New FAA Changes to E-AB Transition Training Possible

[SonexN76ET]

Sonex offers factory transition training. It was some of the best money I have ever spent to attend. I understand Mike Farley in Ohio is also authorized by the FAA to provide transition training in Sonex aircraft. Either way, the transition training is money well spent.

Do a search for transition on this site and you will find consistent positive feedback about the training.

Jake

[aferddaberts]

Hello out there in Spnex Forum land,

I think this question would be appropriate under this heading. It has to do with having a "Tech Counselor" have a look at your build prior to getting to the point of it being difficult to see areas already covered up. I saw something in the Forum yesterday regarding this. I sent in a message like this one yesterday using my Ipad and I don't think it was delivered. So again I ask, how do I get in touch with a Tech Counselor in my area to look at what I have built thus far. I would really like for someone with a lot of experience to inspect my work up to this point.

Thanks

AL Roberts Waiex #0209

[Sonex1517]

Hi Al

My technical counselor was a member of my EAA chapter. Check around and see if there is one in your area or call EAA headquarters in Oshkosh on Monday.


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

[Gripdana]

Al,
Here is a link to the tech counselor page on the EAA website. You will need to log in as a member to access the page.

http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-comm ... -counselor

[tom0nex74]

Thinking of finishing my 0nex with paint, polish and decals. Haven't polished anything since I left the infantry in '62.. Would appreciate advice from those out there trained and experienced in the art of aircraft polishing.............................Thanks........Tom Ryan 0nex 74

[wlarson861]

Use Nuvite!! There is a video on the Sonex site showing the process that works. Polishing takes a bit of work initially but the more you polish the longer it lasts and the better it looks. The swift foundation has dialed in the process. Go to the Nuvite website and look at the process. The polish looks great and saves several pounds over paint. I polished everything that was not fiberglass.

[DCASonex]

Do not know what stage you are in as to assembly, but by far the easiest way to polish is with sheets in the flat on a table before assembly. That way you can apply some pressure to move molecules around to fill in tiny voids, what Nuvite refers to as healing the surface. Heavy pressure after assembly will leave skins showing ribs. I can be done with lighter pressure after assembly, but takes longer.

David A.

Sonex #1327 Lazy man's polish, undersides of wing and tail plus all moving surfaces painted.

[SonexEZ]

I for one am thrilled that Robbie has started this post. I really hope that this will ultimately lead us as a community of friends, builders, and pilots into a new direction of safety oriented discussions, stories, and recommendations. I know there are a lot of people out there reading these posts with questions about building, flying, and maintaining these airplanes; if you're one of them, this is an excellent place to voice your question or story!

If you all don't mind, let me begin by offering my two cents on the subject. First off, for those of you who were at Crossville this year, you heard me talk about my one and only experience with mixing 100LL with automotive fuel which had ethanol mixed in. This led to me losing my engine in flight, but thankfully I was able to glide back to the airport. Little did I know at the time, but ethanol eats into rubber so as I departed my home airport, my SS braided fuel line was slowly deteriorating as I took off. Ultimately it took around 8-10 minutes for the ethanol to eat into my fuel line which caused small rubber chunks to block my needle valve in my AeroInjector, thus causing fuel starvation. The first thing I noticed was a spike in EGT's, and as soon as I saw that, I immediatlely began heading back to the airport. After another moment my engine began to miss, so I began looking for farm fields where I could land, just in case. As I approached my airport the engine ran worse and worse, but it kept producing power until I was turning onto Final Approach in a position where I could make a normal landing, which is what happened.
Moral of the story? First, I certainly don't recommend using automotive fuel with ethanol, but if you do, stay close to your airport when you first begin to test that fuel. This wasn't the fault of the engine or airplane; I should have never tried that fuel. Also, always remember to have suitable landing sites in mind as you're flying, just in case. When is the last time any of us practiced "Engine Out" procedures we rehearsed during training? It's probably been a while...just a thought...

