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Ron Jones of S-Wing U.S.A (pronounced swing) was at Airventure 2007 with a
new design called the S-Wing from The Czech republic. Ron has been
involved for a number of years in the ultralight and lightsport industry
as the owner and manufacturer of the Hiperlight series of biplanes.
In
early 2006 he was contacted by the manufacturers of the S-Wing about the
sales handling the sales and distribution of the S-Wing in North
America. Ron and his partner John Stickel flew over the factory to meet
the owners, and test fly the plane.
The plane entered production in 2005. There are several dozen S-Wings
flying in Europe, with 8 in the process of being delivered to a Russian
company with the plane Ron had on display at Airventure being the first
in North America.
The plane was originally designed by a former Russian engineer and
test pilot. The plane uses composite construction for the fuselage and
wings. Currently the wings are covered in standard aircraft covering
materials but a full composite wing is currently under development.
Ron indicates the S-Wing is currently fully certified under the
Lightsport Aircraft category in the U.S.
The plane features a 52 inch wide cabin, with bubble doors and a full
skylight for excellent visibility. The seats are adjustable and sit in
an incline position. As shorter pilots adjust the seats forward the
elevates them.
The craft uses rudder pedals with dual control yokes, a center
mounted throttle with electric trim and flaps. Flight instrumentation
consists of altimeter, airspeed indicator, vertical speed indicator,
compass, slip/skid indicator.
The Rotax 912 S 100 HP, four cylinder, four stroke aircraft engine is
monitored by the Rotax Flydat system.
There is an area behind the seats, for storage of an overnight bag,
maps, etc.
Ron reports the plane cruises along comfortably at 100 to 110 mph in
cruise, using approximately 4 gallons of fuel per hour. Currently S-Wing
comes with a standard 16 gallon tank located behind the right hand pilot
seat. The factory is also looking at adding a set of wing tanks to the
plane.
While the plane on display had only an hour on hit Ron reports that
the planes he flew in Europe flew very much like a 150 Cessna. "with no
bad flying characteristics, no bad habits, very light on the controls,
with a clean break at the stall."
The factory is geared to produce between 15 and 20 S-Wings per year,
with the capability of doubling their capacity if necessary. Currently
delivery for a ready to fly plane is 6 to 8 weeks.
S-Wing U.S.A. is in the process of setting up a dealer network for
the U.S. and Canada looking for individuals or businesses running a
flight schools or FBO. For more information contact:
S-Wing USA, LLC
42281 Irwin Dr
Harrison Twp
MI 48045
http://www.s-wing-usa.com
John Stickel: (810) 459-1326
Ron Jones: (586) 212-5875 |
