B-Model Build Ease vs 'Legacy/A' Model

[Bryan Cotton]

I have said it often, both here and on the Saturn forum - the primary purpose of the hobby is to collect tools.
An angle drill, snake drill, drill press, and a right angle sander are all musts in my book. Plus a scotch brite wheel on the bench grinder. And a bandsaw, holesaws, reamers, v block....

[dbdevkc]

I am building a legacy Waiex, and after years of only working on it occasionally I am now spending most of my free time building. I wouldn't consider it "difficult", but there are times when I have to consider the possible ways to accomplish a task. And like most others, I have ruined pieces or parts and either reordered the part from Sonex or scratch built a replacement. But that seems to be part of the process, not sure if that is avoidable.

And regarding tools, decent tools are a joy to work with. When I started my build, I bought the bottom of the line Harbor Freight bench drill press and bandsaw. Despite trying my best to finesse the setup on both, the bandsaw always shook like mad and the drill press had (what I considered) unacceptable runout issues and vibration. Upgraded to a (non-HF) floor model drill press, and found a 50's era home craftsman bandsaw. Every time I use the bandsaw I think how nice it is to use a decent tool - even though it is not a high end tool, by comparison it is great.

Kevin

[DCASonex]

What to build depends on your interest in building vs getting into the air quickly. Nothing on the Sonex is particularly difficult, but can be time consuming depending on what you do or do not get in the way of quick build parts. If you enjoy the opportunity to use a bit of your own ingenuity to customize to your preferences and the chance to learn by doing new things, the Sonex may be your best bet. If wanting something to throw together and get in the air quickly, consider the RV12. Also, as you noted, their missions are different. The Sonex is an aerobatic rated plane that is just fun to hank and bank. But add a dual axis autopilot and it also makes for a nice cruiser, if you and wife fit it comfortably. If you are another tool nut, you will be acquiring some new stuff with either plane. For things you will use frequently, get the best you can afford, and for things like drills, be it pneumatic or battery, good quality allows for ample power while keeping small and light so that hand fatigue, which leads to errors, does not become a factor. Either way, it is likely that you will spend more time building than flying. If you like making things, set up a proper work space and invest what is needed to be able to enjoy the build,

David A. Sonex "A": TD with CAMit 3300

[killerfish72]

Great Advice Dave - really appreciate it. I do like the mission flexibility of the Sonex and think my wife and I will fit just fine, but do want to try one on first. I'm ok doing a slower build as I do own a very nice Cessna 152 that I can fly up until Engine install as selling that is my engine/avionics fund :)