TL-Ultralight StingSport
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Sting is TL-Ultralight's Czech carbon-fibre low-wing two-seater, sold in the United States as the StingSport from 2005 and as the Sting S3 (2007) and S4 (2010): 655 lb empty and 1,323 lb gross with a Rotax 912ULS, a 29 ft 11 in wing and a BRS parachute option, with the factory quoting 97-135 knots cruise (115 at 75% for the S3), a 43-knot minimum speed and about 1,000 fpm.
The Sting is the sports car of the early light-sport imports - carbon fibre, a big canopy, light controls and a 120-knot cruise - and the three generations are different enough to matter: the StingSport has the original wing, the S3 a tapered 9.1 m wing with more useful load, the S4 a reworked canopy, panel, gear and tail, so the model year and version are the identity. The composite structure needs inspection for finish cracks and repairs rather than corrosion, the Rotax wants its five-year rubber and gearbox checks, and many early examples were school or rental aircraft. Useful load at 1,323 lb is around 540-670 lb depending on equipment. As an S-LSA it is maintained to TL's manual by an A&P or LSA repairman, with US support through the importer; TL-Ultralight remains in production with the Sting S4 and the Sirius.
Variants of the TL-Ultralight Sting
- StingSport · 2005 · 66 active · this page
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TAILFAX SCORE
Among 1–2 seat pistons (321 models)
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What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Rotax 912ULS / 912iS (100 hp; 912UL 80 and 914 115 options) |
| Horsepower | 100 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | LSA |
| Production start | 2005 |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise (75 % power) | 115 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range (75 %, standard fuel, 30-min reserve) | 454 nm |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | 1,024 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 43 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 668 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,323 lb |
| Empty weight | 655 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 81 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 66 |
| Median year built | 2007 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 75.76 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 60.61 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 20 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 30.3 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 66 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 66 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 66 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 3.3 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 1.7 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 9.4 of 103 |
| Support | 4.5 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 8.5 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 27.4 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 36.69 · 321 models in class.
- Severity: class median 13.04.
- Access: class median 1,000.
- Support: class median 77.5.
- Liquidity: class median 20.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 8 · scores Sep 30