Sonex 1284 First Flight

[@free-birdrocker8809]

Awesome bird, love the paint scheme. My pop had a Sonerai 1 back in the 80's and it was a sizzler. It was white with green trim, had the wheel pants and it was a shoulder winged tail dragger. He got rid of it long ago but had a blast. Have fun in your Monett Sonex1

[@G56AG]

Nice looking plane. I noted that your first landing in the new plane that you landed with authority, I'm sure you have smoothed that out substantially since then. LOL

[@charrb62]

Beautifully built airplane, and I really enjoyed this video. I am looking into LSAs right now and will definitely take a close look at the Sonex. I know that they make a couple of other models too, and that they are very affordable if you feel like putting the time into building them. Important factors for me are cabin width and useful load. I saw your other video with your niece. Enjoyed that one too and it looked like she had a great time. Thanks!

[@nickconrad94]

get the jet one lol

[@tinolino58]

very elegant paint sheme! Nice video: very inspiring!

[@Eyes_in_the_Sky_Chad]

Great Build. I love the panel layout.

[@oregonsonex]

Thanks. It has really served me well. I love the MGL Enigma...and it's helped me out in bad weather (see Into MVFR and scud running! kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5TcdneFe7OGqbs )

[@novicereloader]

The taildragger looks cool, but the view you have in the trike will be the deciding factor for me. Nice plane.

[@oregonsonex]

Thanks! The visibility is incredible. I've heard the same thing from everyone who's ridden in the plane.

[@frankdearmond3372]

Great job, must have been an exciting moment! I'm starting on the SubSonex tail kit in about a month. Hope I am as successful as you!

[@sganzerlag]

Great first flight, beautiful airplane! Thanks for sharing. Question: what did its empty weight come in at? Best regards from Brasilia, Brazil.

[@oregonsonex]

700 lbs

[@sganzerlag]

@@oregonsonex wow that is super light! Especially considering it's a two-place aircraft.

[@sganzerlag]

That's substantially lighter than a j3 cub's empty weight. Even though the j3 has no electrical system.

[@farhanfouadacca]

Congrats. Lovely plane. I am planning to start building Sonex soon. How long did it take to finish yours?

[@oregonsonex]

Thanks! It took about 3 years and 1000 hrs. It would have been quicker if I'd not drifted away from the plans in several areas such as the swing-back canopy and split cowl. It's been 9 years flying the plane with very little trouble. It's well behaved and a lot of fun to fly. I'd highly recommend the Sonex! Good luck.

[@farhanfouadacca]

1000 hours is not too bad. Was yours a quick build or a regular build?

[@oregonsonex]

@@farhanfouadacca Regular build. I liked making all the small parts. I built the spar too. I bought the welded pieces.

[@collinmossholder4570]

@@oregonsonex from pallet to first flight what is the price range of this aircraft build

[@oregonsonex]

@@farhanfouadacca Regular. Not a quick build.

[@fleite2005]

Is it Jabiru 3300 or AeroVee?

[@J3r3myPrince]

Nice Airplane I'm very jealous. Hope i'll be able to build my own LSA one day.

[@erpautocon]

Hi, tell me about your cruise speed with the jabiru 3300... I finish the Sonex 1650 but not fly yet.....

[@bryanstephens3562]

Why do all the Sonex AC I see use such a small diameter prop? Wouldn't a larger prop be more efficient? I'm new to the flying game so forgive me if this is a dumb question please. Also I think a larger prop would look more proportional.

[@oregonsonex]

+Bryan Stephens Bryan, Because of a combination of ground clearance (the plane sets low) and engine RPM. The Jabiru develops max HP and 3300 redlines ~3200 RPM. Many pilots run theirs at 3100+ all the time. I typically run between 2850 an 2950. You can do the math on the speed of the tips!

[@bryanstephens3562]

+Mike Kelley I figured it was something like that. It did seem like the 100hp engine should have the stones to turn a bigger prop but I agree that ground clearance would be the deciding factor.

[@oregonsonex]

+Bryan Stephens If you are new to flying, you may not know this. The speed of the tip of the prop should always be subsonic, or less than 768 miles per hour. At the same RPM, the tips of larger props are actually moving faster!

[@DerPilotMann]

How much extra work was the lighting for night flight? I imagine that it is worth the extra utility. I plan to use my Sonex for solo cross countries quite often, so I think having the capability to fly at night would be worthwhile. Opinions?

[@oregonsonex]

Well, the lights were extra work (and weight) However, I set mine up for wig-wag so on those grey cloudy days I get a little better visibility to other aircraft (of course my bright red paint doesn't hurt). If you are not going to fly at night, I wouldn't go to the trouble. Keep in mind you almost need 2; one pointed downward for taxiing, and one point out for looking down the runway.

[@DerPilotMann]

Mike Kelley Well, I think I will go without to start. I can always add them on later should I decide to do some night flying (or if I ding a wing somehow, I suppose it is a convenient way to repair the damage lol). Thanks for your feedback!

[@oregonsonex]

DanTheSasquatch Pull the wire through the ribs when you build. They would be a B**** to do later!

[@DerPilotMann]

Noted! Thank you!

[@Dr.Stacker]

Mike Kelley are experimental aircraft permitted to flying at night and for example IFR if had the avionics for it? Thanks

[@bobbyjohnnascar]

Convert to water cooled heads= good idea.

[@ElectronHexagon]

My Right ear was very lonely.

[@cluberic]

Buy one and let me fly it

[@J3r3myPrince]

get ur own bah