A factory-production Sling, the NGT, has been on the market since 2021, proving its worth in the training space. Now, the envelope expands, literally, with the newest Sling announced at EAA AirVenture in late July.
The 2M is ready to deliver this month, August 2026, though it did not disclose a price at the show. The Sling LSA starts at $275,820. The 2M joins the twin-engined Sling also announced at the show.
“We didn’t wait for the standards to be published and then start engineering,” said Andrew Pitman, Co-CEO of Sling Aircraft. “We sat in the room while they were being written, and every few months we made another incremental change to the NGT—structure, systems, weights, documentation—so that the airplane would already be there when the rule arrived. It’s been a long, patient process, and the payoff is that we can ship a compliant airplane on day one rather than in eighteen months.”
The Part 22 compliant version will incorporate several key changes, most notably an increase in the maximum gross weight, to 1,540 pounds, which will enable a useful load of more than 600 pounds. So you and your DPE can have the full buffet lunch before taking the flight portion of the exam.
That increase in max gross means Sling can put a whole-airframe parachute on the 2M, along with the new Garmin AXIS flight deck. The powerplant remains the Rotax 912 iS, at 100 horsepower.
And, as with many other two-seaters newly released into IMC with the MOSAIC change, pilots can now log instrument time both in IFR cross-country flight and in training, opening up that rating to flight schools utilizing the new Sling.
The newly launched Sling Safety Network allows larger operators such as flight training organizations to share best practices and standardize training and maintenance across the fleet.
More than 20 flight schools currently operate the Sling models, including the NGT, with more on the company’s radar.
“The Safety Network turns a group of operators flying the same airplane into a network that shares standards, tools, and people,” said Matt Liknaitzky, the other co-CEO of Sling Aircraft. “Combined with an airplane that now carries more, flies longer, and flies IFR, this is a genuine step change for the training market. We also offer both financing and leasing options for schools acquiring fleets, so that the right fleet decision isn’t limited by the capital structure behind it.”
“…“We sat in the room while they were being written,…”
No doubt the room referenced was occupied by the rank and file tasked with development of ASTM F3815-26A, the consensus standard for MOSAIC certified airplanes. It is accepted data by the FAA and, therefore, can be used in finding compliance with FAA Part 22 regulations. What Sling has accomplished underscores the importance of consensus input on new and emerging concepts.
That’s great to see it’s already out. The increased gross weight and useful load definitely helps make it a more practical training plane.
The Sling crowd stopped at my airport near Oshkosh prior to the show. Their machines sure do look good.
Stupid expensive!
Absolutely …and ‘Stupidly’ pounding the final nails into the coffin of (US) ‘General-Aviation’!