SubSonex Jet Takes Its First Flight

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Recently we checked out a newly built subsonex jet from McLaren Aerospace mclarenaerospac...
This week, the experimental mini jet looks its very first maiden flight and it was a success.
This is the normal process when you build an experimental aircraft. You have to test flight the machine and make sure all things are working well as they should.
In a test flight, you test for
airspeed accuracy
ground speed accuracy
stall speed
rpm
fuel flow
flight controls and much more..
In a subsonex jet, you need to take 20 flights or more.
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[@spency787]

For goodness sake, please cut the guy some slack. This is a single seat, kit built jet. At the time of writing there is no two seater to train on so your first flight in it is just that, your first ever flight. Confidence, smoothness and accuracy (particularly on landing) can only come with experience and at this stage the guy has zero. I think he did an excellent job

[@TheGreatDrAsian]

You know what they say, any landing you walk away from is a good one.

[@toadman506]

There is a 2-seater, that Sonex uses to train builders, it's essentially a Powered Glider...same body as a regular sonex, but with about double the wingspan

[@spency787]

toadman506 that maybe the case but a motor glider will have no where near the wing loading of the single seater jet version so the speeds (and therefore the rate of decent on approach) will be very different.

[@toadman506]

@@spency787 It seems good enough for the factory and insurance companies.

[@lorinmiller1682]

Totally agree on this comment. Even when you do a normal Sonex training transition from another like configured Sonex aircraft - it's a different animal. One person on board vs. two makes a big difference in low speed handling of these light weight aircraft. Most light aircraft pilots will tell you that first time flying it - especially if it's the first flight for that aircraft ever - is a major learning experience. First flight in the Waiex I built - I landed and didn't damage anything, and that was a success in my book. Whether I bounced or not was irrelevant.

[@IrishDave]

Show me a pilot who hasn't had bouncy landings, I know I have had. First flight, he flew it great. Looked tough to handle on touchdown but he did excellently despite the comments here.

[@kaiprzadka6896]

@The94GTC Can't blame em it'S a cool plane

[@johnbradley4776]

I have never bounced a landing, not even once. You say im full of B.S. Well here is my proof, Im not a pilot.

[@kimjunguny]

Should have gone around. You are taught to go around on a bounce, especially a massive one like that. I mean he made it alive so I guess thats "excellence"

[@IrishDave]

@@kimjunguny I am not trying to argue with you but as a pilot, I was never trained to go around on a bounce. This bounce was by no mean massive in aviation terms.

[@chrism9976]

He's a former Tomcat pilot. They always used to land hard.

[@bryndal36]

That was freakin awesome. Flying around in a jet they made themselves. What an experience that must have been.

[@jassonmonzon7671]

Dude I’m saying! I just got onto aviation technician school and mark history in my life 🙌🏻

[@videogameplayer0552]

@@jassonmonzon7671 awesome, congratulations!

[@ombhakt]

We need these people to build cheap but quality planes so that everyone can achieve their dreams of having and flying their own jets. Kudos you and your team!

[@timesthree5757]

I flew ultra lights and bounced alot of landings. Dude did gud.

[@robbythompson4230]

What a rewarding feeling to have to be able to fly what you just spent so much time on building. Nicely done

[@marcklosts7834]

how are you

[@scottfranco1962]

God what an awesome feeling that must be to get a first flight in an aircraft you built, especially one so fast.

[@Riverboat374]

So cool!! Nice triple bounce landing. Looks like he was extra hot. Can't blame him on his very first test flight.

[@rcbif101]

According to Sonex's numbers, he touched down right at what he should have. 1.3xVso=60 (Vso=58)

[@ovwarrior]

It really is amazing. You're apparently supposed to come in a little hot like the other commenter said.

[@lunamaria1048]

You can't even fly a jet lol

[@richardappiah5832]

I need a jet fly 🚀

[@jagerpowell1458]

First flight test. How could anyone, no matter their skill, land a plane perfectly without knowing how it handles? Kept calm and focused and did not panic. That's experience

[@rocroc]

No guts, no glory! It takes guts to do the first test flight of a "plane" like that. Nice flight.

[@GRosa250]

Very cool little jet. It’s almost like a big RC plane that you can actually fly in.

[@chippledon1]

A tinted canopy and/or the extension of the glare shield over the instrument pod perhaps?

