FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2013 an Action-Packed Year for Sonex Aircraft;
Sonex News and Events at AirVenture 2013

July 29, 2013, Oshkosh, WI

In a press briefing held this morning at the Sonex Aircraft, LLC exhibit booth on EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013 grounds, company officials reviewed several major news items and announcements for this year’s show. "AirVenture 2013 is shaping-up to rank among the top of the list as one of the most significant and exciting shows in Sonex history for our ownership & staff, prospective and current customers alike," remarked Sonex Aircraft General Manager Mark Schaible. "Our management team and staff have worked tremendously hard over the past 12 months to maximize the number of strategic goals we can bring to the table in 2013, and stars have aligned for Sonex Aircraft in many other respects this year." Sonex Aircraft, LLC's AirVenture exhibit booth is located in the North Aircraft Display Area, Booth #622.

SubSonex Personal Jet Kit Reservation Deposits Being Accepted:
During a briefing held yesterday for customers and members of the media, Sonex Aircraft announced that Kit Reservation Deposits are now being accepted for the SubSonex Personal Jet. $10,000 refundable deposits will be used to assign reservation numbers to prospective SubSonex customers on a first come, first served basis. A guaranteed price of $125,000 is being offered for the first 10 deposit holders, to include the SubSonex Ultra-Quick Build Kit along with the PBS TJ-100 turbojet engine with installation accessories. Intended for flight under Experimental Exhibition category rules, the Ultra-Quick Build Kit is planned to minimize tasks for the builder with no major portion "51 percent rule" restrictions. Kit deliveries are anticipated to begin mid-year, 2014. More information can be found in yesterday's official press release at: http://www.sonexaircraft.com/press/releases/pr_072813.html

Sonex Aircraft Offers Quick Build Kits:
Sonex has recently announced the availability of Quick Build Kits for Sonex, Waiex and Onex models including pre-built fuselage & wing structures, along with an installed canopy. The Quick Build versions of these popular kit aircraft are available as a $10,000 upgrade that, combined with Complete Airframe Kit pricing, offers a line of Quick Build packages priced $5,000 to $10,000 below competing kits in the marketplace.

Sonex Aircraft Offering Show Specials During AirVenture 2013:
Sonex Aircraft is excited to announce special offers for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013. These offers are available through Monday August 12th, and are extended to customers all-over the globe — whether they are attending AirVenture or not.

Aircraft Kit Discounts: All Complete Airframe Kits, Quick Build Kits, or "Kit Minus Tail" Sub-Kit packages ordered before the August 12th deadline will receive a $500 discount.

AeroVee Engine Kit Offer: Customers ordering an AeroVee Engine Kit before the August 12th deadline will receive our Crankshaft/Prop Hub Assembly Service at no additional charge, a $295 value.

All orders must be received by Sonex Aircraft, LLC by end of business on Monday, August 12th, and must include the required deposit payment.

John Monnett to Receive Two Major Honors at AirVenture 2013:
Sonex Founder and President John Monnett will receive more recognition for his contributions to the EAA community during award presentations at AirVenture 2013: the EAA Freedom of Flight Award, and the SETP Spirit of Flight Award.

EAA's Freedom of Flight Award is bestowed annually to an individual whose contributions to aviation closely mirror the integrity, entrepreneurship, and innovativeness of EAA members. The award will be presented on Wednesday, July 31st at 8:30am in the Theater in the Woods on AirVenture grounds, kicking-off the EAA Annual Membership Meeting. "EAA's Freedom of Flight is the organization's highest honor and represents the ideals and culture of the organization by sharing the spirit of aviation," said Jack Pelton, EAA chairman of the board. "John Monnett is a most deserving recipient because of his vision, his ingenuity, and his focus on welcoming more people into the world of flight. We are honored to welcome him to the list of those who have earned this award."

