Sonex value

[Waiex 49]

The Corvair looks nice.
So does the Viking.

[DCASonex]

Ugly ? My polished Sonex TD tends to get more attention at local fly-ins than anything that is not military.

Poor fit and finish ?? That is up to the builder. I tend to see its stark basic interior as being a bit like old English sports cars from 50 years ago. A few small bits of polished wood trim and some decent looking material on side walls, and it reminds me of an old Morgan. Not luxury transportation, but a lot of class.

Limited utility ? Good for local flying only ? Better upholstery and dual axis autopilot makes for comfortable cross country flying for two people who are not over-sized, and decent baggage capacity as well. In that mode I fly it as "normal" category up to 1,250 pounds (with 125 HP CAMit up front) and can still keep it below 950 pounds for a bit of aerobatics.

Limited panel ? Modern electronics can pack a whole lot of utility into a single device. Have a large screen GRT EFIS in mine and it provides more useful information than had in my old IFR rated Grumman Cheetah. With careful pre-planning of what one wants in a panel one can pack in quite a bit without overcrowding or plunking odd bits on top. Adding a small channel below the panel allows for a place to put all breakers and other small stuff while restoring strength lost when making large cutout for the EFIS. It is not a good choice for IFR or adverse weather, (Like the old definition: Misery is a Morgan in the rain.) and wood and composite props do not like rain, but for VFR, it is all I want and need.

And unlike any certified aircraft, as the builder, I can make improvements as I see fit without need to kiss the back end of anyone. This last benefit will be greatly limited for anyone purchasing a second hand experimental as they will not be able to hold the repairman's certificate for that aircraft, and used experimental aircraft in direct competition with certified aircraft that have been built and maintained to prescribed standards that will appeal to many, making for a lot of low cost competition for resale, and with the changes to third class medical, it will be in competition with a lot more aircraft for those wanting to fly a Sport pilot.

Loss of CAMit company will definitely impact the value of mine, and that of Jabiru powered craft as, CAMit was the source for much of the custom machine work and engine assembly, or were until Jabiru started sourcing items from cheaper places, damaged their reputation, and got hammered by CASA, (the Australian equivalent to our FAA.)

David A.

[Fastcapy]

Ugly ? My polished Sonex TD tends to get more attention at local fly-ins than anything that is not military.

Yup, I agree they do draw attention. At some angles I think mine looks nice, other angles it looks hideous. Like I said I think the taildragger looks way better than the trigear. However, many do in fact find them ugly. Check out other non-sonex forums and when someone asks what everyone thinks about a Sonex many will say the are ugly.

It is not a good choice for IFR or adverse weather

Agreed. This also lowers the utility of the plane, lowering the value. People don't want to buy a plane and pay for a great EFIS and auto pilot only to be stuck in light IFR on a trip unless they want to tear up the prop and have water dripping on them from the canopy gaps (fit and finish).

I am just saying look at all the mods you did (and added weight) to make it a machine you are happy with. Your EFIS wouldn't fit in the standard panel without modification.

Then you have to up the gross weight to make it all work. At the recommended gross with empty weight of 722lbs, with two "standard" 175lb people on a cross country trip, with lets say only 25lbs of bags and you have enough for 8gal of fuel... Not so economical to stop for fuel so often if you are actually flying to get somewhere somewhat quick.

Yes, you can do all these mods, however, many do not. And the market prices are set on what is out there. Overall most don't want to do all these mods and the re-sale price of the fleet is lower as a whole because of these base models.

Is it a fun plane, yes. Like I said it is more of a toy than a plane someone would buy for hauling the wife around the country, or flying for business where you want something more IFR friendly.

It is a sport plane, lets not pretend it is designed as anything other than that. That is why most people look at them as a fun toy, maybe an addition to a 172 or something.

[Bryan Cotton]

Years ago my opinion of the Sonex looks were middle of the road. I didn't love it, and didn't hate it. I did think it was a cool little economical plane. When I moved to Illinois I saw Tim Stearns' Waiex a couple times - briefly at Janesville and for a longer time in Beloit. I really liked it. The Y tail did it for me and I like the polished look. I have always had a thing for flush rivets but found the polished universal heads looked great. I genuinely like the look of the Waiex.

I don't care about resale. That is not in my plans.

[samiam]

There does seem to be a strange thing about the Sonex appearance - it always looks way better in person to me than it does in photos. Maybe it's just not very photogenic.

[fastj22]

Airplanes are like women, we can all agree that some are universally really pretty, but when it comes to the ones we have, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some of us have a wandering eye. I like the look of my Waiex. I like the look of RVs. Not really fond of the look of Zeniths.

[samiam]

Airplanes are like women, we can all agree that some are universally really pretty, but when it comes to the ones we have, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

So what does that say about me if I've liked just about every airplane I've seen?

[vwglenn]

It's funny how perception is. I've found that pilots either are OK with the looks of the Sonex or hate it. I always thought it looked different but never ugly. The same way that Rutan designs are different but still cool. The funny thing is most of my non-pilot friends LOVE the way the thing looks. They think it looks like something from a science fiction or Bond movie.

The true beauty in the airplane is the all around performance per dollar. Is it a speed demon? Not compared to an RV but that guy in the Kitfox "Speedster" sure commented how fast I blew by him. Will it haul a load? I can load 185lbs of crap or passengers in it which is better than most certified two seaters. Does it have long legs? No but it's so much faster than my 170 that I can get the same distance in the same amount of time on less fuel. Will I roll with a Extra? Certainly not but I'll put it up against Bob Hoover's AeroCommander.

The Sonex is the Mazda Miata of airplanes. Just a really fun and economical sports car for the guy who can't afford the Porsche and doesn't need the SUV. It's perfect for what it is and will always have some value.

[fastj22]

Airplanes are like women, we can all agree that some are universally really pretty, but when it comes to the ones we have, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

So what does that say about me if I've liked just about every airplane I've seen?

There is one plane picture in this thread I can't say is pretty.

[Bryan Cotton]

I like most airplanes. Jan made his airplane look like an extra ugly Zenith - as if they weren't ugly enough.

Here is Tim's airplane, which pushed me across the line to build a Waiex.


Awesome patriotic paint/polish job. I bet if it was for sale somebody would buy it.