AIRPLANE FACTORY INC· ICAO24 a85d15· last seen 9h ago

N638SS is a Sling TSi, a single-engine piston aircraft operated by AIRPLANE FACTORY INC. SkyMeter has tracked 1,496 flights totalling 1,208 hours of airtime via ADS-B. The most frequent segment is KTOA to KTOA. Service window in our records spans 412 days. Of those flights, 300 (20.1%) carry at least one detected incident: a go-around, unstable approach, stall warning, or runway excursion. The Sling TSi has a maximum takeoff weight of 2,050 lb.

About the Sling TSi

The Sling 4 is a South African-designed four-seat light aircraft that has carved out a distinctive niche in the experimental and kit-built market since its introduction in 2013. Manufactured by The Airplane Factory (TAF) in Johannesburg and marketed globally by Sling Aircraft, it represents one of the few modern all-metal kit planes optimized for both amateur construction and factory-built Light Sport or Experimental certification. Powered by a 115-horsepower Rotax 914 turbocharged engine, the Sling 4 delivers respectable cruise speeds around 140 knots while maintaining docile low-speed handling characteristics with a stall speed under 50 knots in landing configuration.

The aircraft's aluminum construction and relatively spacious cabin have made it popular among builders seeking a capable cross-country tourer that can be assembled in a home workshop, typically requiring 1,200 to 1,500 hours of build time. Its high-wing predecessor, the Sling 2, established the brand's reputation for straightforward construction and good flying qualities, but the Sling 4's low-wing configuration and four-seat capacity opened the design to family and small-group travel missions. The type has gained particular traction in the United States experimental market, where its combination of modern avionics compatibility, fuel efficiency, and relatively affordable kit pricing appeals to owner-builders.

SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.

FLIGHTS
1,496
all time
FLOWN HOURS
1,208
tracked time
📍
AIRPORTS VISITED
85
unique
📡
CALLSIGNS
1
155 routes
📅
SERVICE PERIOD
05/27/2025 → 07/13/2026
first → last
INCIDENT RATE
20.1%
300 flagged

Top routes

By flight count

10
225
92
25
17
16
11
11
11
8
8

Flight numbers

Most-flown by this airframe

1

Aircraft specifications

Sling TSi

Engines
Single Piston
Vref (approach)
60 kt
MTOW
2,050 lb
Wake category
Light

Recent flights

Newest 50 operations of N638SS

50
07/13/2026
48m
No alerts
07/13/2026
54m
No alerts
07/13/2026
1h 33m
No alerts
07/12/2026
35m
No alerts
07/12/2026
1h 19m
No alerts
07/11/2026
1h 10m
No alerts
07/10/2026
27m
No alerts
07/10/2026
1h 27m
No alerts
07/02/2026
12m
No alerts
07/01/2026
25m
No alerts
07/01/2026
57m
△ Unstable approach
07/01/2026
1h 20m
No alerts
07/01/2026
1h 23m
No alerts
07/01/2026
1h 50m
No alerts
06/30/2026
1h 24m
No alerts
06/30/2026
30m
No alerts
06/30/2026
1h 4m
No alerts
06/30/2026
58m
No alerts
06/30/2026
1h 21m
△ Unstable approach
06/29/2026
13m
No alerts
06/27/2026
2h 8m
△ Unstable approach
06/27/2026
15m
No alerts
06/26/2026
50m
No alerts
06/26/2026
46m
No alerts
06/26/2026
55m
No alerts
06/26/2026
34m
No alerts
06/25/2026
36m
No alerts
06/25/2026
44m
No alerts
06/25/2026
27m
No alerts
06/23/2026
33m
No alerts
06/23/2026
6m
No alerts
06/23/2026
55m
No alerts
06/23/2026
2h 23m
△ Unstable approach
06/22/2026
1h 13m
No alerts
06/22/2026
1h 19m
△ Unstable approach
06/22/2026
28m
△ Unstable approach
06/22/2026
19m
No alerts
06/20/2026
1h 24m
No alerts
06/20/2026
49m
No alerts
06/20/2026
40m
No alerts
06/20/2026
40m
No alerts
06/20/2026
9m
△ Unstable approach
06/19/2026
59m
No alerts
06/19/2026
1h 5m
No alerts
06/18/2026
53m
No alerts
06/18/2026
6m
No alerts
06/18/2026
5m
No alerts
06/18/2026
21m
No alerts
06/17/2026
1h 0m
No alerts
06/17/2026
23m
No alerts
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