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The Sling High Wing is a recent E-AB kit plane available from Sling Aircraft. First Flight was at the end of 2020. The first time it actually cut through the noise is when I saw it in a recent Trent Palmer video where N669JP was flying along with Trent’s new Cub on an Idaho adventure. An N number look up let me know the aircraft make & type. Being very familiar with the general Kit Plane offerings this one was rather unique having a slick fuselage, a Tail Wheel configuration and fairly new construction. I knew it was way to big to be a Jabiru and not the right shape to be a Glasair 2+2.
MoJoGrip’s YouTube Channel has been a great ambassador for the Sling TSi where I learned a lot about there low wing aircraft.
The HW is offered in a tail wheel or nose wheel configuration. uses a Rotax 915 iS for power.
Going through some old videos and found one of me flying my Century Hawk .30 at the ERAU Soccer Field in 2003. Had the training gear on to prevent tip overs.
The Bellanca Viking was developed in the late 1960’s and with 1,356 aircraft produced they can still be seen at some airports and there are usually a few at the major air shows. It’s DNA can be trased back to the Cruisair that first flew in the late 1930’s. Production run was 1968 – 1975
I found this great exposed view on the https://aerospaceblog.wordpress.com web site. Much thanks to there information for putting this article together.
While its contemporaries at the time from Piper, Cessna and Beechcraft where all Aluminum, the Viking featured a welded steel tube fuselage, wood wings and fabric covering. Unfortunately wood wings require TLC storage or long term environment to last compared to all Aluminum aircraft that are still flying 6 decades later and are still in production.
Viking’s do come up for sale on the various aviation used aircraft web sites. If you have serious interest in one I highly recommend a prebuy with an A&P with wooden aircraft experience.
Likely because of its lower production numbers & a mid 70’s end of production it seems to have a style that is lost in the see it every day PA-28’s & 172’s.
The Lionheart Creations Viking 58 page POH pdf for the MS flight sim can be found on: https://downloads.justflight.com/support/manuals/SV_300_Super_Viking_POH.pdf PDF looks like it could offer good pointers on flying the actual thing as it has a very accurate 3D interior with functioning buttons and controls.
Windows 10 end of service is in October of 2025, Tariff wars are the hot new trend, Windows 11 is very picky on what hardware it will accept for an install.
The Integral R is a recent 2 seat acrobatic training aircraft from France. It’s powered by a Lycoming AEIO-390. I think its a fairly sharp looking acrobatic aircraft for a side by side configuration and it reminds me of a CAP 232 also from France. The Integral R is available in a tail draggier and nose wheel config.
This aircraft of the month is the Global Explorer, designed by Dean Wilson for Hubert de Chevigny. Dean was the “grandfather of Idaho bush planes” founding Avid aircraft in the early 1980’s. While Piper Cub configuration aircraft dominate most bush aircraft Avid feature side by side seating with folding wings. The front and back wing spars are aluminum tubes and have wood ribs. They also feature full flying flaperons and highly under cambered airfoils. Avid paved the way for aircraft like the Kitfox, Highlander & Rans. My Dream homebuilt aircraft growing up is the Avid Magnum (9/22 aircraft of the month) a larger o-360 powered version of the flyer series.
As post in Facebook and Instagram can get lost quickly or even deleted thought I would pay tribute to Dean Wilson with this article.
Here is a copy of the text from the Facebook article above:
“Wouldn’t it be great to have a flying RV? Meet the Wilson Global Explorer. Possibly the largest homebuilt aircraft ever built, this monstrous machine was developed in the early 90s by Dean Wilson, prolific designer of the Avid Flyer line of homebuilts. The aircraft was built to order for french explorer Hubert de Chevigny, and designed as a “flying lab”, allowing the frenchman to explore remote regions days at a time. (like Jacques Cousteau)
With a gross weight of 8,000 lb, it was powered by 2 Lycomings (250hp and later upgraded to 300hp). Considering its huge wing area, it was more akin to a powered glider than aircraft, with a cruise speed of 95 kts. Perfect for exploring down low and slow. The cavernous fuselage could comfortably accommodate a small family, and even had enough room to fit an Avid Flyer or Robinson R-22 inside. A glass window built in the rear of the fuselage floor allowed you to watch the fishies..just like a glass-bottom boat!
Surprisingly, given its mission, there are not many pictures to be found, in fact some of the cabin interior shots are screenshots from a video.
Explorer 1 crashed in France, as the pilot attempted to takeoff unaware the spoilers were deployed. “Explorer 2” was promptly built, where it resumed exploration flights in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego and Bolivia. It was then sold, and also crashed during a ferry flight. Last known location is somewhere in SW France – not sure if there’s plans to resurrect the Explorer. ”
As you can see the global explorer is one huge homebuilt aircraft, the sea plane configuration and twin engines allow this aircraft true global reach.
The interior space of the aircraft is comparable to an RV, fuselage like its Avid predecessors is all small diameter welded 4130N chromoly tubing.
I’m surprised Jimmy Buffet or Kermit Weeks did not have one commissioned for their own use.
Was only able to find 2 videos on YouTube of the aircraft:
Additional info on the Global Explorer is very limited, there are some wood models on ebay (proceed with caution). With a good 3 view an RC scale model would not be too difficult to do.
Extremely Important Protect Yourself by Filing Form HSMV 82050
Florida law requires sellers to file form HSMV 82050. Filing this form with a motor vehicle service center will remove the seller’s registration from the vehicle and help the seller avoid any civil liability for the operation of the motor vehicle after the sale. Once filed, it becomes the buyers’s responsibility to apply for the title and registration before he/she can legally operate the motor vehicle. If the buyer fails to do this, and the seller does NOT file form HSMV 82050, the seller can be held liable for actions associated with the motor vehicle, even if they no longer own the vehicle. The form also documents the sale and is the legal receipt. Keep copies of the bill of sale (FLHSMV recommends having it notarized), certificate of title or other type of transaction document showing it was sold.
Removing the Plates
In a sale, license plates stay with seller not the vehicle. When motor vehicles are sold, the seller must remove the license plate from the vehicle and may then transfer the plate to a new or replacement vehicle. The seller must surrender the tag to a motor vehicle service center if: The seller is moving to another state; or The seller cancels insurance on the vehicle associated with the plate.
The Giles 200 series aircraft was a popular Acrobatic aircraft developed in the early 90’s in Scappoose Oregon by AkroTech Aviation Inc. Like the Ultimate Biplane its likely more famous as an RC aircraft than the original. Only 12 single seat G-200’s & 26 tandem seat G-202’s where produced so seeing one at a show may be a rare sight.
I remember seeing all kinds of scales of Giles G-202’s quite often at the Jefco Aeromod lers RC filed in at Chat field resistor south of Denver.
Compared to its contemporaries like the Extra 300 or the Cap 232, the Giles series featured a swept back leading edge and a straight trailing edge. A plan form that is quite common on RC pattern Aircraft.
The Solar Stratos is record breaking test aircraft that uses solar power aimed to reach up to 82,000′ with a Propeller. This is U2 / SR-71 Altitude territory. The first flight was in 2017 and the is from Switzerland.
Gould Aero 