, there is also a very active social media group for the Sling family of aircraft
I’ve learned a lot during this enjoyable project and my next plane will be a lot quicker to build. But I don’t think my wife will agree to a second one though, well not any time soon!