SonexBuilders.net

My prior build was a Glastar, where the manufacturer provided two thick but very well defined assembly manuals (instructions with diagrams) that permitted a builder to follow a logical sequence (a 5th grader could build using their manuals - :-) Just had my Waiex-B kit delivered yesterday and I was looking, with confusion, at the plans this evening. Anyway, is there a trick to following a logical sequence for part/component assembly with the Sonex plans? It does not appear that the page layout follows any logical build progression .

I got you also you are not in the Waiex-B section, But here is the gist of it.

I belive its the third page that has the tree diagram, That is your build order bible basically the way it works is that you pick a box to start with at the bottom and work your way up any lines connecting to a box above require the child box. If that makes any sense, the pages are numbered using a logical format an example page would be WXB-W14 where the WXB stands for waiex-b the W stands for wings and the 14 is the page number in the wing set. F is for fuselage, T is for Tail, G is for Gear etc.

When looking at the plans and the multiple views start with the part in the orientation of the center view. Imagine the part in the bottom of a bowl and each view is what happens when you push the part up the side of the bowl i dont have another good way to explain it other than that.

At the bottom left of each plans page is the list of parts or assemblies you will be preparing or building and what plans page they will be needed for next.

If you have any doubts as to what the resultant part should look i would look at where they will be used next to see if you have a clearer understanding of the look of the final assembly.

I do a live stream on saturdays on twitch if you would like just join it and i can walk your through the plans how to read them and what not. if you want to talk on the phone send me a DM and i can set up a video chat and walk you thought it i have several cameras set up in my workshop for streaming so it should not be to hard.

If you have not begun making any parts i will have a follow on post for a series of page orders you can look at to start on the tail assemblies i just need to run down and look at my plans.

Ok so now that i have looked at my plans the tree diagram is in WXB-B03 thats the third page in the big set of plans.

For additional reference the plans are in alphabetical order based on the subsection letter and then obviously with the subsection page number. i would start with the tail and in particular with the stabilator assembly. If you are looking at the tree page WXB-B03 the branch that includes the stabilator assembly is on the right side its like the second branch. Starting at the bottom you would start assembly on WXB-T11 the next box up is WXB-T10, then WXB-T09, WXB-08 and with those 4 pages you will have the assembly that is ready for installation using the instructions on the page above WXB-T08 which clearly is labaled as stabilator instalation since you havent built your fuselage that is where you would stop with that assembly.

Now for more details WXB-T11 is mostly a parts list with 1 set of assemblies and the assembly is essentially to take the long laser cut aluminum attach arm and place a bend in the arm. There are no instructions for how to make a bender but the easiest way is to purchase a small hydralic press and notch a 4x4 then use a piece of pipe of the correct diameter to result in the desired radius of bend. the rest of the parts on that page just need to be deburred and cleaned up on the edges. When you are done with that page you will go to the next page up WXB-T10 if you look at the bottom right you will see the part you are modifying listed as an assembly and it should indicate the next place it will be used is WXB-T10 as will all the other parts in that page. That is not always the case but i belive it is the case for the parts on this page. Not in front of the plans again so i may be off. but you should be able to get the gist of it from my descriptions on my previous post and this post.

sonex has several tips videos on their website located here: https://www.sonexaircraft.com/video-tips/

The specific video for the part on WXB-T11 is here: https://players.brightcove.net/62700807 ... 0439503001

The videos are not the best quality but they get the idea across.

This should get you started.

And feel free to reach out.

Mods, Can we get this moved to the Waiex-B forums?

Sonex or Waiex, pick a part to work on. Most people start with the tail. Go to the end of the tail pages and work backwards towards the first tail page. Then pick another part, like the fuselage. Go to the end of the fuselage pages and work backwards to the beginning of them.

That is the secret.

Great Thanks for the responses. After studying the plans for awhile I finally figured out that one works backwards (so to speak) (bottom up using the tree). Not intuitive, and more abstract, but works.

sjakulski wrote:Great Thanks for the responses. After studying the plans for awhile I finally figured out that one works backwards (so to speak) (bottom up using the tree). Not intuitive, and more abstract, but works.

Yup. Best, but weirdest, set of drawings in the industry. Back to front is insane, but it is what it is. I'm an architect, and there is no architect or engineer in their right mind that would create a set of drawings that reads from back to front. You'd be sent to the loony bin if you did (after first being fired)!

As mentioned above, use the building tree to guide your progress through the pages. Mark off completed plans pages on the tree as you work your way up (I liked to write the date of completion next to the boxes.)

Work on one page at a time until the page is complete before moving on. In the bottom-right of each page it lists the part numbers that are completed on that page (and will be used/referenced on subsequent pages.) Mark those on the page as you complete them as well, and always label your parts with those part numbers for future reference. Sometimes parts will look very similar (left/right versions, etc), so part labeling is important.

After receiving my tail kit and looking at the 'plans' - which are really 'Engineering Drawings,' I found a video series for building the tail kit step by step: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9XClXqHS1Q
However, I found that I need more education in reading 'engineering drawings' or blueprints after I marked the Rudder Skin 'backwards,' Fortunately though, I did not cut the 'insert' for the rudder horn, as I only cut the skin lengthwise at 1" segments in order to perfect my cutting process using shears, files and die grinder as well as a Milwaukee M12 nibbler, in order to perfect the process of getting a perfect straight line.
After struggling with the cut on the right side (apparently the bottom) of the rudder skin, and marking the cutout, I tried to fit the rudder horn and it would not fit - which is when I discovered that I misinterpreted the 'blueprint,'
I then found a file in Sonexaircraft 'support' - https://www.sonexaircraft.com/documents ... _Plans.pdf
which did not really explain how to read the actual 'engineering drawings.' SONEX REALLY SHOULD DO A BETTER JOB.
I then began to re-watch a video 'BLUEPRINT READING PART 1, Marc L'Ecuyer' (there are several parts) so as to get a better understanding of the 'engineering drawings' https://www.sonexaircraft.com/documents ... _Plans.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw3CrHMtzMk
Prior to watching this blueprint reading video I realized that the 'projection' to the right of the rudder skin on SNB-T13 was a flipped over view of the rudder skin. I also realized that the rudder skin drawing at the left bottom of SNB-T13 was with the long side of the rudder skin on top - as the thin line with double dashes and 1 long dash pattern was showing the bottom or hidden side of the rudder skin (known, as per the blueprint reading video as a 'PHANTOM LINE.'
SONEX REALLY SHOULD HAVE MORE DETAILED INFORMATION FOR PROPERLY READING THE 'ENGINEERING DRAWINGS'!! But, I shall 'endeavor to persevere!'

I’m building a Sonex A. The Sonex plans are very good and they track changes. I would suggest instead of bashing Sonex you take a drawing class at a local college to learn how to read drawings. It’s not Sonex’s job to teach how to read drawings.