Sonex Adventures of N76ET

[SonexN76ET]

2200 Mile Trip Report - Atlanta Fulton County FTY to Tower Minnesota 12D near the Canadian border and Back

I took my first long cross country trip in my Aerovee powered Sonex this month. I had built my plane for just this type of a trip. All of my previous flights had been in northern and western Georgia.



I had racked up 60 hours of flight time doing extensive test flights in order to get everything working just right before I was ready to tackle a cross country. During this period I tried and tested various modifications in order try to wring out the most performance possible from my airplane. Three things did not work out for me. I tried to put a 1 inch blast tube going to the vicinity of my AeroInjector and that gave me a few extra RPMs on takeoff but on one occasion at 6500 feet the engine started loosing power. I believe I may have induced some carburetor ice in the throttle slide. I put the plane into a dive to keep the RPMs up and adjusted the throttle settings and the engine came back to life. I removed the blast tube upon landing. Then I tried wrapping my exhaust. This really did not work out for me at all! My engine would sputter terribly at full throttle and I could not figure out why. I tried many different mixture needles in my AeroInjector to no avail. I put the blame on a malfunctioning AeroInjector and spent $900 on a Rotec TBI Mk II, which did not solve the problem with the sputtering. Frustrated, I figured I would remove the exhausts wrap and amazingly the sputtering went away. The third thing that did not work for me was the Rotec Mk II TBI. I spent an additional $1,000 on aircraft controls and a fancy throttle quadrant and Aeroquip fuel lines and fittings and induction plumbing. This fiasco also cost me about six months of downtime on the aircraft getting it all sorted out. The Rotec idled great, lowered fuel burn and gave me a 100 extra RPM at full throttle. The problem was when doing touch and goes the engine would die just as I was lifting off. I sent the TBI back to Rotec paying for round trip postage of $200. They rebuilt it and upgraded it to their latest configuration but it remains in its box, unopened. In testing the Rotec I also noticed one EGT was 120 degrees cooler than the other (I monitor the back two). That caused me to pull the heads, do a valve job, and replace the Pistons and cylinders, put it back together and test ran, same problem. Another $1,000 blown. It turns out the Rotec has an idle mixture jet that blows more fuel onto one side of the throat that was causing the imbalance. I may try the Rotec TBI at some point in the future but right now I do not have the inclination to do so. As always with any of these things your experiences may vary. I know many people who are very pleased with their Rotecs and others who are very happy with their exhaust wrap. I may even put a blast tube back to orient toward the air cleaner but will have a shut off flap and only use it for takeoff (especially on really hot Georgia summer days).

Anyway, after these three self inflicted incidents, I had to work to regain my confidence in my plane. I reinstalled the AeroInjector into the stock configuration and took multiple test flights and everything ran and functioned perfectly. After completing these test flights my confidence was restored and I was ready to take a trip.

I had committed myself to achieving my dream of building and flying my own aircraft while serving as a Special Forces detachment commander in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003. After I returned I had slowly purchased the tools and acquired the knowledge necessary to building. At first I planned on an RV8 but that cdream continued to move out of my reach financially. I had seen the Sonex line at Airventure, but at the time paid them little attention. A friend later told me to check them out as a poor man's alternative to an RV. I checked out Sonex, watched a bunch of videos and was hooked.

A compelling reason for a trip occurred in mid April. My beloved Grandfather, a month short of his 101st birthday had a massive stroke and passed away days later. I loaded up the Sonex to head to his funeral. But before departing I changed the oil, torqued the heads, adjusted the valves and did a thorough preflight. I called flight service and got a thorough weather and route briefing.

It was the warmest day and brightest day of the year in Atlanta when I took off. My panel mounted iPad ( connected an iLevel AW and pitot static system) and iPhone both overheated and shut down. I used my map and compass to navigate away from Atlanta and head toward Chattanooga. My rate of climb with my Prince cruise prop was lower than I was accustomed to due to the heat and with all my gear aboard. The air was bumpy, I was hot, and I was irritated at the panel mounted iPAD and iPhone and questioned my sanity for attempting this trip. The CHT's were running hot on climb out. I wondered if maybe I had done something wrong adjusting the valves. Nearing Chattanooga I was contemplating turning around and taking the airlines. Just beyond Chattanooga I began a turn back to Atlanta. Earlier the iPad and iPhone came back to life. As I was making my turn toward home with my tail between my legs, I noticed I was near a really nice airport in Cleveland, TN. I banked towards it as I marveled at the smooth responsive and well harmonized feel of the controls in my hands. I decided to stop there, fill up, regain my composure and reassess the situation. After using the restroom, enjoying a cold Dr Pepper and chatting with the FBO staff at Crystal Air, I climbed back into the cockpit and strapped in.

