T-Flight Experience

[Sonex1517]

Woo hoo!

Sure glad to see you on here Joe!

Robbie
Sonex 1517

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[SonexN76ET]

I had the opportunity to complete the five hour Sonex Transistion Training last month with Joe Norris at Sonex. I have to say this was the best $850 I have ever spent.

If you have never flown a Sonex and are building one or thinking of building one (or you are on the fence) or don't know if you want to fly with an Aerovee, I say go to Sonex and get some flight instruction. It will be a real eye opener!

First off, let me say this. I am highly, highly impressed with the Sonex's flight qualities. It is a MUCH MUCH better handling aircraft than the certificated Light Sport Aircraft and light aircraft I have flown. To me, it flies much like a T-34, but is more nimble. It is very close in feel to an RV-8. It flies much better than a PiperSport/SportCruiser. It has great control harmony and balance.

Second, the Aerovee has plenty of power and purred like a kitten. Previously, I had only flown behind Continental's/Lycomings, and Rotax 912's. I was a little worried about how an Aerovee would be to fly behind. Well, let me tell you, I had no reason to worry. That little Aerovee ran smooth and strong over what must have been a 100 touch and goes and visits to airports around Wisconsin. It never missed a beat. Wow! Even on a warm day with 2 pilots of nearly 200 lbs each and plenty of fuel (we were right at gross weight), the plane climbed well and had short take off rolls. During cruise the engine ran true.

I had pondered how the Sonex and Aerovee would be in cruise flight and I was very pleased. I really enjoyed just flying smoothly around the country side for a while, just getting a feel for the Sonex. Man, did I have fun!

Actually flying the Sonex and receiving flight instruction in it answered so many questions I had pondered for so long. Simple questions like "How will the Aerovee sound and feel in flight?" and "What will final approach look like?" and "How will it look and feel to flare in the landing?" While I was there I also got valuable information on finishing my Sonex, such as how to properly route and secure the throttle cable and mixture cable.

Joe Norris is a highly knowledgeable pilot and builder. You could not ask for a better instructor. He thoroughly followed the training syllabus and also gave the option to focus on areas I felt I needed some additional instruction in. I am confident that this flight training fully prepared me for the first flight of my Sonex. Thank you Joe and thank you Sonex!

[MichaelFarley56]

Great report Jake and thank you for sharing!

[vwglenn]

Hello from Oshkosh! Figured I'd chime in here on the Tflight experience. It's fantastic! Joe is an excellent instructor and extrememy dedicated. I arrived in Green Bay Wednesday and drove straight to the Sonex facility. Joe had just finished up with another student as the weather has been sketchy all week but was beautiful that day. He took a quick lunch break and we started immediately after to take advantage of the weather. Unfortunately the 3300 powered Sonex was out of commission due to some recently developed charging issues. I did all of my training in the factory VW Waiex taildragger.

A little background about me...I'm a 250 hour private pilot. 90% of my flying has been in Cessnas with about 100 hours in my old tailwheel C-170. Since I bought my Sonex in November, people have been asking me how it compares to the Cessna. The analogy I always use is to compare it to an SUV and the Sonex to a Miata. Now that I've had my first shot at flying a Sonex, I can say that it's a perfect description.

Initially the controls felt very twitchy to me but this was due to past experience. It only took one or two passes around the patch to get a feel for the controls and stop trying to fly it like a gorilla. The stick forces in the Waiex seem very much in harmony. With a couple of 200 pound guys in the plane the 80 horse VW seems more than adaquate. The plane requires a fairly large amount of left rudder as you climb out but it is in no way uncomfortable. It's as natural as the right rudder input you'd use on other planes. An issue I had was to forget to let the pressure off the pedal as I would level off or descend while doing pattern work. I'd just kind of forget I was still holding left rudder and the ball would go out of center. On the takeoff roll I found it was beneficial to me to get the tail up quickly. The 170 would just fly off in a three point attitude and climb like an elevator. The Waiex seemed to me to want to yaw left as soon as the back wheel came off the ground. This has to be because of the fixed nature of the steering mechanism. When I waited too long to lighten the tail, I had to be ready with rudder inputs as soon as the tail broke ground. I've continuously been told how docile my old 170s ground handling characteristics were for a taildragger and I tend to agree. The Waiex, however, is even more benign while on the ground. The steering is instantaneous and has great authority. The second you put pressure on the pedal, it goes in that direction. I'd read somewhere that the slaved tailwheel required wider turns. I didn't notice that at all. I'm sure it won't whip around within a plane length like a swivel wheel and differential brakes but it doesn't need to. Plenty of travel for normal ground operations. Landings are EASY. This is where the thing shines. It's very forgiving. The gear absorbs a lot of the shock if you flare early which I did a lot at first because I was used to a high wing and SUV stance of a Cessna. Many of my touchdowns in the Sonex would've required a go around in my old plane. The Waiex would sort of squat right in whereas my Cessna with the spring steel gear would've launched me back into the air. Stalls were amazing. The plane certainly talks to you. The buffet feels great. Plenty of warning of an impending stall. You'd have to be asleep not to feel it coming. The Y tail performs exactly as advertised. I never even thought about it while I was flying. On our second day, the winds were gusting up to 20 with a decent crosswind component. Control authority was excellent all around and the plane really made it easy for me to look like a better pilot than I consider myself to be.

This has been a 100% positive experience and was well worth the expense of the trip. I can't wait to get back home and fly #600.

[MichaelFarley56]

Great write up Glenn! Thank you for sharing your experience with the T-Flight program! Hopefully your Sonex will be ready in short order and you'll be ready to go!

[vwglenn]

Great write up Glenn! Thank you for sharing your experience with the T-Flight program! Hopefully your Sonex will be ready in short order and you'll be ready to go!

Thanks. I originally didn't intend on official transition training. I'm glad I was able to do so. 600 is ready to go once I get a condition inspection signed off and now I can't wait!

Just saw a mistake I made the write up. The plane didn't yaw left when the tail came up. It required left rudder. Now that I thought a little harder, this may have been exaggerated by the wind coming from the right as well. Either way, the transition from the tail wheel being on the ground to being up would require a bit of anticipation.