First flight surprises & tips

[mike.smith]

I went through T-flight but still bounced my first tailwheel Sonex landing. I mean really bounced. I powered up and went around and made a perfect second landing. Assume you're going around a time or two and you'll eventually be pleasantly surprised at a nice landing. :-) Most of my previous time was in a Citabria. The Sonex was much easier.

[SonexN76ET]

One big thing that you will notice on the Sonex and most other Homebuilts and light sport aircraft compared to Cessna, Pipers, and Beechcrafts is that you really have to work the rudder and keep the ball centered. You have to do this in all phases of flight. You can not fly with your feet off the rudder pedals. Each change in power will also require a rather large change in rudder input.

I have noticed if you don't keep the ball centered on takeoff it will really diminish your rate of climb.

Make sure you have a really good turn coordinator/ball and it is in a prominent position on your panel that you can easily reference.

Jake

[mike.smith]

One big thing that you will notice on the Sonex and most other Homebuilts and light sport aircraft compared to Cessna, Pipers, and Beechcrafts is that you really have to work the rudder and keep the ball centered. You have to do this in all phases of flight. You can not fly with your feet off the rudder pedals. Each change in power will also require a rather large change in rudder input.

I've never found that to be the case in my Sonex. Except for crosswind takeoffs and landings the ball is mainly an afterthought, as it stays centered very easily. If I take my feet off the rudder pedals in flight the plane lightly wags back and forth; I've always assumed because of the offset rudder hinge. But the ball barely moves, even so; the motion is just not very prominent. If I simply rest my feet on the rudder pedals that all stops and the plane flies easily straight ahead with no rudder input.

My experience, anyway.

[caveman370]

On my first flight I noticed the pitch was VERY sensitive . The rudder and ailerons were fine
Once in the pattern, I became used to the pitch


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[pfhoeycfi]

The 2 seat G103 and Duo Discus
require a light hand much like their single seat versions (102 & discus). The duo is an incredible machine btw. Some clubs have one or the other or both. I don't have any experience in a Sonex yet but lots in a Sonerai and I agree with the suggestions offered here that a little glider training might be helpful.
Peter H

[Corby202]

I've never found that to be the case in my Sonex. Except for crosswind takeoffs and landings the ball is mainly an afterthought, as it stays centered very easily.

I agree with that comment also. Climb out I have to hold a reasonable amount of rudder to keep things centred but after levelling off I don't touch the rudder.

[SonexN76ET]

My plane is a tri gear and I suspect the nose wheel in the propeller slipstream requires more rudder attention as the nose gear turns when you apply rudder pressure.

Jake

[peter anson]

Something I'd like to add for anyone who has fitted a Jabiru 3300; be careful opening the throttle on take-off, especially if there is a cross wind from the left. It is easy to run out of rudder. I often don't even hit full throttle until the tail is up. I came very close to writing off my Sonex before ever flying it.

Peter

[Sonerai13]

I often don't even hit full throttle until the tail is up.

I never raise the tail on takeoff in a 3300 powered Sonex. I just fly it off three-point. That will give you the shortest ground roll. In fact, I only slightly raise the tail on an AeroVee powered Sonex. I find that most pilots raise the tail too high when making takeoffs in tailwheel airplanes (not just Sonex), usually to the point where they unnecessarily extend their ground roll.

Smooth application of throttle is always a good idea, regardless of what plane you're flying (and what the gear configuration might be).

On another subject, Jake mentioned the nose wheel. Yes, the nose wheel will act as another rudder on the airplane. Make sure the nose wheel is pointed straight ahead when you're flying straight and level. If your plane requires rudder to keep the ball centered or wants to wander off in one direction or another, check the in-flight alignment of the nose wheel before looking at anything else.

[W208]

Something I'd like to add for anyone who has fitted a Jabiru 3300; be careful opening the throttle on take-off, especially if there is a cross wind from the left. It is easy to run out of rudder. I often don't even hit full throttle until the tail is up. I came very close to writing off my Sonex before ever flying it.

Peter

My WAIEX (JAB330) for the first time on Saturday. I had couple of surprises.

Firstly, I ran out of right rudder in the cross wind during a couple of high speed taxi runs. So reading that it is not a only my plane that does this is comforting to know. I am use to aircraft like the Citabria and the Zlin 50. Lots of rudder authority, so I might have been expecting too much from the Vtail configuration.

But after a deep breath, I took off in a cross wind (gusting up to 30 mph) from the right expecting to use a bit more runway width than I would like to normally.

I made the mistake to turn the trim 1 turn up, after the previous taxi run. The plane popped into the air, but was stable from the first moment. One turn down trim solved the trim problem. The elevator was surprisingly sensitive even with a slightly nose heavy setup, so something to get use too. I must admit I was expecting a sluggish elevator, even running out on approach due to the nose heavy setup. Glad I did not try and move the CG back.

Thirdly it is rolling to the left. It seems like it is caused by the ailerons not flying true. If I hold the stick in the center the plane flies perfectly strait. When I leave the stick, the stick moves to the left and then the plane starts to roll to the left. I suspect a slight warp in one of the ailerons, nothing that can not be solved with a small trim tab to force the ailerons to fly true.

Takeoff was a breeze, landing in the crosswind was hard work as expected but managed to get it into a perfect 3 pointer on the first try, even with the sensitive elevator.

Cannot wait for the next flight.

PS: My trim spring also rubs against the bottom of the seat. Still need to fix that.