buying a sonex

[philb]

hi all i am thinking of buying a sonex having flown rand kr2 ,the one i m looking at is a 2180 vw version but
1 what would be take off distance 1 up 2 up roughly is it shortest using flaps .
2climb rate roughly 1 up 2 up
3.is cruise about 120 mph ish
4 is there anything to look for engine or airframe wise obviosly oil pressure
5 is it fitted with 500x5 tyres as i am wanting to go into grass fields
6 what is the brake set up is it independant hydraulic

7flying wise any vices
8 what are the stall characteristics
tia phil

[BRS]

I'd like to echo these questions.
Since I'm getting close to the end of a renovation but having not yet flown a Sonex. No doubt there is a first flyer info thread someplace with these answers.
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-To my American friends...
H A P P Y 4TH of July.
Let's keep Independence a daily exercise and not a once a year thought.

[tx_swordguy]

I fly a jabiru 3300 sonex so some of this is going to correspond and some won’t. 2 up figures will depend very much on size of said individuals. If i at 190 fly with my buddy who is 210 it is going to fly noticeably heavy. Climb will be about 500 fpm. As a single i can get about 1000 fpm but i almost never go higher than about 4k mgl. Unless it is really rough. If i fly with my 140 lb son it flies much better. The airframe is very strong so it will take it. The jab is 120 hp the 2180 is going to be 80-85. Take off roll 500 ish i think, 2 up noticeably longer. Stalls are pretty straightforward no unruly problems and happens around the 40 mph mark and are easy to pull out of by dropping the nose. Spins are a bit harder to make happen but very slow nose high and controls to the left will make it happen very fast. 120 cruise is a pretty accurate number some will say 160 in the jab but for me that is unrealistic. I usually cruise on lower end rpm and see 125-130 and will see 140 on upper end. Very easy airplane to fly. I had hell figuring my landings out until i sat on the runway and put a mark on the inside of my canopy to show the horizon/runway relation to my 3pt stance. Prior to that i always tail hooked my landings which was something i was trying to correct. 5.00x5 tires should be ok on smooth turf, rough turf you might go slightly bigger or at least take the wheel pants off if doing it regularly. Brakes you get all different setups.Others may chime in with other points especially airframe and engine wise. I went straight from a high wing avid flyer to the sonex without transitioning and it was not an issue.

[philb]

very useful info many thanks 1000 fpm on jab so 2180 maybe 800 fpm 1 up ,2 up maybe about 300 400fpm depending on weight does using flaps get u off the ground faster or shorter it sounds like they do are ur figs using flaps or clean also what prop areu using diam and pitch and make please best phil

[GraemeSmith]

Stalls are conventional and straightforward if you avoid cross controlling.

[philb]

interesting vid has it got washout in the wing cos it looks as though it has --or a different section at root to tip ?

[GraemeSmith]

interesting vid has it got washout in the wing cos it looks as though it has --or a different section at root to tip ?

No -normal stall progression for a Hershey Bar wing. I learned something too from those tests, this forum and then doing some research.

StallProgression.png (47.52 KiB) Viewed 4780 times

[SP1]

If you're going into grass fields, then a taildragger may be your choice in terms of landing gear. I've been told, but didn't find any documentation on it, then it is not advisable to operate a tri gear routinely on grass.

I haven't flown a taildragger sonex, but I hear they are quite benign. I'm currently building a tri-gear, but all the comments make me think I should build it as a taildragger to eke out more top speed and expand runway types.Appreciate hearing people's comments on this statement.

Grame,
Really liked your video!

[Matt541]

Welcome Phil!
I honestly don't have enough time in mine yet to quote performance figures. But here's a good video with his particular performance claims on his grass strip:



YMMV

On that, watch as many Sonex/ Waiex walkaround videos as you can before pulling the trigger on one. I recommend videos by Mike Smith and Jeff Shultz (podcast too.) I actually watched Mike's video in full the morning of looking at 541. Keep doing what you are now by researching all you can on this forum. Kit Log sites can reveal even more about what went into the airplane you're considering. (Again, Mike's is very good.)

If possible, I think it's good practice to see multiple aircraft of the same type in person as well. Although these are kits or scratch built from very good plans, no two Sonexes are exactly the same. It all depends on the builder/ previous owner and how the equipped and maintained each individual aircraft.




(And Brock, very true!)

[Skippydiesel]

Hi All,

I have about 10 years experience in owning/maintaining a Rotax 912 ULS motivated composite aircraft but no experience in aluminium aircraft (Sonex)

I am currently looking at a 2019 (build) Sonex Legacy/912ULS, tail dragger, with a view to purchase.

I have found a KitPlains article on Sonex pre purchase inspection and the list of Sonex Service Bulletins, both of which are very informative.

I hope to view this aircraft in about 2 weeks time, so would very much appreciate any information/guidance, from experienced Sonex owners/builders, on what what aircraft specific points/areas to inspect, information to obtain from the owner, etc.

My thanks in anticipation of a flood of great information.