Somewhere, it seems like a group of light plane developers must have held a meeting and decided that low wing manufacturers needed to broaden their line to include high wings. A batch of new models has been unveiled or announced this year. (Article updated 2PM – 7/29 Fri — new image of the gorgeous taildragger; see below) Did these builders not notice the industry already has a whole slew of popular high wing models? Some, like Flight Design’s CT series, has been a market leader since the beginning. Companies in the list below didn’t follow the leader then? Why now? Of course, no such industry agreement happened. Each company examined their lines and chose individually to go forward with their designs. Honestly, they’ve all come out so recently they could not have coordinated such a broad launch in a single year even if they tried. Nonetheless, here they are, one after another.
Oshkosh 2022 – Day 4… TAF’s Sling HW with Rotax 915 is a Big, Comfortable Lightplane
Companies entering the high wing market in 2022, after previously producing only low wing models:
- BRM Aero — Bristell B8
- The Airplane Factory — Sling HW
- Van's Aircraft — RV-15 (prototype flying)
- Sonex — Unknown? (still in early design)
Made for Mosaic?
These new low wing producers also seem to be preparing for the new Mosaic-induced market to come. Why do I write that? Because the first three in the list above are also rather large aircraft. Sling HW explicitly says that it is a four seater. The RV-15 from Van's certainly looks similarly (it's big), although because its a first prototype, the company could change the design as they progress. BRM Aero may be thinking similarlyHow Much?
As regular readers will probably recognize a large, four-seat, 912iS-powered aircraft will not be inexpensive. Sling HW sells for $93,306 with a airframe kits and will take 1,400 hours to complete. Buyers can pay $31,995 more for a Quick-Build kit that saves 500 hours of work.The Airplane Factory Sling HW High Wing TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS all figures provided by the manufacturer
- Wing Span — 31.3 feet
- Wing Loading — 14.8 pounds per square foot
- Fuel Capacity — 50 gallons
- Maximum Gross weight — 2,314 pounds
- Empty Weight — 1,279 pounds
- Useful Load — 1,035 pounds
- Payload with full fuel — 735 pounds
- Seating capacity — 4
- Cabin Width — 46 inches
- Baggage capacity — 77 pound
- Cruise Speed — 145 knots TAS (167 miles per hour)
- Maximum Climb Rate — 900 feet per mnute
- Stall Speed — 49 knots (56 miles per hour)
- Range at 75% power with 45-minute reserve — 880 nautical miles
- Endurance — 8 hours
- Takeoff Roll — 720 feet
- Landing Roll — 590 feet
LINKS:
- The Airplane Factory USA
- BRM Aero (article on B8 high wing)
- Bristell USA
- Van's Aircraft (article to follow)
- Sonex Aircraft
- Rotax Aircraft Engines
COMING SOON!
More stories will follow AirVenture Oshkosh 2022. Today (Friday-July 29th) is my last day on site but more articles will follow a short break, including:- More from FAA — including an announced date for the Mosaic NPRM
- Van's RV-15
- Vee-Twin four stroke lightweight engine
- FAA's annual safety briefing summary
- Icon's latest A5 and their deluxe travel/storage trailer, and
- more news from AirVenture's Fun Fly Zone, where the ultralights and more live.