Sonex 1509 N454EE First Flight
Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 11:09 pmI finally flew my Sonex for the first time today!
https://youtu.be/evcL_ghgduw
It was quite a day. I met the FAA airworthiness inspector at 10am, and had the certificate before 11am. In the back of my mind I thought that there might be a possibility of flying, but I wasn't getting my hopes up. In Michigan this time of year the weather doesn't like to cooperate all the time. When I was a student pilot, I was getting close to doing my cross countries in December, and my instructor told me to come back in March.
I taxied over to the fuel pumps to fill up the fuel tank, and on the way back I noticed that my newly installed Carbon Monoxide detector had turned dark. Just what I needed on the day that I might fly.
My friend Mike and I began the process of determining where and how the fumes were entering. This took a couple hours and quite a bit of duct tape. I ended discovering that the fumes were coming in where the cowling “meets” the fuel fill portion of the firewall. I taped inside of the fuel filler, to the outside of the cowling. After some taxiing, and a NEW carbon monoxide card (you can see both on the instrument panel in the video), I decided it was safe to fly.
Having never even been a passenger in a Sonex before, the first flight had an ample amount of adrenaline. You can see me “jump” off the runway as soon as I get to full throttle. I guess I didn’t need to advance the throttle as slowly as I did.
The Sonex flew great. It was slightly left wing heavy, but that probably because I was sitting on the left side. The cowling’s side vents did their job on the Sonex A model. I’m guessing I’m the first Sonex A model to fly with side cooling vents like the Sonex B model has. We’ll see how they work in the summer.
I did have an issue with my airspeed. As meticulous as I was with “everything” else, I forgot to change from knots to mph. That confused me, and caused me to not trust the airspeed indicator. Hopefully all I need to change is a setting, but there might be something more going on.
I was extra nervous about carbon monoxide fumes, so when I started smelling fuel vapors I decided it was time to land. I think that I was smelling the few drops of fuel that I spilled in the cabin when filling the fuel tank. The firewall warmed up, and the fuel evaporated.
The landing was the part that I was most concerned with skill wise. I only have tailwheel time in a Citabria, and haven’t been flying for the last few years because I had planned on taking the Sonex Transition Training at the “factory”. I did, however, have a lesson in a Citabria a couple weeks ago.
It turns out that the landing was incredibly easy. At about 3 feet off the runway, it felt like a cushion of air was gently lowering me down. I had been watching a Jeff Schultz video of him doing touch and goes over and over. I paid close attention to the nose position in the pattern with and without flaps. Thanks Jeff!
Had I not had the airspeed indicator issue, I would have done three landings to prove I didn’t just get lucky. It just seemed too easy (knock on wood).
Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this forum; it’s been a valuable resource. I also want to thank Kerry at Sonex for the patient and accurate advice. Having dealt with other less than helpful companies, it’s always refreshing to deal with Sonex.
I guess that’s it for this post. Hope to see you guys at Airventure, Sun and Fun, or some other venue.
https://youtu.be/evcL_ghgduw
It was quite a day. I met the FAA airworthiness inspector at 10am, and had the certificate before 11am. In the back of my mind I thought that there might be a possibility of flying, but I wasn't getting my hopes up. In Michigan this time of year the weather doesn't like to cooperate all the time. When I was a student pilot, I was getting close to doing my cross countries in December, and my instructor told me to come back in March.
I taxied over to the fuel pumps to fill up the fuel tank, and on the way back I noticed that my newly installed Carbon Monoxide detector had turned dark. Just what I needed on the day that I might fly.
My friend Mike and I began the process of determining where and how the fumes were entering. This took a couple hours and quite a bit of duct tape. I ended discovering that the fumes were coming in where the cowling “meets” the fuel fill portion of the firewall. I taped inside of the fuel filler, to the outside of the cowling. After some taxiing, and a NEW carbon monoxide card (you can see both on the instrument panel in the video), I decided it was safe to fly.
Having never even been a passenger in a Sonex before, the first flight had an ample amount of adrenaline. You can see me “jump” off the runway as soon as I get to full throttle. I guess I didn’t need to advance the throttle as slowly as I did.
The Sonex flew great. It was slightly left wing heavy, but that probably because I was sitting on the left side. The cowling’s side vents did their job on the Sonex A model. I’m guessing I’m the first Sonex A model to fly with side cooling vents like the Sonex B model has. We’ll see how they work in the summer.
I did have an issue with my airspeed. As meticulous as I was with “everything” else, I forgot to change from knots to mph. That confused me, and caused me to not trust the airspeed indicator. Hopefully all I need to change is a setting, but there might be something more going on.
I was extra nervous about carbon monoxide fumes, so when I started smelling fuel vapors I decided it was time to land. I think that I was smelling the few drops of fuel that I spilled in the cabin when filling the fuel tank. The firewall warmed up, and the fuel evaporated.
The landing was the part that I was most concerned with skill wise. I only have tailwheel time in a Citabria, and haven’t been flying for the last few years because I had planned on taking the Sonex Transition Training at the “factory”. I did, however, have a lesson in a Citabria a couple weeks ago.
It turns out that the landing was incredibly easy. At about 3 feet off the runway, it felt like a cushion of air was gently lowering me down. I had been watching a Jeff Schultz video of him doing touch and goes over and over. I paid close attention to the nose position in the pattern with and without flaps. Thanks Jeff!
Had I not had the airspeed indicator issue, I would have done three landings to prove I didn’t just get lucky. It just seemed too easy (knock on wood).
Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this forum; it’s been a valuable resource. I also want to thank Kerry at Sonex for the patient and accurate advice. Having dealt with other less than helpful companies, it’s always refreshing to deal with Sonex.
I guess that’s it for this post. Hope to see you guys at Airventure, Sun and Fun, or some other venue.