[@TRabbit1970]

‘Think that I’ll just enjoy this aircraft from the ground, and in your excellent videos. Fine job. Thank you for showing us these wonderful aircraft.

[@peteranderson037]

Well that was a sphincter clincher of a landing.

[@EJWash57]

When he took off, there WAS a seat bottom cushion...

[@SpyGeorgilis]

Pilot: "Tower, what time did I land?" Tower: "Which time Sir?"

[@XRinger]

I was a little nervous watching all that fast joy-stick movement on final approach, and there was more fast stick movement than I expected to see during the bounces when landing. I'm not a pilot, but learned to fly RC gliders by a few taking training flights in a Schweizer training glider (this was in the early 1970s, before flight simulators & PCs). I was always amazed at how slow and easy it was landing a glider. The only hard part was the large ground-effect, it required really pushing down the nose 'hard' to stop flying and start riding on that wheel. This jet was going so fast, and seemed to need so much input to stay in the right approach path.. My theory is you actually need to train in a real jet fighter simulator if you plan on flying one of these little mini-jets. Looks like fun when you are up high, but no way this old boomer would ever think of landing one of those. I've moved on to RC sailboats.. :)

[@peteranderson037]

@@XRinger Yeah, this isn't a plane you can transition directly into from a Cessna 172.

[@XRinger]

@@peteranderson037 That's for sure! Plus, that little side-mounted stick can't be helping much. But, I guess there's no room for a man-spread center stick it such a small cockpit.

[@christopherbeddoe406]

Great first flight! I'd love to build one of these some day. Can't Imagine my first flight in an aircraft being a solo too. The speed of that jet too. Definitely a little spoiled with 2 seaters when you can bring the instructor up with you first go.

[@randynovitch6744]

Now THAT was a fun ride, please keep doing these "airborne" videos. The tech stuff is cool to see & know about, but the thrill of riding the beast is unbeatable!

[@pvt-pilot]

Man, looks like it is a touchy thing but very cool little jet.

[@f900ex5]

test flight .. I'm sure that will get worked out plus it was not a clean aircraft during flight.

[@tyron84]

That little engine puts out some strong thrust.

[@rbagel55]

Ty Ron Enough to push this plane to 250-275 MPH 40 years ago. people would have called you crazy if you would have told them a this little engine was this powerful.

[@unitedspacepirates9075]

Lol, human tech is funny.

[@EUK007]

The engine is PBS TJ100 a compact low weight design with a thrust of up to 1,250 N.

[@kaikart123]

That's what she said

[@dzulfiqaralfawaid4482]

@@kaikart123 nyasar bang?

[@9014jayvictor]

fastest go cart I have ever seeen

[@Mekaniktachankatachankin]

Fr

[@D00rGunner]

That thing looks like a handful to fly!

[@SpectrumVans]

D00rGunner actually to land.

[@XRinger]

Flying looks like a lot of fun, but landing looks scary to me. Or maybe there was a messy crosswind situation..?.

[@Mak10z]

@@XRinger it looked like it, it appears to be a really light yet fast plane. landing that the 1st time must have had a pucker factor of 9.5 edit: after watching other videos on this plane, the rudder is also controlled from the stick. there are not separate rudder pedals! I'd move the pucker factor up to a solid 10 on that fact alone :)

[@Arrix949]

Wow coming in hot! Looks like a manned V1 plane. Nice work lads.

[@josephvandevander6848]

that’s freaking crazy! that little plane and that little jet engine flew!! with a DUDE inside!!! WOW!!

[@mysterymayhem7020]

Look at that cute little baby. I'm so proud of Papa A-10 and Mama T-38

[@andrewjenery1783]

Amazing power from such a small jet turbine.

[@tonywright8294]

Andrew Jenery how do you know ?

[@RydalS]

I can imagine that is a fantastic feeling first flight of the plane you built yourself. Great accomplishment! Congratulations!

[@barryhuizing2804]

Thanks Mike! Great little aircraft that is very fast!

[@torjones1701]

Love the SubSonex, just wish there was a twin engine version.

[@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki]

have you seen the Ph.D. physics guy in Palo Alto that built a jet engine in his Volkswagen, and then a TWO engine jet SCOOTER for his wife?????? Calif. had to register the Volks as 'street legal" but the blowback from the jet exhaust would have vaporized anything within a hundred feet, and cook the other hundred. he's posted photos running them AT NIGHT.