The Spirit of Flight Award, sponsored by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, is presented annually to an EAA member who best exemplifies the spirit of research, development or flight test. The winner is nominated by EAA and is selected by SETP's Board of Directors. This award will be presented during the annual Homebuilders Dinner on Thursday, August 1st at 6pm in the EAA AirVenture Museum Nature Center. "The SETP Board of Directors is delighted to select John as this year's Spirit of Flight Award recipient," writes SETP President, Doug Benjamin. "He is an exceptional individual whose contributions to sport aviation are unparalleled. The values John has brought to the world of homebuilding, and in particular his work in the development and testing of the Sonerai family of aircraft and their many derivatives puts him in a class by himself. Our membership of more than 2000 professional experimental test pilots shares those values, and we are pleased to congratulate John on this prestigious award."

John Monnett is a multi-thousand hour private pilot with glider and seaplane ratings, as well as turbine aircraft authorization for the SubSonex Personal Jet. John got his start in the homebuilt aircraft industry with the Sonerai I aircraft design in the early 1970's, and has the full line of Sonerai aircraft designs to his credit, along with the Monerai sailplane, Moni motorglider, world-record holding Monex racer, and the entire Sonex Aircraft product line. John is an inductee of the EAA Homebuilders Hall of Fame and has received honors such as EAA's August Raspet Award, the Oshkosh Key to the City award (awarded during AirVenture and traditionally reserved for legends in the aviation world), and many others.

Sonex Launches T-Flight Transition Training Program in 2013; Joint Transition Training Syllabus Published In-Conjunction with New Sonex Builders and Pilots Foundation:
Sonex Aircraft, LLC launched the new T-Flight Transition Training program in May of this year, taking the initiative based upon industry-wide recommendations from the NTSB, FAA, EAA the Aircraft Kit Industry Association (AKIA), and others. Operating under a Letter of Deviation Authority (LODA), Sonex offers transition training programs ranging from half-hour Basic Aircraft Familiarization flights, to multi-hour ground and dual instruction packages targeted to satisfy the most-common homebuilt aircraft insurance industry requirements while adequately preparing students for flight in their own Sonex Aircraft.

As of the date of this release, the T-Flight Transition Training Program has instructed 24 students since mid-May of this year, several of which have immediately gone-on to successfully accomplish first flight of their Sonex Aircraft projects. T-Flight students have been very complimentary of the program, with many positive letters coming-in since May.

The syllabus used for the T-Flight Transition Training program is a collaboration between Sonex Aircraft, LCC and the newly-formed Sonex Builders and Pilots Foundation, a national type club for Sonex designs. The syllabus is available for download from the web sites of both entities, in an effort to encourage more flight instructors with an interest in homebuilt aircraft to pursue LODA authorization, offering transition training services for the growing community of Sonex Aircraft pilots.

See the May 6th T-Flight Press Release at: http://www.sonexaircraft.com/press/releases/pr_050613.html
More information about the Sonex Builders and Pilots Foundation can be found in our May 10th press release: http://www.sonexaircraft.com/press/releases/pr_051013.html
Read a student’s account of the Sonex T-Flight experience at: http://sonexfoundation.com/uploads/Hicke_Sonex_Transition_Training_v1.pdf

Sonex Aircraft Establishes Dealerships in Africa and France:
Sonex Aircraft is excited to announce this week that two new foreign dealerships have been established to represent Sonex Aircraft and AeroConversions products in Africa and France. Sonex Aircraft, LLC sells factory-direct to most of the world, however, exclusive dealerships have been established for countries in which a dealership can ease regulatory, language/cultural or logistics hurdles to increase sales and the quality of customer service.

Sonex Africa, operated from the country of South Africa by Neil Cooper and Dirk Coetzee, serves the entire continent of Africa and offers Sonex Aircraft construction services as allowed by the homebuilding regulations of each country. The Sonex Africa web site can be found at: http://www.sonexafrica.co.za/sonex.html

Sonex representation in the country of France is offered by Aero-Max Affaires in Bordeaux, operated by Roger Ricard. Located on the very active and developing airfield of Saint Laurent Médoc, Aero-Max Affaires is able to offer Sonex, Waiex, Xenos and Onex designs as homebuilt aircraft in France. The Sonex and Waiex designs may also be built and flown under French Ultralight rules. Aero-Max Affaires can be found online at: http://roger.ricard.pagesperso-orange.fr

