By STAN KASPRZYK

FlightLog Archive

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Aircraft Flown

Slings, Comanches and Beavers - Jun 2025

I have been interested in the Sling TSi as a very modern, capable and efficient cross-country airplane since I first flew a TSi out of Torrance, CA in 2018.

Recently, my daughter moved to Colorado, adding a new requirement to my aircraft mission - hot and high performance capability. My trusty Piper Warrior, powered by a 160-hp O-320, was suddenly unable to accomplish all my cross-country missions. As I began to research new aircraft options, I found out that there were a number of Sling TSi aircraft either based in the Puget Sound, or in the build process and planned to be based in the Northwest. In addition, my friend Kevin expressed an interest in a more modern cross-country aircraft than his capable but 66-year old Piper Comanche, which Kevin uses extensively to travel to Cavanaugh Bay (66S) and Priest Lake, ID.

After contacting a few Northwest Sling owners, Sling owner Rob Smith agreed to give us an orientation flight, especially after he learned of our Cavanaugh Bay destination, since a visit to 66S was one of his cross-country visit goals. Kevin sweetened the deal with an offer to let us both get some seaplane time in his gorgeous Beaver on floats.

Initially, Kevin and I both planned to fly in Rob's Sling TSi together, but Kevin needed to fly his Comanche to 66S on our scheduled Sling orientation day, so I coordinated a formation join up to allow us to compare performance, and to allow Kevin to lead us through a typical descent and approach through the mountains and over Priest Lake to land at Cavanaugh Bay. Rob and I climbed out of Boeing Field (KBFI) as Kevin departed from Puyallup (KPLU), and we used ADS-B for a smooth rejoin at 11,500 feet over Cle Elum Lake in the eastern Cascade foothills.

I had Kevin continue eastbound to Idaho as I rejoined into close formation on his wing, and Rob proceeded to get some good air-to-air photos as Kevin took some shots of us on his wing. We flew a performance comparison, and were all surprised how well the Sling TSi, even with its gear down and bolted, kept up with the Comanche with its gear up, while sipping Costco unleaded autogas in its Rotax 915iS engine vs the Comanche's 100LL and O-540.

As we descended into Idaho, we throttled back in the TSi and moved into trail with the Comanche, and followed Kevin over Coolin, ID at the south end of Priest Lake, then flew north hugging the foothills just east of the Cavanaugh Bay airfield. We checked the windsock, which favored the preferred south landing direction to the uphill 3100'x 120' turf runway 15. Rob followed Kevin on final for a nice touchdown and short roll out on the relatively smooth grass.

After parking both birds at the north end of the field, Rob, Kevin and I then proceeded via a Seadoo Switch shuttle boat to the nearby Tanglefoot Seaplane base, where we helped Kevin move his DeHavilland DHC-2 Beaver on floats out of the hangar and down the ramp into the water. Kevin expertly coached Rob through his first left seat Beaver flight, taking a short low-level cruise around Priest Lake up to the Elkins Resort restaurant for a delicious lunch with Kevin's wife Hannah and a friend. Since I am more comfortable with a throttle in my left hand, Kevin gave me the right seat in the Beaver for the return flight. With a fairly strong south wind, the Beaver leaped airborne after a short run from Elkins and Kevin had me fly to the north for a water landing on Upper Priest Lake, and then coached me through four more aggressive water landings as we made our way south back to Tanglefoot.

Once back at Tanglefoot, we rode the Seadoo back to the Cavanaugh Bay airport, where Rob gave Kevin a quick local flight to give him a feel for the Sling. Kevin was impressed with the climbout capability, smooth flight controls and short landing rollout. Since the afternoon was waning, Rob and I bid our farewells, and launched downhill off runway 33. We quickly climbed to 10,500 feet, then descended to 8500 feet for better winds westbound. Rob gave me some practice with the Garmin G3X and autopilot operation as we flew over the Grand Coulee Dam, then across the south end of Lake Chelan, then over Highway 2 and Skykomish to a right downwind to runway 32L at Boeing Field after two 360s for spacing.

Thanks Rob for an update on the Sling's performance and cross-country capability, and thanks Kevin for my five water landings and more Beaver time!

Epilog

Kevin's wife Hannah sent me an impressive poem that she wrote just after our arrival - well done! "The Tale of Sling and Comanche"
By Hannah and the Skywind Crew

At the edge of a sunny meadow near a tall green forest, two airplanes rested side by side.
One was bright red with sharp, modern lines and a silver smile. His name was Sling TSi, but his friends just called him Sling.
The other was painted a deep blue and white, with shiny wingtip tanks and a golden stripe. She was older and wiser, and her name was Comanche 250-though everyone called her Manny.

Sling stretched his wings and hummed, "Let's go flying! I want to zip over the mountains and see how fast I can cruise today!"
Manny chuckled. "You and your speed! Always in a rush. Back in my day, we didn't have fancy glass cockpits and turbo buttons."
Sling grinned. "Well, back in your day, dinosaurs flew biplanes!"
Manny laughed. "Touché, young spark plug."

They lined up on the grassy runway. Sling revved his Rotax engine, sipping just a bit of fuel like a polite guest at tea. Manny powered up her big Lycoming, roaring proudly like a lion who'd flown across the country more times than she could count.
As they flew side by side, Sling dashed ahead with his slick frame and modern avionics.
But when the air grew bumpy over the hills, Manny steadied herself with her sturdy frame and long wings, gliding smoothly like a bird who'd seen every storm.

They landed together in a hidden valley where wildflowers danced and rabbits watched curiously.
"Whew," Sling said. "That was fun! You're smooth in the wind, Manny."
"And you're quite the mountain climber," she replied. "That turbocharger really works magic."

They looked up at the sky, where clouds drifted and dreams floated.
"Let's keep flying together," Sling said.
"Deal," Manny smiled. "Fast or slow, old or new-real friends always find the same runway."

The End.