I was still undecided on whether to continue north or to head back to Atlanta. I figured I would see how the plane felt as I took off and then make my decision. Taking the runway the plane roared ahead and leaped into the air and climbed better than when leaving Atlanta. The engine was purring and the sky was smooth and clear. The CHT's were in the green. I kept the iPhone and iPad shaded and that kept them functioning. As I was climbing, I said to myself, I can be a quitter and a chicken and go home or I can experience the adventure of a lifetime and point the aircraft north heading to the Canadian border near International Falls, MN. I had spent a lifetime dreaming about flying my own airplane on a trip such as this. I was a safe pilot and my airplane was in tip top condition? The weather was perfect. "Damn it, I am heading North" I said to myself and turned the plane north leaving the pattern following the magenta line on my panel mounted iPad of my flight plan. I climbed to 4,500 feet to clear the mountain passes and saw true air speeds of 138 mph and ground speeds of 152 mph with my Aerovee with the Prince Prop cruise prop. I felt like Luke Skywalker in his X Wing Starfighter in "The Empire Strikes Back" as he turns away from the fleet and heads out on his own to the Dagoba System in search of the legendary Yoda. My aircraft, my mission, my trip.

I planned on making fuel stops every two hours and set a minimum fuel state of four gallons upon landing at each stop. So, my next stop after about 2 hours was French Lick, KY. A quick fill up of ten gallons, bathroom break, chat with a 182 driver, and a preflight and I was back in the air. Because of my anemic climb performance leaving Atlanta with the Prince cruise prop I was a little apprehensive about each take off. The aircraft accelerated down the runway nicely and I was off. At 3500 to 4500 feet I can get a max rpm of 3220 in level flight and CHT of 370 and 383 and EGT of 1230 or so. I am burning just under 5 gph. As I blast northwards, the mountains and forests turned to flatlands, farms, and pastures as I headed into Indiana. Off to my east I saw fields of windmills and thought to myself what horrible landscape pollution they were as they stretched on for 100s of miles. I do not know of any other industry that disrupts a large landscape the way those windmill farms do. I stayed away from them. I passed just outside the edge of the restricted airspace around Crane Naval Weapons Center and approached Chicagoland. The plane was cruising comfortably through the air, but I was starting to tire.

High dark clouds were visible to the north of Chicago and the winds were picking up. I decided to land at DuPage Jetport for the evening thinking it would be easy getting a nearby hotel and shuttle service. As I smoothly whisked in toward the field, the DuPage controller gave me terse rapid fire landing instructions even though I was the only aircraft nearby. I landed in winds of 14 knots gusting to 20 knots about 30 degrees of cross wind and pulled in to a mostly deserted ramp. I taxied over to were a couple of GA planes were tied down and a lineman drove over and asked what I needed. I told him, he helped me tie down the aircraft. I pulled out my overnight bag, put the seatbelt around the stick, put on the canopy lock and the Sonex canopy cover, and walked to the terminal. They arranged a shuttle to a nearby hotel and made a hotel reservation for me. The next morning they picked me up. Nice FBO and friendly staff.

That next morning after servicing the plane, I strapped back in and fired up. The plane was running great. I was a little bit worried about the gusty crosswinds as the plane was buffeted slightly with each gust. I contacted ground control and got my taxi instructions. I had just started taxiing when the ground controller radioed me to halt. He said he had another plane he needed to put ahead of me. This was a new one, I thought maybe it was an airliner of some type. I waited a few minutes and a Cessna 421 with a turbo prop conversion taxied past. In rapid fire he told me to follow the turboprop and turn at intersection such and such and then takeoff from intersection G. I was already turning at intersection G with the turbo prop taking the runway head of me at intersection G as I finished reading back his takeoff instructions. I failed to read back "from intersection G" and the controller scolded me. Except for me and the turbo prop the airspace and airport was deserted. I told the controller this was my first time at the airport. He basically grunted. I thought what a a serious, unfriendly gentleman he was. After clearing me for takeoff the plane tore down the runway. My wheels just left the ground when the terse controller told me he wasn't reading my mode C and scolded me to turn it on, he immediately corrected himself and told me he had it now. He gave me my clearance to turn north west and high winds aloft had me feeling like an F-104 on afterburner as I was seeing a ground speed of 163 mph on my GPS with an indicated airspeed of 143 mph. Within moments I was clear of his airspace and radioed him to tell him I was clear to the northwest. I decided I didn't want to deal with that set of controllers again. I was amazed with the friendliness and helpfulness of the FBO staff but astounded by the almost hostile attitude of the controllers. My homebase airport has far more jet and turbo prop aircraft traffic and there I am always treated cordially and believe I am proficient in my radio procedures at large controlled airfields.

I used to do lots of cross country flying in the early nineties. I have to say that I am astonished with how empty the skies and airports are now compared to then. I listened in on center and departure frequencies as I was leaving and heard nothing but the airliners out of O'Hare and Midway. I certainly hope the General Aviation industry in the US revives. I know there is more activity on the weekends but the air and the airports felt like ghost towns to me. Get out and fly while you still can!