Sensenich Offers Ground Adjustable Propeller for the AeroConversions AeroVee Engine:
Sensenich Propeller has announced this week that a new ground adjustable propeller designed specifically for AeroVee powered aircraft is now available. This propeller utilizes Sensenich's same internal pressure molded system that has proved successful on so many Light Sport Aircraft. Manufactured from carbon and fiberglass prepreg, the propeller features a metal leading edge for superior erosion protection. Setting blade pitch on this new propeller couldn't be easier with Sensenich’s Pitch Pin Indexing System. Simply place the pitch pin in the hub, rotate the blades until the blade pin touches the pitch pin, tighten the hub bolts, and you are ready to fly! The Sensenich/AeroVee Ground Adjustable Propeller is available from Sonex Aircraft, LLC for $1,750 and an example of the propeller can be seen in both Sonex Aircraft and Sensenich company displays at AirVenture. For more information, go to:
http://www.sonexaircraft.com/kits/props.html
http://www.sensenich.com

AeroBrake Hydraulic Braking System Added to AeroConversions Product Line:
Sonex Aircraft, LLC announced a new addition to the AeroConversions product line in January, 2013: the AeroBrake Hydraulic Braking System. Due to popular demand, the AeroBrake is the first hydraulic brake product specifically designed for use with Sonex Aircraft airframes. The versatile AeroBrake design may also be used on a wide-variety of other experimental aircraft designs. While Sonex has had great success with the standard Azusa mechanical brake system over the years, the AeroBrake offers improved stopping power and smooth braking action in a head-to-head comparison of the installations.

Progress Continues on the AeroVee Turbo:
A turbocharged version of the popular AeroVee Engine Kit is a Hornets' Nest Research and Development project that has been long anticipated by Sonex and AeroConversions customers. Sonex Aircraft CEO Jeremy Monnett gave customers an update on the recent AeroVee Turbo R&D progress during yesterday’s Sonex Aircraft Open House and Homecoming Fly-In event:

In late 2012, a new "Universal" turbo intake manifold and exhaust were developed, which allows the turbo to be installed in all Sonex Aircraft configurations. Early in 2013, Sonex developed and installed a new engine test cell in the Hornets' Nest Research and Development Center for engine development and endurance testing, which features an MGL Avionics EMS instrument that records all critical engine data. The first project moved into this new test cell was the AeroVee Turbo prototype engine from the factory's Waiex aircraft.

The move to the engine test cell has allowed the R&D team to accomplish many experiments in a short period of time, collecting more reliable metrics. Examples of these experiments include different levels of boost, oil inlet and exit restrictors, and gravity feed vs. secondary pump oil systems while monitoring and recording engine CHT's, EGT's, and oil temperatures and pressures. The Hornets' Nest R&D team is particularly encouraged by cylinder head and oil temperatures in this system. "We estimate that we've run more than 50 individual experiments in the last 2 months alone by changing one or more component in the system," commented Jeremy Monnett. "Our goal is to also reduce the weight of the components being used to get to the 200 lbs firewall-forward weight limit for the Sonex, Waiex, Xenos, and Onex. Once a configuration is dialed in on the test cell, the set-up will be moved back over to a factory Sonex Aircraft for further flight test and refinement."

Sonex Aircraft Celebrates 15th Anniversary in 2013:
2013 is another landmark year for Sonex Aircraft staff, owners, builders, pilots and enthusiasts as it marks the 15th anniversary of the Sonex design and the founding of Sonex Aircraft, LLC. February 28 was the official start of the anniversary celebration, being the 15th anniversary of the first flight of the Sonex prototype in 1998. Sonex Aircraft, LLC (originally established as Sonex-Ltd.) was established soon thereafter and sale of the first set of Sonex plans quickly followed in August of 1998. The rest, as they say, is history.

