Sonex 4 place anyone?

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Sonex 4 place anyone?

Postby Ontario_pilot » Fri Jul 15, 2022 8:52 am

I deleted the post after seeing that others believed it’s not a good idea…
Last edited by Ontario_pilot on Sun Jul 02, 2023 12:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Sonex 4 place anyone?

Postby sonex1566 » Sat Jul 16, 2022 9:33 am

Sorry, but I've got to rain on your parade....well from my own perspective anyway. I live in Australia where aviation costs range from 'gulp' to 'eye watering'. My personal problems, well at least the ones people don't talk behind my back about are health related and not getting any younger. I've had diabetes since I was a kid, I got a class 2 medical once but it had so many conditions on it that made it not worth the trouble. By the way, any diabetics out there who have managed to make a living out of flying, I salute you. It's not easy. So LSA is my only option, it's hard to beat Sonex's bang for buck value. I have spent a lot of time with my hangar neighbour talking with and about his RV 10. It's a lovely aircraft, he has got every bell and whistle you can think of on it. He spent more on his engine than I did on my complete aircraft! I know if you removed at least 3 bells and a whistle from his aircraft he would be $100k better off but still be way over the Sonex cost. But you can't get away from needing the bigger motor and that much metal to get you and 3 friends off the ground. I personally can't see a large enough market for another aircraft in this category. I'm certainly interested to hear other peoples opinions. Good luck regardless.
Richard
Scratch build Sonex
Std gear, dual control
Jabiru 3300, Sensenich prop
19-8776
1st Flight 25th June 2019. 170 hrs so far.....
http://www.sonex1566.com
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Re: Sonex 4 place anyone?

Postby Ontario_pilot » Sat Jul 01, 2023 11:14 am

Deleted the post after seeing it wasn’t a good suggestion
Last edited by Ontario_pilot on Sun Jul 02, 2023 12:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Sonex 4 place anyone?

Postby Bryan Cotton » Sat Jul 01, 2023 12:32 pm

Why is it not offered by Zenith any more? Why would Sonex want the liability of someone else's design?
Bryan Cotton
Poplar Grove, IL C77
Waiex 191 N191YX
Taildragger, Aerovee, acro ailerons
dual sticks with sport trainer controls
Prebuilt spars and machined angle kit
Year 2 flying and approaching 200 hours December 23
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Re: Sonex 4 place anyone?

Postby Ontario_pilot » Sat Jul 01, 2023 2:57 pm

I deleted the post after seeing that the suggestion was not a good idea..
Last edited by Ontario_pilot on Sun Jul 02, 2023 12:54 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Sonex 4 place anyone?

Postby Bryan Cotton » Sat Jul 01, 2023 5:49 pm

I see you really like the airplane and that is cool. None of your response really answers the questions though:
Why is it not offered by Zenith any more? Why would Sonex want the liability of someone else's design?


As a confirmed part of the Sonex target population, I would say that the airplane offers nothing that I want. Looks is a part of it, and I'm not keen on Zenith engineering. I do like my Waiex - looks, structure, static testing, efficiency, handling qualities.
Bryan Cotton
Poplar Grove, IL C77
Waiex 191 N191YX
Taildragger, Aerovee, acro ailerons
dual sticks with sport trainer controls
Prebuilt spars and machined angle kit
Year 2 flying and approaching 200 hours December 23
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Re: Sonex 4 place anyone?

Postby sonex892. » Sat Jul 01, 2023 7:59 pm

Whilst I doubt Sonex would be interested in the 640, I believe there could be a market for a lower priced 4 place. You only have to look at the outrageous second hand prices of the Sling TSi to assume a more budget minded 4 seater would sell.

If you like the CH640, why not get hold of a set of plans and build one of those from scratch? I am pretty sure full plans sets were sold.
Steve
Lazair kit 1981 sold
Sonerai 2LS plansbuilt 2003 sold
Sonex kit 2010
Sonerai 2LS project rotax 912
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Re: Sonex 4 place anyone?

Postby lutorm » Mon Jul 10, 2023 2:16 am

If you've got time and motivation, I believe a Cozy Mk IV 4-seater can be built for a pretty reasonable price. Unbeatable performance (and coolness) for what you end up paying, IMHO. But it's a lot of work.
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