Sonex 0469
Sonex, serial number 469 has finally taken flight. 10 October 2014 was THE day "Looney Tunz", my plans built, Sonex took to the air. The first flight was just under an hour long and was performed by my good friend Colin King.
Watching Looney Tunz accelerate down the grass strip and gently lift off into the cool autumn air left me with a tremendous sense of relief which quickly turned into a sense of pride as I watched it climb to altitude. Three years ago, I had no idea if I would be able to pull this build off but with Sonex team support and help of a local builder Mike Shave, it has all come together.
The flight went as planned and the Sonex performed as advertised. I have to admit that I was a little jealous when Colin taxied up with that familiar ear to ear grin. He was more than impressed with the Aerovee performance and the Sonex handling. My thanks to Sonex for designing such a solid well performing plane.
Sonex #469 started its life back in 2002. The original builder lost interest in the project and he sold it to his Pastor who decided he liked flying better than building and sold it to me. I brought the partial plane up to Fergus, Canada in 2011. I had never built a plane and figured that by purchasing an "almost complete" aircraft that I would be in the air within the year. Unfortunately there was a significant amount of rework required to meet my standards and risk threshold. Three years later I have now realized my dream of building and owning my own aircraft.
As a side note, my wife Jane, inspired the name Looney Tunz - she thinks I am "nuts" for building an airplane. All kidding aside, Jane has fully supported this build and was just as excited to see our Sonex take flight (still trying to determine if it is because she gets her garage back).
I want to thank the Sonex team for their support, Colin King, Brian Hienmiller (Sonex C-GSBH), Mike Shave for his building expertise and my wife for letting me pursue this bucket list item. I hope to be joining you folks at next years Airventure. Thanks for a great airplane. Attached are a few photos of Looney Tunz. The yet to be applied nose art was designed by my brother, a graphic artist on Prince Edward Island.
