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So I've made arrangements for the purchase of a 3300 Sonex and I'm going to trailer it home. The plane is a complete flying air frame. Just looking for some advise or any gotchas from those who might have hauled their planes in the past.

Congratulations!

Congratulations on the purchase of your plane!

If you have not done so PLEASE PLEASE go to the Sonex transition training!

In trailering your aircraft, I have used a Rider 23foot truck and an 18 foot trailer with a V nose. I had to take one tail tip off a horizontal stabilizer to get it to fit.

Protect the wings! They fit on the side of the fuselage in a cradle. But make sure nothing slides into them. Also make sure they are padded near the straps on the cradle. Swinging in the cradle can cause the wings to hit the cradle strap attachments.

Be patient when installing the wings. It takes ME most of a day. Others can do it in two hours. I have a tough time with the pins and hooking up the flaps.

You will really enjoy you plane! Have fun and fly safe!

I hear ya about the transition training but that’s not realistic given my schedule and the costs involved with getting to KOSH. What would you recommend as a plan B?

Plan B is to get some dual in a Sonex...at least a couple of hours. Or in a similar type...RV, etc.

Depending on where you are, there are others with the LODA to give transition training.

But as others have said, PLEASE get some time in type!

Congratulations on the purchase!


Robbie Culver
Sonex 1517
Chicagoland
Tails and Wings complete - finishing fuselage.
N1517S reserved

Congrats on the purchase of your new airplane! Can you give us any details on the airplane itself?

Jake gave excellent points on moving your airplane home. As he said, the thin skins on these airplanes are easy to dent so make sure everything is well padded and secured so nothing moves around on you! How far do you need to travel? A Waiex owner up in upstate NY trailered his airplane home from the Vegas area and pulled the fuselage behind a truck (on a trailer) and had the wings wrapped up well inside the truck. He got home with no issues.

Great questions on the training. Hopefully there is someone nearby who can help you out. Time in another Sonex is the best training possible, or you could always find another Sonex pilot to fly in your plane with you. If yours is tailwheel, it's never bad to brush up on those skills as well.

Thanks for the post and let us know how the journey home goes!

vwglenn wrote:I hear ya about the transition training but that’s not realistic given my schedule and the costs involved with getting to KOSH. What would you recommend as a plan B?

I got some dual time in a Sonex from a buddy (there was no transition training at the time). The biggest thing was getting the sight picture during approach and landing. Pay close attention to the attitude during flare.

I consider myself smart enough not to just hop in it and go. That’s one of the reasons I’m towing it home. I’m not scared of the thing but, with the amount of warning I’m getting here, you’d think everything I’ve read about the handling qualities of the thing were bogus. I fully intended on getting some time in one in CSV but I was pre-buying the plane at the time and couldn’t make it. Don’t worry, I’m not just going to fire it up and fly into the sunset without, at least, getting some dual. I sold my 170 about a month and a half ago so I have a fair amount of tailwheel time. If there is someone on these boards who is in the ATL area, I’d be interested in getting some Sonex specific work done. My plane or yours.

When I get it back, Intend on spending a few weeks going through it with a fine toothed comb. It’s a standard Sonex #600. Tailwheel with dual stick and a 3300 solid lifter in the front. I’m trailering it on a flatbed back from Texas to my home airport in Georgia with a good friend and A&P who has shipped more than his fair share of planes.

vwglenn wrote:I’m not scared of the thing but, with the amount of warning I’m getting here, you’d think everything I’ve read about the handling qualities of the thing were bogus.

Please don't be offended; with the recent string of "bad luck" accidents we've had over the last year, everyone is hyper-sensitive and wants to help. You're going to love the way your new airplane flies...must more sporty than the 170! And with the Jab up front, much faster too!

I'm very excited to hear about your purchase, and if you get the time at some point, don't be afraid to post pictures! Which airport as you going to be based at?

Best of luck on the journey home!