Greetings from a new Waiex owner in Washington State

[Jetrider]

Greetings all!
I am new to owning Waiex Serial #0125 (as of a week ago) and very excited to fly her, as well as join the community. I have just had the aircraft ferried up from Midland Texas, where Kelly (the previous owner) had taken good care of it. I am awaiting better weather and availability of a flight instructor so I may earn a tailwheel endorsement, and ferry it across from Eastern Washington to the Skagit Regional Airport, North of Seattle. I was wondering if there are any SONEX/WAIEX owners/Pilots in the Puget Sound Area willing to meet up (virtually is fine too) with a newbie to share experiences and advice. Any help is much appreciated. I cant wait to fly N125YX!
Faisal

[Chigbee]

I'm from the Puget Sound area and while I don't live there anymore, my grandfather still does and he's a CFI and loves doing tailwheel instruction. I'll PM you his contact info if you'd like. He lives on Whidbey Island.

Chris

[N111YX]

Congratulations on your acquisition.

That airplane was built by Mike Stout in Fort Payne, Alabama. I gave Mike a ride in my Waiex many years ago to motivate him to keep plugging away.

Sadly, Mike died a couple of years ago from cancer and I helped his wife sell and ferry the airplane for Kelly.

Mike built a good airplane and I know that his wife is happy that others are keeping it flying.

[NWade]

I'm from the Puget Sound area and while I don't live there anymore, my grandfather still does and he's a CFI and loves doing tailwheel instruction. I'll PM you his contact info if you'd like. He lives on Whidbey Island.

Chris

Chris - I’m in the Seattle area and prepping for my first flight around the end of the year. I got my TW endorsement awhile ago but haven’t flown power much since 2018 (I fly sailplanes a lot, but our tail wheels are fixed). If he’s comfortable giving instruction in the current situation, I’d appreciate his contact info, too.

Thanks,

—Noel

[Jetrider]

I'm from the Puget Sound area and while I don't live there anymore, my grandfather still does and he's a CFI and loves doing tailwheel instruction. I'll PM you his contact info if you'd like. He lives on Whidbey Island.

Chris

Thank you for reaching out to me Chris, I would love to connect with your grandfather. I used to live on Whidbey island until a few weeks ago and I am at nearby Skagit County airport. Thanks for your help!
Faisal

[Jetrider]

Congratulations on your acquisition.

That airplane was built by Mike Stout in Fort Payne, Alabama. I gave Mike a ride in my Waiex many years ago to motivate him to keep plugging away.

Sadly, Mike died a couple of years ago from cancer and I helped his wife sell and ferry the airplane for Kelly.

Mike built a good airplane and I know that his wife is happy that others are keeping it flying.

Thank you for reaching out to me Kip. I totally agree with you and wish Mike's wife and family the very best. Although I have never flown N125YX (or even started her up), it looks like there was a lot of love and care that went into it. Kelly took good care of it and did do some engine work on it. Can you tell me any more about its history, Mike's reasons for choosing a WAIEX etc? Any info is much appreciated.
Thank you-
Faisal

[N111YX]

I don't have any more information Faisal. I looked Mike up on the Sonex website many years ago when we were both building. I finished first and flew over to Alabama to give him a ride. We kept in touch off and on but I never saw him in person again.

He moved to the Gulf Shores area to retire and he flew it around down there for a few years. That's where I picked it up to arrange final delivery from Fort Payne, AL to Texas for Kelly.

[Jetrider]

Kip,
If you come up this way, please look me up. Would love to fly with you :-)