| 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. | 
