SonexFlight

AirVenture, the world's biggest airshow in Oshkosh, WI, is less than two months away, and it’s time to get busy finalizing plans for attending. We cover flying in, camping and lodging options, airshow events and more in our 2019 preview.

The Onex is Sonex Aircraft’s single place sportster, being roughly 80% the size of a Sonex and offering more speed and even snappier handling. Onex’s are appearing in the completions gallery more and more, and for good reason! Our guest owns both a Sonex and a Onex and is particularly well suited to describe the similarities and differences the Onex shares with the rest of the fleet.

Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) is a popular addition to experimental aircraft engines, and offers several attractive benefits including balanced mixture distribution, lower fuel burn, increased power and general smoothness of operation. We discuss the SDS EFI system with a successful Sonex builder and the company founder, and lay out what you'll need to add EFI to your AeroVee.

Now that winter has finally retreated and spring flying weather is here for most of us, it’s time for many new projects to make a first flight after being completed during the winter building season. We discuss the important considerations to prepare yourself, prepare the airplane and refine your first-flight plan.

The SonexFlight Podcast is coming up on its third anniversary, and it’s probably past time that we formally introduce ourselves. Your hosts talk about our own aviation backgrounds, share the stories that brought us together on the podcast, and look ahead to goals and objectives we each have in the coming months.

Most Sonex pilots are flying engines that utilize permanent magnet alternators, such as the AeroVee and Jabiru. These systems are simple and effective, but can benefit from a carefully constructed electrical system that incorporates active voltage protection. Our guest Bob Nuckolls helps us dig into overvoltage protection to explain some simple practices we can use in our planes.

Now that winter is fading and flying season is kicking off, it’s time for us to have a look at our planes and get them ready for the season. Smart pilots will pay particular attention to the health and care of their engines. We review the common maintenance items that a pilot will need to consider, and offer our insights to keeping things running smoothly.

Garmin’s new G3X avionics system is targeted to the Experimental and LSA market segment, and offers a lot of bang for the buck. We sit down with Garmin to dig into this system, explaining what you’ll need for your Sonex and how much it will cost to get state of the art capability.

The Rotax 912 is a common engine choice for LSA and sport aircraft, but until just recently has been absent from the Sonex fleet. With Sonex Aircraft now supporting that option, builders are increasingly flying behind Rotax power. We speak with one of the first Rotax-Sonex pilots about his engine installation, and offer some insight and advice to pilots wishing to choose that engine option.

Drilling the wing spars to the fuselage is a final step in completing major assembly of the airframe, and may cause builders grief if not done correctly. We explain how to rig the wings accurately and painlessly, and avoid the need to remake parts from a wing rigging operation gone wrong.

Part of the fun and enjoyment builders derive from their projects is sharing them with others. Sharing can mean many things, but more and more it includes documenting the project using videos, and then sharing them online. We talk with an ambitious new builder about his videos and the goals he has for sharing his build project with others.

At some point every builder faces waning motivation, distractions and a slow-down in their building progress. This can have major impacts to the ultimate success of the project, and in the worst cases can lead to burnt-out builders and abandoned projects. We discuss our techniques and advice to keep motivation up and avoiding builder burnout.

The Jan 1, 2020 deadline to have ADS-B out installed and working is just a little over a year away, and it’s time to start thinking about getting it done. We’ll go over the options that Sonex pilots may want to consider and try to sort out the best units available for our mission set, at the best price possible.

The Sonex Builders and Pilots Foundation is the community organization that represents Sonex owners in the US, and they’ve been hard at work in the background since we last spoke with them. The Foundation has a couple new initiatives that are coming together, and we’ll talk with Mike Farley and Robbie Culver to hear about these efforts.

Builders love having many engine options to choose from, and UL Power has been supplying engines in the 100 hp range for years now. Recently they are starting to gain traction as a Sonex powerplant. We speak with Robert Helms, the US Distributor for UL Power Engines, and hear all about the features and operation of this intriguing engine.

Comfort in the cockpit is important, and really goes a long way to enhancing the flying experience. We cover our favorite techniques for heating and cooling in the cockpit, ergonomic layout, and providing those creature comforts that keep flying fun.

The UK and Europe are home to approximately 100 Sonex aircraft, with about half of those flying. Homebuilding is alive and well, and we’ll hear all about Sonex activities across the pond.

The first customer B-Model Sonex has flown, and it's a B-Model conversion of a flying airplane. We talk about the B-Model differences, making the conversion, and performance of the new plane.

Sonex Aircraft has seen growth and changes over the past several months, and we thought it was time to invite the factory to give us an update on what the company is working on, projects and priorities, and the future of Sonex Aircraft with John Monnett’s upcoming retirement.

The show is over, and we run thru our final thoughts, highlights and the trip back home. See you next year, Oshkosh!