Onex…to be or not to be?

[Hap Hazard]

Hello to all you Onex builders and owners out there.

I am at the ‘dreaming’ stage of building my first aeroplane and have narrowed my choice down to 2 or 3 designs. I have experience in wood and am used to working on old wooden sailplanes, which are probably the pinnacle in really light construction in wood (I am rebuilding a pre-war design now).
My current flying experience is circa 8000 hours (I haven’t kept a logbook for about 5 years now), and fly for a living.
As part of my retirement plan when I get chucked out the door in a few years time, I want to operate my own economical little aeroplane, with a focus on going places as apposed to ‘just getting airborne.’
Hangarage is always going to be an issue here in the U.K., which is both scarce and expensive, so that becomes a big factor in availability and costs.
So my perfect aircraft would be of wood, compact, have a cruise around 100 knots, and have an affordable engine option like the Jabiru 2200 or VW.
A single-seater doesn’t bother me (in fact I like the idea) and doing my homework I have been looking at the pros and cons of various plans-build options. Plans build gives me the opportunity to be more flexible on bespoke design, but takes 2-3 times longer to build than many kits.
So looking at the various options out there, the Onex one day really grabbed my eye (ironically after I had suggested it to someone else in my current predicament!), and takes a lot of beating on paper.

Pros:
-Wings fold giving minimum hangarage space which gives more opportunity for finding current hangarage without necessarily requiring a entire new slot to either become available or created (I can tow it home to store as well).
-The Onex is pretty quick on not much power.
-It has pretty good range and long legs
-Should be relatively quick to build from a kit
-Looks quite pretty
-Looks like they have a pretty roomy cockpit
-Semi-aerobatic
-Offers best budget engine package out there with the VW (although the Jabiru is high on my list). Both engines represent good value for money, economical to run, and I have past experience on maintaining them
-kit overall looks to be excellent value for money making the Onex more palatable in terms of limiting resale of a single seater
-Type is already on our LAA list, so should be straightforward to get through the U.K. system.

Cons:
-It’s not a Jodel…
-It’s metal construction which I have no experience on
-small tin aeroplanes sound like a tin can getting kicked down the road when they are on the ground
-single seaters have less resale appeal to many buyers

So now that I have approached it in a fairly logical manner, here’s the question I wanted to pose here…

What’s it like to fly and live with? What’s the things to look out for and what could be better?

I have flown small compact homebuilt’s in the past, many sharing similar issues, especially draggy designs like the VP, where wing loading can be relatively high and are fairly unforgiving near the stall.

As the old saying goes, all answers on the back of a postcard, I look forward to reading your responses…

Cheers,
HH

[Scott Todd]

I've test flown 13 homebuilts including several Kitfoxes and Sonexs. I've been flying my Kitfox for nearly 25 years. I have a single seat wooden Biplane I've been flying for 15 years and I have a new Onex with just under 40 hours. I built all three. I LOVE the Onex. After flying at 90 mph for the last 25 years, seeing 135 in cruise for the same fuel burn is awesome! I think the folding wings are a game changer. If you are following someone doing a pre-flight, they fold/unfold faster than they can pre-flight the wing.

Don't worry about what it sounds like on the ground. You'll forget that once you get airborne. The metal construction is very straightforward. It will build faster than wood. I also appreciate the durability of the metal over fabric. I understand the concern over re-sale value but I like to think of the glass as half full. I build them to have and fly, not sell. I don't care what its worth. I'm never selling it and my wife and kids can deal with it after I'm gone but they all have been unofficially 'willed' to a young family friend that should outlive me and my family is supportive of that :)

[pilotyoung]

I have owned an RV-12 for almost 4 years and just passed 400 hours flying in it. I bought a Onex 1 1/2 years ago and have about 70 hours in it. I had to do a top overhaul on the VW engine and for several reasons not related to the engine it spread out over 6 months. That is why I only have 70 hours in it. But I am back flying it again and it flys great. My only complaint is I wish it had a higher climb rate. But other than that I love the way it flys and I love the airplane. The folding wings are great. I keep both airplanes in one hangar and it is very quick to fold, unfold the wings. If you are happy with one seat, I don't think you will go wrong with a Onex. If I were building one, I would consider putting a Rotax in it. I know you are on your own if you go that way, but I think a Onex with a Rotax engine would be a rocketship.

[Hap Hazard]

Thanks guys,
Yeah, resale value, great point Scott! Quite frankly I haven’t really seen anything that can tick as many boxes as the Onex.
It’s looking more and more like a no brainer…best I get those sailplanes out the way!
Re-engine options, I really like the new Generation 4 Jab, thats high on my list…
Cheers,
HH

[Scott Todd]

If money was no object, a Onex with a Jab 6 cylnder in the nose would be it! It may still happen for mine one day :)

[Panther16]

You might want to take look at SPA,s Panther. It also has folding wings and single seat. I have a A model Sonex with 480 hours on it and the 3300 Jab and a Panther with a 3300 Corvair. I have not flown a Onex but I much prefer the Panther over the Sonex. My son has pretty much taken over the flying duties on the Sonex.

[pilotyoung]

Scott, Are there some flying Onex's with a Jab 6 in them?

[Scott Todd]

I can't specifically say but I know there are a few with the Turbo. I did test flying on a Kitfox and put about 50 hours on an original Jab 6 about 15 years ago. I just remember how smooth and strong it was.

[builderflyer]

Scott, Are there some flying Onex's with a Jab 6 in them?

The Sonex Builder Database shows two of them flying. There may be more. Must be a real kick in the pants to fly as they're a bit lighter than the Sonex with the 3300.

Art,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Sonex taildragger #95,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Jabiru 3300 #261

[rick9mjn]

Q. Are there some flying Onex's with a Jab 6 in them?
A. yes , there are , and here is some info on one 3300 powered , n# n362dv . and some were "on this forum" there is a "good" post about Vincent Homer , and his adding things to his onex , and another "good" post about his racing his onex . please do a search on this form , for the post....
@ @ also as a side to original poster, Hap Hazard ,
here is something to think about , if you buy a airplane , and fly the S@@t out of it for 10 years, and wear it out,
so it has no hull value ,
and if you add up the ground cost "parking & insurance & repairs" , you will see the cost over 10 years will be higher , than what you payed , for the airplane,
so did not worry about the re sale value, """"""""but enjoy fly airplane , and fly the S@@T out it""""""""""".......
good day / enjoy the day / rick