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John Stickel and Ron Jones of S-Wing USA were at the U.S. Sport Aviation
Expo with their new S-Wing light sport aircraft. They introduced it at
Airventure 2007 but at that time the plane had just arrived and they
only had an opportunity to put it on static display. The plane is now
up and flying and have the kit approved under the lightsport aircraft
certification process. The S-Wing is manufactured in the Czech Republic,
as of January 2008 there are 17 flying in Europe 12 in Russia and now 1
in the U.S. The factory now has the capability to produce up to 15
aircraft per month.
Ron Jones who manufacturers the Hiperlight series of bi-planes, was
contact by the factory, who were looking for a distributor in the U.S.
He traveled to the Czech Republic to visit the factory and fly the
S-Wing. At the time John had just learned how to fly and was looking for
a plane, he and Ron decided to become partners and start importing the
S-Wing.
The plane is being offered as a ready to fly LSA. The kit's arrive in
the U.S. in a container. S-Wing USA then reinstalls the tail section and
wings, which takes about two hours and the plane is ready to be
delivered to customers.
The aircraft fuselage uses foam core construction, with a fiberglass
composite covering. The wings are also foam core construction covered in
ceconite.
John indicates that his is 6' tall and 250 lbs, his father who flies
with him on a regular basis is 6' and 300 lbs. both fit comfortably into
the S-Wing which has a cabin width of 52 inches at the shoulders.
Visibility is excellent on the S-Wing which comes standard with a
skylight and bubble style doors which allow a pilot to comfortably look
out, down and back. The pilot restraining system is a 4 point harness.
The seats are easily adjustable by removal of a locking pin, which
allows the seats to fly forward and back.
Power is supplied by the Rotax 912 ULS 100 HP 4 stroke aircraft
engine, with a three blade, ground adjustable, composite propeller. This
gives the plane a 1,000 foot per minute climb rate. Cruise speed is 100
mph. With the 13 gallons of usable fuel on board this gives the plane a
300 mile range.
The wings are removable for storage and transport, in about 20
minutes by two people.
The S-Wing has dual yoke and rudder pedal controls with brakes on the
left hand side. Ground steering is via a steerable nosewheel. The flaps
and trim are activated electrically, via a switch on the control yoke.
The throttle is located on the center console below the dash and in
front of the pilot seats.
The S-Wing comes with a standard flight and engine instrument panel
with an optional glass panel available. The plane also comes standard
with a Micro Air intercom, and Micro Air transponder.
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