Industry Aerospace Headquarters Eikenhof, South Africa | Products Kit aircraft Type of business Privately held company | |
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Owner Mike Blyth, James Pitman, Andrew Pitman Website www.airplanefactory.co.za | ||
The Airplane factory (Pty) Ltd. is a South African aircraft manufacturer based at Tedderfield Airpark, Eikenhof, Johannesburg South. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of light aircraft in the form of kits for amateur construction and ready-to-fly aircraft for the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight and the American light-sport aircraft categories.
The company has three shareholders: Mike Blyth, Director - Development, Marketing and Operations; James Pitman, Director - Corporate; and Andrew Pitman, Managing Director. Other key people include: Terry Musiker, Engineer - Aeronautical Engineering.
The Airplane Factory utilizes numerical control manufacturing and computer-aided design in its aircraft design and production processes.
The company produces the two-seat The Airplane Factory Sling 2, which was first flown in 2008 and the four-seat The Airplane Factory Sling 4, introduced in 2009.
In July 2013 a Sling 4 was flown by Mike Blyth and his son from South Africa to AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. The flight included a 14-hour over-water leg using the modified Sling 4's 20 hours of fuel endurance.