My second story is actually on a non-Sonex path, but there's still a lesson to learn. In my "day" job as a corporate pilot, I normally fly our airplanes to and from maintenance events. There's a common joke among corporate flight departments; If you want your airplane to break on you, take it in for an inspection! The first time I flew our Hawker jet in for a phase inspection, I did a post-inspection test flight and it all seemed to go well until we landed. After landing, I did a walk around check only to find the entire aft fuselage and tail was covered with hydraulic fluid! It turns out the maintenance staff over tightened a hydraulic line on a thrust reverser and cracked a steel fitting, leading to a big hydraulic leak.
Just yesterday I was test flying a KingAir 350 and as I was climbing out around 9000' in IFR and icing conditions, I had one engine roll back to 'flight idle', which is a fancy way of saying idle power. After returning to the engine shop it turns out the mechanics forgot to tighten and safety wire a pressure control line to the engine's fuel control unit, and when the nut backed off the line I lost throttle control due to this pneumatic leak.
Moral of this story? It's always a good idea to have an extra set of eyes to check things over during inspections. Be cautious and check your airplane over with a fine-tooth comb after a Condition Inspection, because you never know. Consider enlisting the help of an A&P to check things over, or if you use an A&P for your Condition Inspections, don't be nervous to check things over yourself. The more sets of eyes that look at things, the less the chance that something will get missed.

Does anyone else have any stories or questions? I hope this is a conversation that will continue! I have plenty of stories but I'd rather hear what you all say...

Mike i just have to put my 2 cents in on this , the sonex i picked up was built by someone else and with all the help on this web page i was able to bring it back to life , I am a A& P many years but havent worked on smaller aircraft for more then 20 years till i got this sonex , with that said , I found bolts with out the cotter pins , i found bolts aiming the wrong way , should always be top to bottom or front to back , most know what i mean , i found wheel bearings so dry i also most replaced them , I found a exhaust valve so too tight it destroyed the seat , I found a communication radio hooked up wrong and could not recived more then 5 miles away ,. I found a crack in the prop and it was being flown that way , the prop was sent back to prince and could not be repaired . I could go on and on , to think someone was flying this aircraft , it took me 5 months to get it back to being safe again , thanks Sonex forum !!! (Death wish ) ??

[ScottM-Sonex1629]

Just wanted to give a thumbs up for the Sonex T-Flight Transition training. I completed the recommended 2 hours ground + 2 hours flight time today with Joe Norris and the program was perfect for my currency level (haven't flown in almost a year) and preparation for the first flight of the Sonex I have been building. The factory has just about every type and configuration to choose from so the training fits your build and needs.

Joe goes at the pace you are prepared for and completed all of the training I requested in the 4 hour plus time we spent together. As a bonus we were able to complete my flight review so I good for another 2 years!

If you can afford to build or purchase a completed Sonex, you can afford to take a day or two of your time and $400 to conduct the T-Flight training.

[xymox]

I'll add my 2 cents. For safety sake of course.
I'm one of those guys who bought a sonex second hand. I also do not have a private pilot cert. I'm only interested in light sport. I have about 40 hours flying 152 and 172 so I do have some comfort in a small plane. I wanted to get training from sonex as I'm local to wisconsin and that would be super convenient. But their policy is to not provide training unless I have my private. Well that sucks!
Now I'm in a place where I have to get invested in more of an endeavour than what I wanted (which arguably isn't a bad thing) but I can't see what harm it would to provide training (for a fee) to anyone wanting it. I was lucky to score a ride in the sonex from the gentleman who delivered it but my current cfi won't fly expiramental! What to do? I'd prefer to get official training from the experts....

Also some notes regarding a second hand purchase and why it's important to verify everything.

A. Found that the tri gear rear wheel was being slowly lathed to death by the steel wire that holds the leg fairing in place. One more landing and it would have probably scraped right through and provided a wild stop. Pulled that out and snipped off about an inch.

B. Found an extra set screw in the aerocarb that was preventing it from going to full throttle. Imagine that little stubby set screw twisting sideways and jamming something up while trying to adjust the throttle!

C. Noticed that the fuel line gets as close as 1 inch away from the exaust pipes. Yes they have a layer of insulation but I think I should route to a cooler place.

Have a good day everyone! Thanks for this club. It's pretty awesome to have such resource avaliable.