Sling Aircraft Sling 4

Single Piston

The Sling 4 is a South African-designed four-seat light aircraft built by The Airplane Factory and marketed globally as an amateur-built kit. First flown in 2012, it represents a modern take on the touring aircraft category with all-metal construction, side-stick controls, and a spacious cabin that seats four adults in relative comfort. The design emphasizes cross-country capability with a useful load around 900 pounds and cruise speeds in the 140-knot range, powered by a Rotax 914 turbocharged engine that delivers strong performance at altitude. What sets the Sling 4 apart in the experimental aircraft market is its blend of European sport-plane handling with genuine four-seat utility, a niche where many designs compromise either payload or speed. The aircraft has found favor with owner-builders seeking a capable tourer that can be assembled from a complete kit, and it's proven popular enough to spawn a certified variant (the TSi) aimed at flight schools and commercial operators. With a never-exceed speed of 165 knots and a stall speed below 50 knots in landing configuration, the Sling 4 offers a comfortable operating envelope for pilots transitioning from trainers to cross-country machines. SkyMeter has tracked 13 flights across 2 airframes and 1 operators over routes, with AIRPLANE FACTORY INC the largest observed operator.