The Griffith Aero Club's new plane - the Sling 2 - finally touched down in the MIA last month.

Complete with a sporty design, auto pilot, a digital avionics screen and smoother handling, the Sling 2 offers local flyers a more modern and sophisticated alternative to the pair of Jabiru J230s currently in the club's fleet.

Aero Club president Peter Little said the $145,000 plane was a fine addition to Griffith's runway and would hopefully help more budding pilots get some airtime.

"It's economical, goes well at cruise speed and it's got all the modern tech. It's just a good all-around sporty aircraft," Mr Little said.

"The issue we had before was that with only two planes it was really hard to squeeze everybody in and find time for everybody to fly. Adding this third plane will help with that a lot and offer us a little bit more lee-way."

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According to flight instructor Bailey Stanmore, everyone who has taken the Sling 2 for a whirl so far has absolutely loved it.

"It's been fantastic to fly and it just performs really well," he said. "The handling of the aircraft is really good and it is a lot easier to fly than the other two planes we have."

Mr Stanmore said the handling of the plane was smooth enough that people learning to fly with the Aero Club would probably now finish their training faster.

"The controls are a little bit more forgiving than the other vehicles we've got so it's a lot easier for taking off and landing which is usually where students struggle."

"I think we'll see students come through and complete their licenses even faster now that we've got the Sling 2."

The new plane was purchased off the back of a successful period for the Griffith Aero Club, which has seen a surge of interest over the past year, particularly from young people.

Speaking to the Area News last year, Mr Little said the aviation group was going from "strength to strength".

He attributed the success to great local instructors, and also said the COVID-19 pandemic may have played a role, by inspiring people to pick up new skills and interests.

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