Sonex Aircraft, LLC has enjoyed many milestones along the way. The following are just a few:

• Evolution and growth of Sonex Aircraft Complete Airframe Kits & Sub-Kits, kit upgrades and options.
• Establishment of the AeroConversions product line in 2001 with AeroInjector (then AeroCarb) and AeroVee engine flagship products, and the introduction of many more AeroConversions products and accessories in the years since.
• Introduction of two new designs in 2003: the Waiex sport aircraft and Xenos motorglider.
• Introduction of the Onex single-place, folding-wing aircraft in 2010.
• Commitment to the development of green technologies for the future of our sport with the Sonex and AeroConversions E-Flight Initiative, achieving first flight using electric power in 2010.
• Development of the SubSonex Personal Jet.
• Nearly 450 Sonex Aircraft completed and flown in the worldwide fleet thus far, 250 of which were reported in the last 5 years alone.
• Sale of over 1,900 Sonex Aircraft plans and kits since 1998.
• Hosting of 54 Sonex Builder Workshops since 1998.
• The growth of numerous grass-roots Sonex Builder Events around the globe that attract hundreds of current and prospective builders to learn more about our products and enjoy the camaraderie of their peers.
• Leadership efforts with EAA and FAA in the establishment of Light Sport Aircraft regulations and the preservation and stewardship of Experimental Amateur Building privileges.
• Leadership within the homebuilt aircraft industry leading to the establishment of the Aircraft Kit Industry Association (AKIA).

Sonex Aircraft, LLC is a leader in the experimental kit aircraft industry, providing a series of Sport Pilot eligible kit aircraft along with the AeroConversions line of products which include the AeroVee engine, AeroInjector and ancillary aviation products. Sonex Aircraft's Sonex, Waiex, and Onex sport planes, the Xenos sport motorglider, and now the SubSonex Personal Jet, offer outstanding performance in an easy to build, easy to fly kit package that can be purchased and completed with full technical support at an unrivaled price. Sonex and AeroConversions continue to invest heavily in developing new products. Our team is committed to providing simple, elegant and low-cost solutions for sport flying. Simply put, Sonex Aircraft and AeroConversions products provide the Best Performance Per Dollar. Check us out at www.SonexAircraft.com and www.AeroConversions.com

HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD:

HIGH RESOLUTION SUBSONEX IMAGES AVAILABLE AT:
http://www.sonexaircraft.com/press/releases/pr_072813.html

HIGH RESOLUTION SONEX AIRCRAFT QUICK BUILD KIT IMAGES AVAILABLE AT:
http://www.sonexaircraft.com/press/releases/pr_071213.html

John Monnett with Sonerai I and Waiex. Image for biography: "John Monnett: From Sonerai to Sonex" by Jim Cunningham.
Download High Resolution (300 dpi, 3.3mb JPEG file)

John Monnett with Xenos Motorglider prototype.
Download High Resolution (300 dpi, 2.7mb PDF file)

HIGH RESOLUTION SONEX AIRCRAFT T-FLIGHT TRANSITION TRAINING IMAGES AVAILABLE AT:
http://www.sonexaircraft.com/press/releases/pr_050613.html

Sensenich Ground Adjustable Propeller - made for AeroVee. Note metal leading edge.
Download High Resolution (300 dpi, 3.7mb JPEG file)

Sensenich Ground Adjustable Propeller for AeroVee utiizes quick and easy prop pitch indexing pins.
Download High Resolution (300 dpi, 3.8mb JPEG file)

HIGH RESOLUTION AEROBRAKE HYDRAULIC BRAKE IMAGES AVAILABLE AT:
http://www.sonexaircraft.com/press/releases/pr_012213.html

SubSonex proof-of-concept prototype JSX-1 piloted by Bob Carlton, the primary test pilot for the SubSonex program and air show performer of PBS TJ-100 powered Super Salto sailplane fame.
Download High Resolution (300 dpi, 463kb JPEG file)

SONEX CALENDAR OF EVENTS AT EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH 2013:
http://www.sonexaircraft.com/company/events.html

SUBSCRIBE TO THE SONEX AND AEROCONVERSIONS PUBLIC RELATIONS MAILING LIST:
http://www.sonexaircraft.com/rss_info.html

PRESS CONTACT:
Mark Schaible
Sonex Aircraft, LLC
www.SonexAircraft.com
Phone: (920) 231-8297
Fax:     (920) 426-8333
E-mail: mark@sonexaircraft.com

# # #