[@silverdrillpickle7596]

Or a twin seater

[@TheBirdmaster45]

Right .. One that looks like a F15

[@Jacmac1]

Looks like it flies on rails, very impressive.

[@andrewheffel3565]

Wow, it's like having a go cart that can fly! Very cool.

[@tonywright8294]

Andrew Heffel no it’s not

[@michael-ju8tv]

These tiny things are INSANE! Awesome vid.

[@ThirdDegreeWitchExplores]

Superb , nice recovery on landing , shows calm , cool , collected piloting.

[@jeffjones4071]

Awesome vid!!! Hats off to the pilot, glad he had a safe landing in that little jet

[@shimy333]

it's amazing that little turbine powers the whole thing

[@arbenmccarthy-lucasan3776]

In the air when u reach high altitudes u get little air resistance and gravity is less effective

[@mikeawilliams7104]

@@arbenmccarthy-lucasan3776 what?

[@georgewhitworth9742]

@@arbenmccarthy-lucasan3776 "gravity is less effective"?

[@dmanero]

looks awesome, would have been nice to see some exterior shots while flying. maybe a flyby or something

[@scottfranco1962]

Hate to nitpick, what an awesome video, but that would have even been more awesome from a standing start. Really gives you a sense of the acceleration of the aircraft.

[@mhilderbrand7693]

Love your videos, but you missed the most important part of the first flight... the pilots response when getting out of the plane.

[@wisedupearly3998]

Given the narrow wing span and light weight the hands off stability is much better than I expected. Nice flying plane.

[@zear3511]

Wow, that tiny little turbine has some serious thrust for its size.

[@monsenrm]

Nice job. I think the wide angle lens camera so close to the ground makes the speeds look much higher than they really are. That is an old Hollywood trick for car chases. Put the camera just above the road and drive 20mph. It looks like you are going 100. I couldn’t see the airspeed indicator but he may have been a tad hot and decided to use only moderate braking. As a Sonex owner myself...gosh that jet sounds nice.

[@angeletsoler]

Is he flying with clecos in the fuselage?

[@flexairz]

Sure...

[@jasondunken]

This is the comment I was looking for. I thought I might be the only one that noticed that the belly is being held on with cleco clamps, wtf?

[@mclarenaerospace3142]

He did not fly with clecos in the fuselage. That footage was from a previous ground test before the bottom of the fuselage was riveted. The airplane was 100% complete at the time of first flight. I suspect Mike got some of the footage mixed up

[@hisholinesslordpotato]

Good landing for landing gear like that It shows this plane is durable

[@SuperDrummersteve]

May I recommend shocks and a drag chute.

[@ssranon]

thanks for this vid. heard these little jets go up to 260mph and cruise at 220mph. me likey! in this video it looks like the pilot had the gear down the whole time (three green lights on the left side of the panel).

[@frankboyd7993]

Not uncommon on an aircraft's first test flight

[@ianmclaren1561]

Yep. First flight gear down all time. Limited to 108 lots

[@nickleggett2101]

Wish. I. Finished. My. BD..FIVE. BACK. IN. THE. DAY. ..............

[@exJacktar]

That was fascinating, thank you. If l were richer, smarter and younger I'd love to have something as exciting myself. BZ on the build and maiden flight.

[@topcatlawson5490]

cool flight ,good luck with your new plane.

[@joelmerritt9350]

Perfect landing, he walked away! Practice in a new configuration will make it better! How much thrust and cost?

[@NewFrontierAerospace]

The TJ-100 develops 258.53 lbf of rated thrust. The Quick Build kit price (including engine) is $115,352 as of this post: www.sonexaircraft.com/subsonex/

[@markvincentcocjin]

Have they ever tried installing fly-by-wire in these tiny jets?

[@dagg497]

Math is too complicated to build a decent and safe flight computer for that. You need to probably develop a flight sim just to test the Differential equation behaviour of your PID regulation algorithms.. A quite heavy task that even professional aerospace manufucturers gets wrong ie. SAAB JAS 39 Gripen crash over Stockholm Sweden.. Front Canard wings had an unstable equation in a certain condition and flight control input.

[@markvincentcocjin]

@@dagg497 Thank you for that insight.

