Construction is predominantly pop riveted aluminium and fibreglass, with the center of the fuselage made from carbon fiber.

The development of a high-wing model also followed customer demand to provide better ground visibility and back country capability, compared to low-wing aircraft.

This was about 10 knots slower than the low-wing TSi with the same engine at the same power setting, but it’s about as expected due to a larger frontal area and the heavier weight of the prototype.

It will be interesting to see if the lighter production models will go faster, but at any rate, if you’re thinking of comparisons, I doubt you’ll find a standard-engine Cessna 172 that will cruise anywhere near that, and certainly not on 7.7 gph.

The route flown was north along African west coast and across to the Cape Verde Islands, then across the Atlantic Ocean to Barbados, the Bahamas, Florida and over land to Oshkosh.