I took a little time this year to look at the Sonex offerings after speaking to two Sonex builders who were ranting and raving about them. Affordable kit, simple and fairly quick construction, and economical, as far as I can tell.
First, the Xenos- with a Jabiru engine instead of the smaller Aero-Vee VW-based powerplant, this is the most expensive of the bunch. That price includes the engine!! Looks like a real sweet motorglider for the money. The little "helper rudder" under the V-tail is interesting; I guess it was a design compromise.
A customer-built T-tail Sonex- the design is sort of stubby and toy-like, but they can be made to look pretty nifty. And the appeal for a guy like me is that they are economical and apparently lots of fun to fly. The T-tails and V-tails are aerobatic (+6/-3).
Didn't see it fly myself, but Sonex claims this Li-ion powered electric version will stay aloft for 45 minutes. That's not bad for a "real' airplane. Very promising- the limitations on electric planes right now are not much worse than they were on gasoline-powered airplanes 100 years ago. A lot of people say "it'll never happen", but most people said the same thing to the early aviation pioneers. In context, it's an amazing achievement. They're not on the market yet, but soon. Imagine how much sooner the project would be done if all you had to do for power was slap a small motor and battery pack on that airframe!! They really ought to do this with the Xenos- it's ideal as it is for a self-launching glider.
I couldn't resist touching it, to turn the prop... no resistance at all, like a toy.
For more info:
http://www.sonexaircraft.com/aircraft/sonex.html#Now for some more random classics and antiques:
The owner of this very pretty old (award-winning)Cessna wants people to appreciate what it takes to keep something like this shiny...
Sometimes an old Goose is an "artsy" shot just waiting to happen.
A different view of a well-known replica of etc. etc... the updated panel was a little disappointing, but why not? Anyone flying this beastie has enough to contend with as it is.
One of many Stearmans on the taxiway:
Next: part 18
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