SBPF Annual dues

[kmacht]

Ok, I’m in. If the foundation needs involvement to get back on track what can I do to help? Is there a list of things the foundation wants to accomplish so we can see where our individual skills might be put to good use or where we want to volunteer our time?


Keith
#554

[Sonex Foundation]

Thanks Keith

For reference, many type clubs go through this ebb and flow. It’s not just us.

Honestly, we need to reset the Foundation. I mean no offense to anyone currently or recently involved, but we just haven’t done anything. (And I am included in that comment. I should have caught the website issue sooner.)

So the first thing I would say we need is help with the website (I have the log in). Once we have that we can look at the bylaws again.

After that we need to assess who is still ‘legal’ on the BOD and who is being replaced. Since we are registered in the State of Illinois, we have certain legal requirements to meet. The forms were filed, the fees were paid, but we need to have meetings and minutes. That also means means BOD meetings and an election.

Then we need people willing to step up and be involved. From that a list of objectives can be developed. That was difficult for us in the past. We tried to come up with real, tangible objectives that we could complete and that would mean something to members.

The time commitment for the BOD really isn’t that much. Four or five annual meetings and whatever projects are decided.

So for the community as a whole, what would you like to see the foundation do?

[Scott Todd]

Training. I'm a current CFI with about 2000 hours. I have a Kitfox I built in '97 and a Youngster Biplane with an AeroVee I built in 2005. I've owned a Sonex and flown several others including first flights on a Sonex and a Onex. I'm finishing a Onex that should be flying in the next few months. I'm about ready to paint. I'm a mostly retired Aerospace Engineer but still young and healthy (57). When I quit work to raise our three adopted, special needs children, I made a deal with my wife I wouldn't use family money to support my hobbies. Well that has been a stretch and she is pretty supportive. I'm free most days between 9-2 and work on airplanes or hang out at he airport. I give lots of transition training in my Kitfox but basically do it for free because I can't charge for the airplane. If I get free lunch out of the deal, I'm pretty happy :) I really enjoy it. I'm not a big fan of giving primary training but the transition stuff with current pilots is a lot of fun for me. I really like helping pilots understand the Aerodynamics, Physics, and safety of stick and rudder flying.

Once I'm done with the Onex, I want to buy a flyable or near-flyable Sonex with a 3300 or Turbo AeroVee. I've reached out to Sonex, Insurance, and the FAA about LODA and transition training. I think it will be a fun retirement gig and provide a small income to support my hobby. I don't need family money as my Wife takes care of that. I live in Phoenix where the weather is really good for flying year round. Airline flights from all around the country are accessible and affordable. I have a hanger with room for the Sonex. I have access to a classroom for teaching ground. I would be happy to be involved. Especially in the training area.

I was once a computer guru in the Engineering world but tossed in my hat several years ago. I drive a Mac and iPhone because I just don't want to mess with it anymore. So I'm not the one to help with that aspect but I'll gladly serve on a board, participate in Skype meetings, and contribute to the training aspects if needed. I see future for the foundation where it has people available to give transition training, insurance companys willing to work with us as a group, fly-ins, tool loan program, etc.

Who doesn't want to come to sunny Phoenix in the winter for a few days, get to fly in the beautiful South West, get a flight review, learn some cool stuff, meet insurance requirements for their airplane, and have a great time!

Scott Todd
N42KF
N42BP
N23092
KCHD

[kmacht]

A few thoughts on things the foundation might be able to help the community out with:

1) Transition training. Although the foundation can't provide training it would be nice to have a compiled list of CFI's that are familiar with the Sonex and either hold a LODA or are willing to do some training with you in your own aircraft. It is tough to find someone to do training in your own aircraft if it was just built but there are alot of second hand Sonex owners now and having a list of CFI's willing to work with them in some capacity would be a big win.

2) Safety - The Sonex has unfortunately gotten a bit of a bad reputation due to some high profile accidents (maybe not deserved). It would be nice if the foundation were able to keep a running database or spreadsheet of accident statistics on the sonex fleet of aircraft with a direct link to the NTSB report. Something updated every few months with the number of registered aircraft, how many accidents, how many fatalities, engine type if known, cause if known, etc. Almost all that data can be found my mining the NTSB database but having it in one central location may help people look at common areas of concern during their build

3) Best Practices / Tech tips - There are a few places on the Sonex that the blueprints aren't exactly clear. The fuel system is a great example. The recommendations on how to setup the fuel line with what type of filters, how to install cockpit reachable shutoffs, routing, insulation, etc in order to get reliable fuel flow on a sonex would be helpful. Jeff Schultz had a great post a few years ago talking about best practices to help reduce the burps/fuel line vapor bubbles. I wish things like that post were more readily visible for new builders and owners to look at and see if they want to make any changes to their fuel system. Fuel is just one area and I am sure there are all sorts of best practices on other things that could be shared. Things like the discussions recently had on the forum about different oil pressure senders and voltage regulator options would be great to document somewhere. The different wing gap seals that work on a sonex would be another. The sonex plans are some of the best out there but there are alot of details that are still left up to the build to figure out on their own and having a central location for best practices for those areas would be great.