[@Bearthedancingman]

That was an interesting question and a useful and fascinating answer. Thanks to both of you.

[@spudeleven5124]

"Shut up and take my money!"

[@aestheticsdesignstudio4113]

Paypal or what?

[@olderbutyoung7959]

Any way to make it noisier?

[@Hexauslion]

I hope they can work out the stability issues, I wouldn't go to hard on the pilot for his landing it was an experimental test flight and his first for that specific jet as well. the thing is its very lightweight and the controls are pretty strong so that makes them touchy so id say some software adjustments with the controls could help.

[@ericthiel4053]

Got to be so much fun!! Nice build!! Safe travels out there!!

[@RAMelloh-ij5sl]

If that stick works like my joystick at home, a little dampening in response might be in order to take some of the twitch out of the approach and landing. The very short throw might be challenging. That being said, any rubber side down landing is a good landing, especially on a first test flight. Wish there was a summary of different characteristics experienced included in the post. Happy flying.

[@MasboyRC]

So stable and perfect to fly. Awesome 👍

[@dannyhammock1696]

Love the way it sounds

[@stephanfiebich1561]

How fast does it spool back up to flying speed if you have to make a go around!

[@Joe-mg6pj]

I had guessed there would be a fairing between the Engine and fuselage to keep various components being ripped away in the wind? Also, it appeared the pilot was having trouble seeing the LCD screen?

[@johnmclean6498]

Any well designed cockpit has shrouds or coamings over the instruments to protect from glare. Also in his pilots notes should be : Impossible to release canopy in emergency bale out!

[@ToddLuvsGolf]

Pretty awesome first flight Mojo!! I would love to flight that baby myself!!

[@azspotfree]

Why does that thing come in so fast? What's the stall speed?

[@EJWash57]

V-df. (Velocity, damned fast!)

[@madse9356]

It doesnt really look like a glider. Stalls at 100 mph haha. Pilot is brave, this plane looks more like a cruise missile than a plane. Must be fun 😀

[@EJWash57]

@@madse9356 Up until you achieve the same intent of a cruise missile...

[@hsantibanez]

58 MPH is the stall speed

[@nigelcarren]

A test-flight so successful the pilot had time to make his shopping list! BRAVO 🏆

[@LeslieIsgrigg]

And change his underwear

[@BenHayat]

What a smooth ride. He was very confident and relax.

[@abelincoln95]

Was the red dial the trim?? Pretty exciting project...

[@brettschlee7090]

Is the kit designed to have air flow coming in? I'm talking about the visible, pant-vibrating ventilation.

[@not2day646]

You can see the vent to the left of his left leg. You can also see him mess with it later on

[@srijankumardas1626]

Is it available to civilians and at what price??

[@dlavarco]

They need to do something about the canopy glare thing. I couldn't see anything which doesn't matter but he often needed to use his hands to shield the glare. Is there a parachute in that thing?

[@pascalcoole2725]

Beautifull recording it felt almost like i was flying myselve again. This aircraft seems to be verry sensitive on the controlls, though i really like it.

[@davidholmes9668]

Was the long ground run deliberate - to reach the turn-off area? Was he applying brakes at all, or avoiding doing so?

[@ChargerusPrime]

I so want one of these badass things. I plan to use mine for actual travel across the state. It's genuinely perfect for the distances I'll be going.

[@oahts5906]

This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. My new objective is to build a personal jet.

[@jacobsaulsbury981]

awesome job flying

[@thebear6529]

Wow very Kool. Little bumpy on the landing but that is expected.

[@livefreeordie5033]

would be nice to see taking off and landing from an observer view😃

[@austntexan]

These really need two pods, mounted in the A-10 style configuration. Thrust to weight can't be all that great with a single?

[@doncatchpole7370]

Hot landing, well done.

[@GeoFry3]

Did my pilot training at Edward's AFB aero club (civilian private pilot). My first flight after my solo my instructor wanted me move a cesna 172 from south base to main base to pick her up. Instead of taxing the 2+ miles I took off from South base 22 and landed on main base 24. I was so nervous I bounced like a rubber ball on the landing. 24 is a 500' foot wide 15,000 long runway and I managed to bounce the landing hard enough that the tower made fun of me. Luckily it was Saturday morning and the place was a ghost town so no one else saw. Good times.