My next stop was Medford, WI. As I headed north it steadily got colder and colder in the cockpit. I had debated taking a jacket, but by the time I got to Medford I was looking forward to donning it. The aircraft was running smooth and strong. Because of the strong winds aloft, I was in Medford in no time. As I was approaching the pattern a Hawker jet announced he was on downwind so I followed him in. There I was greated by a friendly airport manager. He chatted with me as I fueled up and did my preflight. He liked the Sonex. My fuel burn at high speed cruise was remaining just under 5 gph.

Back into the cockpit I went, strapped in, and took off. Now with my jacket on I was comfortable. Because of the remoteness of the region I climbed to 4,500 feet and lost my strong tailwind. Ground speed slowed to 140mph. I followed the shore of Lake Superior and circumnavigated the Duluth airspace and then descended to 2,000 feet to stay below the Snoopy MOA and to enjoy the scenery of the Northwoods with the still partially frozen lakes. I streaked over the lakes and trees to my Grandfather's home. I orbited his house for several minutes to see who was home. I left the orbit and dashed to my uncle's place several miles north on Lake Vermilion. I orbited his place for several moments and then took a brief scenic aerial tour of the partially frozen, but still beautiful lake. Marveling at the rugged scenery of rocks, cliffs, and boreal forrest I deftly maneuvered the nimble Sonex through the air. Excited to see my family, I then broke off the sightseeing and entered the landing pattern for the Tower Airport. My mom had seen me fly over and met me at the airport. She found it absolutely amazing that I had flown my home built airplane with a home built engine there safely all the way from Atlanta. I had to pinch myself too that I was not dreaming! I had really done it! In my own personal little hot rod fighter plane. And not a lick of problems after departing Atlanta. 8.5 flight hours time enroute.

Later I will tell of my return trip which was uneventful save for a weather delay in Indiana and meeting a three time builder at the field and seeing his Xenos.

These Sonex planes are incredible aircraft!

As a side note, I purchased a Sonex specified Sensenich prop from a Onex builder and will put that prop on to see if I get better climb performance on hot days.

I love my Sonex!

Jake

[Sonex1517]

Great trip report Jake!

DuPage is full of attitude for no reason, and consistently rude. They are also famous for having issues seeing perfectly good Mode C transponders.

Next time you are near Chicagoland please let me know! You can stop out at Aurora and experience a very different attitude.

I am so glad to hear your trip was what it was expected to be - an adventure worthy of the dreams you attached to it. Wish the circumstances were different though....

Robbie Culver
Sonex 1517
Chicagoland
N1517S

[lpaaruule]

Hi Jake,

Thanks for sharing your adventure! It's great to hear people living the dream. It reminds those of us that are still building why we started

[MichaelFarley56]

Hello Jake,

Thank you for taking the time to write up such an excellent report! I'm thrilled the airplane is running well for you and I hope you'll be able to take many more trips just like this one.

Excellent report and thank you again! I can't wait to read about your return trip!

Mike

[WaiexN143NM]

Hi Jake,
Great trip report. ,!
Sorry to hear your saga with the throttle bodies. We love our rotec mark 1. I bought the exhaust wrap recently.........havent done it yet........what does others think about wrapping the exhaust? Any body else have similar trouble ?
Sorry to hear your experience at DuPage not so good. Robbie's post confirmed my guess. Some ATC facilities we called "sick" facilities. Either mgmt, the controllers, or both. Word gets around. Everyone keep a good situational awareness. Especially at airports with intersecting runways. A third of the veteran controllers have to retire in the next 5 yrs due to the mandatory age limit of 56. The millienals think they know everything , but we all know better. (!!!)
Also, thank you for your service as a special forces commander in afganistan. Im sure you could tell some good stories over a beer.
Great job on your trip. I'm glad u decided to turn back north!
WaiexN143NM
Michael

[Corby202]

Get out and fly while you still can!

Ain't that the truth. Nice report, thanks for sharing.

[Sonex1462]

Thanks for sharing your trip with the rest of us. Great write up!!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nwawingman]

Thanks Jake for sharing your first big X-Country with us. Well done! Can't wait to hear about the return flight. I totally agree with you that the Sonex is an amazing little aircraft and what a feeling it is to know you built it yourself. The experiences we get to enjoy in these planes are priceless!

[mike.smith]

what does others think about wrapping the exhaust?

I wrapped mine. Temperatures are lower within the baffles and the engine compartment, and it helps keep the temps down around the carb and fuel lines. No issues at all after 2 years.

[N111YX]

Now that you have been to Minnesota, bring that Sonex to the east side of Atlanta. It's a like a trip to MN, but warmer.