4) Tool Loan program - There used to be one in the past but I don't think it is still active. I know that I have a bunch of Sonex specific tools (flanging dies, bucking bars, wing rib router templates, etc) that I probably won't ever use again but would be willing to loan out to other builders if there was a formal way for people to request them and to track who had them last. Other builders have loaned me things like the wing spar stepped drill bit and the aerovee spark plug timesert kit. Being able to save some money and borrow the one time use tools was really helpful to me during the build. If the foundation doesn't want to physically hold onto a set of tools then at least some sort of database or contact sheet for who has what, how to contact them, and what they are willing to lend under what terms would be great.

5) Alternate sources - I know that the foundation isn't directly associated with the factory but I'm not sure how this would go over. Maintaining a list of alternate sources for parts may be helpful for times when the factory doesn't have a part in stock or if there is an alternate or different part available. Things like gear legs being available from titaniumjoe, equivelant or alternate voltage regulators and oil pressure regulators available on amazon, sonex brake kits from Tracy O-brien or other sources, or a number of common VW parts like gaskets, oil change kits, etc with a cross reference to part numbers at auto stores like Napa all would be helpful to the community.

6) Fun stuff - How about a link to some of the better sonex videos on Youtube. Things like Aaron's epic trips to Alaska or the Bahamas could help keep the momentum going for those struggling with the build. Other things like a place for people to submit pictures of their panels or interiors would be nice. When I was building 15 years ago there was a file out on the old yahoo group that had pictures of about 30 different panels that people submitted. It was a great place to look at ideas for how people fit everything they needed into the small panel space or what you thought looked good or didn't.

I am sure there are other ideas I can come up with and I am willing to put forth some effort to help with some of those above if any of them are things the foundation wants to move forward with.

Keith
#554

[Fastcapy]

A few thoughts on things the foundation might be able to help the community out with:

Those are all great suggestions! I agree with all of them.

[Sonex Foundation]

Awesome conversations!

So - accident database.

http://www.sonexbuilders.net/accidentdatabase/

This is on the forum if you look on the right side (not far from that DONATE button!).

Funny it comes up again. We kept one and it was problematic. I was on a business trip to San Diego when a (now former) member called me. He was....direct....

It turns out the accident database included him. He *demanded* (I’m being polite) that it was removed immediately. I pointed out it was public knowledge and in the NTSB database, which we linked in the summaries. Yeah, that didn’t help.

Best practices - excellent suggestion. We tried and tried, got some done, but not enough. Definitely something that would add knowledge if it was properly vetted. (Jeff did something similar here)

Transition training has been something we worked on since day one. Currently there are no LODA holders. We did have articles on obtaining one but when the insurance quotes came in.....yeah. That didn’t fit the budget for most owners. That’s how the two transition training guides came to be.

At one point we were actually offered an aircraft. It didn’t seem to be a manageable situation so we declined, but I always wondered if we could find a way to manage one for transition training. It would be complicated and expensive.

The tool loan program is still fairly active. Could definitely be better.

Alternate sources - an interesting idea. My concern is when we recommend an alternate source and someone comes back and blames us for doing so. And the factory response.

YouTube videos - cool idea! We made several also. We still have a YouTube account and channel. I still have a bunch of the Yahoo files and many of them were on the website.

These are all excellent ideas. Now let’s doing something with them and get the foundation back on track.

Who has time and knowledge of websites? We use GoDaddy so it’s not like you are writing code.

[Sonex Foundation]

There are two other things we had discussed that are worth revisiting

https://youtu.be/QCJALl9u8D8

That’s a link to the YouTube video we made to show members yankin and bankin. It was fun and we should do it again.

Also a data sharing day. Everyone go fly, gather raw data, and make it available. Record the engine, prop, airframe, weather and weight. Make it available for others to see so we can all get an idea of the real data set.

[WaiexN143NM]

Hi all,
Thanks to all who responded to this thread. Robbie, until the website is back up and running could people join or
renew by sending a check to tom jones?

Thanks to past board members who have kept things going.
Michael, Robbie, Carl, Eric, Tom, Dana, Mike, Michael.

I’d like to stay on for another year , then let someone else have the privilige of being on the board. Until osh 2022.
Ive scrubbed eaa osh 2021 off my calendar, my second time missing it (last yr too) . since it has been in oshkosh.

The board didnt do much this last year because we were trying to keep ourselves and families alive.

Is anyone out there who is knowledgable in web sites and could take over the task of maintaing it?

Robbie, lets do a board zoom to catch up mtg requirements.

To paid members of sbpf, thanks, the money was spent on zoom membership, some money to jeff for the podcasts, some money to chris for the website, and banking funds for the annual sbpf picnic during osh at kathy and waynes
7th heaven airpark.

SBPF- keep it alive and please join , donate your time and expertise.

WaiexN143NM
Michael
Sbpf board member

[dboeshaar]

I can confirm this. The website is not currently functional, and until someone steps up to address it, it will remain that way.

Your foundation needs member involvement. That’s where we are at.

I see the sonexfoundation.com web site is down.

Do we know what the issue is? the name of the company hosting the site? I'm new here, and I'm just thinking about building a Waiex-B. Not a web expert, but
I can help with computer stuff.