Abe from Los Angeles

[revlis240]

Hey guys,
So, Here I am at a crossroads! Im sitting here at a motel room while attending Sun n Fun 2012. I think I've finally made up my mind that I will indeed build a sonex. I had 'decided' on the Sonex almost 3-5 years ago, but other possibilities came up. But at the end of the day, 95% of my flying will be alone, and my wife and I are not very large people so we CAN take that occasional trip to vegas in the Sonex, should be a fun little trip, MAYBE can be done without a refuel stop from Los Angeles.

Engine wise, I still havent decided between a VW and a Jabiru 3300. Since most of my flying will be at 245 MSL alone, I think something to the 2276cc Great Plains 84HP VW will work out for me. I am most concerned with efficient fuel burn, and if that means flying a little slower, so be it!

I have evaluated everything, and I mean everything and here are my quick opinions:

Experimental:
Zenith 601/650 - Roomier, but incomplete kits harder to find. No VW engine option and 6GPH on 100HP applications.
Titan Tornado - Feels flimsy. Nuff said
Thatcher CX4 - For the price, might as well build the Sonex and treat it as a giant one place. Atleast I CAN take my wife, where as the thatcher would eliminate that possibility. If it was lke $10k, then maybe, but it prices out to the same as the Sonex.
Various S-LSA - I dont want to spend $60-140k on a toy.
Rans/Vans/Other kits - Nice, definitely nice, but pricey

Certified:
Grumman AA1x series - I love this thing. May even buy one as I build the sonex. Stall/spin issues are troubling, and training is required to make sure you dont kill youself in it. Good performance though.
Cessna 15x series - BORING, but may buy as sonex is being build if I can find a deal. Most are HIGH hours, and the 150 doesnt seem to do anything that great. Like a toyota corolla of the sky. Reliable, safe, thousands out there. But...its a corolla.
Piper Tomahawk - kinda hard to find. Need a plane that wont take a year to sell when the time comes. Spin troubles are concerning.

Everything keeps bringing me back to the Sonex. So I will start looking for an unfinished project and probably pull the trigger. Unfortunately for me though, it will take me YEARS to finish and I dont have that much time. Thats my only concern...

If anyone actually read all this, thank you! Just wanted to say hi and would like to see this forum grow!

All the best,
Abe
Los Angeles, CA

[142YX]

it sounds like you arn't too keen on the whole building part.. there are lots of completed Sonex aircraft out there for sale in the upper 20 ~ low 30K price range with an AeroVee engine that would let you get into something faster (and probably for less money)

[revlis240]

Hey
Thanks for the reply. Yes that is a serious consideration. Here are my concerns:

1) What are the odds that the builder did a bad job and I will get myself killed? Or is it easy enough to discover the flaws?
2) As the buyer of a completed AB-LSA and not the builder on record, will I have any issues modifying/working on/repairing the thing? My research indicates that I will likely just have to complete a repairmans course, yes?

My wife and I own our business. I work 8 days a week. Hell its 1:40AM here at sun n fun and Im working right now (on the computer). I dont really have time to build.... if I buy a project itll have to be stretched over years. If i buy a flying bird,, i think youre right in my situation it makes more sense. Ill sell the Aerovee and upgrade to something else. Or at least the aerovee 2.1. I have absolutely no faith in someone else using the oven to shrink fit the hub.

Abe

[kmacht]

There is a sonex kit for sale on barnstormers right now from a guy in Virginia. He is about 90% done and appears to have everything to complete it. He gave up on the project to spend more time with his family. The best part is that he is asking only 23,900. There is a discussion going on over on the yahoo groups site with people trying to convince him to sell it for more. He has probably close to 30k into it. If I were looking for a project but didn't have the time to build from scratch I would be all over this deal. You might want to take a look.

As far as repairing / maintaining a bought experiemental aircraft there are a few rules but less so than buying certified. As the owner but not being the builder you can still maintain / repair / upgrade anything on the plane that you want. You do not have to be an A&P or have a repairmans certificate to do so. The only stipulation is that you need an A&P to complete the annual condition inspection. They do not have to have an IA, just an A&P license. They also only need to do the inspection. Any discrepancies found during the inspection can still be fixed by you. If you join a local EAA chapter the chances are that either one of the members will be or will know of an A&P willing to do condition inspections on experimental aircraft.

The chances of a builder doing a bad job on a sonex are pretty slim. There isn't much on the plane that isn't either wide out in the open or can't be checked with a mirror and a light. If you decide to buy instead of build I would suggest finding another sonex builder to go look at the plane with you before purchasing. Having built one they will be intimatly familiar with what things should and should not look like.

Finally, before you decide what to build or buy, go see if you can find some locals and get a ride. Make sure you and your wife can fit comfortably and that the aircraft behaves the way you want.

Good luck,

Keith
#554

[MichaelFarley56]

Hello Abe,

Welcome! I'm glad you're interested in a Sonex and I think it will be a great plane for you. I have lots of hours in Cessnas and other certified two place planes and while they're nice, I would NEVER own one based on parts and labor costs alone to keep them up and flying. A local Beech owner who flies a Sierra is getting some busings replaced on his nose gear at the local airport and it will be several thousand dollars for that one fix alone.

Keith is right on with everything he said and I agree that your best bet may be to find a completed or nearly completed plane and buy it. My basic, VFR only Waiex took me just over 1500 hours to build, spread out over 2.5 years and that was with me working on it a lot. If your business is that busy you'll struggle making progress. The good news is Sonex airplanes are easy to check over and VERY overbuilt so unless someone wasn't paying much attention or using Home Depot hardware, you'll probably be fine. Check out www.barnstormers.com to see if anything is available. I too recommend finding a local one or one down at Sun'n'Fun to sit in, just to make sure.


Good luck!
Mike