Sonex?

J

jdangel

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JeffInBoston
Been looking a lot at the Sonex lately. Has anyone flown one who is willing to write about the flight characteristics? Seems like a quicker build than an RV-9A (which I was also considering), and could also work well cross country at 150 mph (with the 120 hp engine). The fact that you can put one together for around 40K all in helps as well.

Next step will be to actually sit in one at OSH but until summer thought I would just sit here and dream ;)

Jeff
 
What's your mission? X/C with two people? Messing around solo within a couple hundred miles of home? Are you interested in aerobatics? How often (if ever) will you have a passenger?
 
I've got a family with two kids, but so far the mission has been two people half of the time solo the other half, within 200-300 miles from home day trips. I believe much of that is because I rent, and imagine that owning or building would open that up to greater distances though the mission would remain I believe 200-300 miles max. I am all over the place (self admitted) with regards to looking at aircraft to purchase as I would also like to use it for IFR training and/or light ifr after the ticket. Aerobatics have not interested me although I am yet to be exposed to it.

I've been looking at Warriors to purchase, and realize that they are a different animal, however 30+ year old airframes plus higher parts costs really has me thinking.

Jeff
 
I think solo, you'll have more fun in the Sonex. The RV-9 will be a better X/C airplane. One thing to consider is that while both are low wing two seaters, their designed missions are quite different. The Sonex' mission is more along the lines of one of the aerobatic RV's, but with 80% +/- of the price and performance.

Have you considered a used RV-4 or -6? There are some decent ones out there for < $50k and you don't have to build it yourself.

Disclaimer - I built and currently fly an RV-6. I love it.
 
For $40K you can but a nice flying RV-4. Forward visability in a Sonnex is horrible, dangerous IMHO, very distorted due to using dark flat Lexan and curved it to make a wind screen.

If you build a Sonex for $40K it will be worth $25K - $30K when you are done. Build a RV-9A for $65K and it's worth $65 - $70K when you are done.


The market to re-sell an RV-4 is much better than a Sonex.
 
jdangel said:
Been looking a lot at the Sonex lately. Has anyone flown one who is willing to write about the flight characteristics? Seems like a quicker build than an RV-9A (which I was also considering), and could also work well cross country at 150 mph (with the 120 hp engine). The fact that you can put one together for around 40K all in helps as well.

Next step will be to actually sit in one at OSH but until summer thought I would just sit here and dream ;)

Jeff
Click to expand...

My studies show MUCH less than 40 grand for the pricetag. This is the plane that I want to build (this or the Waiex). I have not flown one yet, as I have not seen one in person. If you do, please let me know too, Jeff.
 
Thanks to everyone so far. I actually have seen several last year at Oshkosh but had my heart/mind set on an RV at that point so I spent most of the time drooling at those. I did notice the visibility issues but until I fly in one its unclear if that is a major issue or not.

Since then of course I have considered just buying an older aircraft rather than building but I am having trouble shaking the idea of toiling away in the garage. Maybe I should talk to the wife again for a dose of reality as she is against building based on the 'stuff all over the place' theory.. Nah... Maybe not :D

By the way, the $40K I stated was my estimate based on full kit with all preformed curved parts, as well as decent avionics and the 3300 engine. You absolutely can build them cheaper with a smaller engine and do more of the fabrication yourself for less.

Jeff
 
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Another thing to consider in the "build vs. buy" debate is your time to realization of benefits. If you need to be flying next week, go buy something and be happy with it for the next two+ years in the time that you wouldn't be flying because you were busy building.

OTOH, if you can allow yourself to trade flying time for building time for the next 2+ years, go build it and have a great 100% customized a/c in the end.

A lot of people that start building don't realize exactly how much flying time you sacrifice when building - every hour you spend in the air is one less hour you have to spend on building which means one more hour delay added to your realization of benefits. Let's say you currently average flying 100hrs per year in a rental. If you continue that rate through your building time, and you average 10 hrs/week building time for the next two years, your build is completed 20 weeks later than if you had cut back on flying.

Not to mention the standard budgetary constraints, which vary with each situation.
 
I've sat in a number of sonexii and know a bunch of folks that fly 'em - I utterly disagree with the complaint about the forward viz - I had no trouble at all fitting in the airplane, looking out through the windscreen, etc. Maybe the one that Geico experienced was messed up by the builder, but I haven't seen any problems.]

You can build 'em with the aerovee for $25K. The 3300 would be about $10K more. The ones that I've seen for sale have all sold in the $35 - $45K range.
 
The RV9 and the Sonex are very different aircraft. It isn't fair to either to compare the two. The best plane to compare to the Sonex is the Zenith 601XL or the RV12.
 
Seems like whenever the experimentals get sold, they go for about what the kit and avionics cost. That means you'd better enjoy building, because if you go to sell the thing you'll have built it for free.
 
Geico266 said:
...If you build a Sonex for $40K it will be worth $25K - $30K when you are done. Build a RV-9A for $65K and it's worth $65 - $70K when you are done.

The market to re-sell an RV-4 is much better than a Sonex.
Click to expand...

The numbers qouted above are not accurate in my experience for the Sonex. An 80hp Aerovee powered Sonex tends to sell for high $20Ks to low $30Ks. A 120hp Jabiru powered Sonex generally sell for mid $40Ks. As far as build costs go, you can build an aerovee powered Sonex for anywhere from under $20K for a plans built Sonex (the plans are absolutely excellent) to mid $30K for a Sonex with all of the quickbuild components. for Jabiru power add $10K to both numbers. Sonex aircraft tend to hold their value VERY well from what i have seen.

I am a fairly big guy. Solo, I found the center stick Sonex more comfortable than any of the other planes I sat in. With another person, the seating was cozy but not uncomfortable (at least not for me :D). I wouldn't want to fly with another person for several hours but a nice hop in the air with a pretty girl for a "sight seeing" trip would be no problem. Since 90% of my flying will be solo, that is fine for me.

The OP mentioned 50% of his time being with a passenger and also wanting to do IFR training in it. For this, an RV-9 seems more tailor made to this mission. The sonex will definately cost less and most likely come together quicker, but if it doesn't fit your mission, it doesn't fit your mission.
 
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