[@gman2152]

Whats the altitude and range on that and how much does it cost?

[@joenenninger971]

That's a tight grip on the stick.

[@nickstonehenge]

does it have an ejection seat?

[@-vajradatta-8359]

Excellent jet video, one of the best.

[@charllectric4842]

8:52 That was scary AF

[@axel_x8954]

what unit are you reading your speed on the main monitor?

[@jamesbooth2634]

What a thrill! Building the plane, dreaming of what it would be like. and actually DOING IT!!!

[@kingston5469]

Why this so satisfying to watch?

[@DJRoach520]

I wanna know what the speeds and fuel consumption were

[@TeamProsperity]

What’s the thrust of the engine?

[@baronbattles4681]

What fun, congratulations, well done, thanks for sharing your experience.

[@beachboardfan9544]

Damn that thing looks squirrely!

[@herculesgonzalez8304]

Imagine this little jet could fly none stop for 15 hours like a Boeing 747 just throw in an ac system, heating, and auto pilot. I would sale my house and buy one tomorrow.

[@richardcarew4708]

One of the reasons for installing the motor above the wings is to eliminate the the thrust being chopped up by pressure difference across the wings... I like the tail design, but they might want to look at the air flow in a wind tunnel or something... vibration of two things at different frequencies sets up harmonics that can shake a machine to pieces.. although that is not apparent in this video... beautiful aircraft

[@zeitviator629]

vibrations of which two things ?

[@zeitviator629]

but in most airliners, the engine is placed below the wing,.wouldn't that create any issues for the thrust? I'm not much familiar with aerodynamics but I would like to learn.

[@zeitviator629]

@NaDopros ah yes thank you

[@ianmclaren1561]

There is a tendency to create nosedown moment as power is increased but that can be the case with below wing engines. (737 max!!). Pilot needs to be aware.

[@pbasswil]

What would that thing have for cockpit ventilation? Looks like a mighty small volume of air in there. Very cute craft, though.

[@skyserf]

4:37 Is it just me or does the AHRS appear to be lagging?

[@bschonec]

I thought the same thing.....give me a good ole attitude indicator!

[@LeoH3L1]

How is it on power?

[@jusjamesNYC]

What’s the stall speed on this?

[@venM9]

Slightly longer wings will make the landings a breeze.

[@houstonhelicoptertours1006]

This plane does not really benefit from a larger wingspan. @mcnet The tanks are located behind the pilot.

[@houstonhelicoptertours1006]

@mcnet Yes, shoulda coulda woulda. You are free to do that on your SubSonex.

[@JimmyEatDirt]

@@houstonhelicoptertours1006 to elaborate on this you would also need to install Extra fuel pumps unless you're always going to be flying perfectly horizontally, extra sensors to read out your fuel amount, perfectly balance them, as this plane is already very small and weight distribution is critical, stronger control surfaces to deal with added mass and sluggishness, a stronger engine to compensate for extra weight, reinforced landing gear to handle the extra craft weight, hundreds of hours of R&D to determine the optimal position of extra tanks... to name a few things.

[@tonywright8294]

No they won’t . Just getting used to it will do

[@cichystorczyk4579]

Congratulations !!! This is awesome

[@donaldparlettjr3295]

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Well done. So many homebuilts never get finished.

[@raf3031]

mclaren aerospace

[@float_sam]

whoa buddy scary looking landing from a light sport guy.. like that thing is COOKING

[@izzyplusplusplus1004]

It is!

[@timmikep1978]

That was a pucker moment for sure.

[@MattyRouter]

Crosswind?

[@carlmccall7198]

Touched down at what? 70 or so? Is that kts or mph?

[@shreddder999]

You have to understand that these are just preliminary flights. Once the BRS is installed he won't have to do that anymore.

[@MrOmeyer]

does it come with a cd player?

[@xr500t]

Please don't mind my ignorance, but is there a data logger that can record and be analyzed after the test flight? why write things while flying and be distracted?

[@kx4532]

Why is the thrust placed off center?

[@zacharymohrmann4329]

What wouldn't I give to be flying that bird....! Congratulations on your test flight... May you have many more hours of fun with that little wonder....

[@bigemugamer]

Nice flight and nice little Heinkle 162 lol what altitude did this flight take you to and what was your landing speed?