You're Invited:
Sonex Builder's Workshop, June 1-2, 2013!
04-30-13

Space is still available for our next Sonex Builders Workshop, scheduled for June 1-2, 2013 here at the Sonex factory in Oshkosh. The $200 registration fee is available for credit toward your plans or kit purchase. A number of kit discounts are also available only for workshop attendees and their guests. Don't miss your chance to save a tremendous amount of money and time with these workshop discount opportunities.

Catch the Action from the Spring, 2013 Workshop:
Read a full report from our last Workshop, March 2-3, and learn what's in-store for your June, 2013 Summer Workshop experience, on our web site News Archive.

Beat the Rush: Buy Now!
Note that there is no penalty for purchasing plans and/or kits in advance of the workshop. You receive the same discounts at the end of the workshop and you'll be first in line ahead of what we expect will be a strong list of post-workshop kit and engine orders.

Get a 10 Percent Discount on Workshop Tools from Wicks Aircraft Supply!
Wicks Aircraft Supply is now offering a 10 percent discount on tools purchased for use at Sonex Builder's Workshops! Just mention your planned attendance of the Workshop when placing your order. Wicks can even ship your tools directly to Sonex Aircraft, LLC in anticipation of your arrival! See the Workshop Tools List on our Workshops web page. Wicks can also fill your Sonex Aircraft Hardware Kit needs once you begin building.

Read More About the Sonex Builders Workshop!

Sonex First Flight: Necip Ulku
04-22-13

Congratulations to Necip Ulku of Ankara, Turkey whose tri-gear, AeroVee powered Sonex (S/N 1240) flew for the first time on April 20th! "We are very happy to build and fly such a beautiful plane," writes Necip. Gold Wings are on the way!

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

Sun 'n Fun Report: Sonex Aircraft Forums and Florida Sonex Association Fly-In Well Attended!
04-19-13

Sonex Aircraft had another successful showing at the Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In & Expo in Lakeland, FL, conducting informational forums once again for the 2013 show, along with a very successful new builder fly-in event hosted by the Florida Sonex Association!

Sonex leaders John, Betty and Jeremy Monnett traveled to Lakeland for the show with John and Jeremy conducting three forums on Thursday and Friday that attracted interest from a wide-range of prospective Sonex Aircraft customers. Forums covered topics including the Sonex, Waiex, Xenos and Onex aircraft designs, the AeroVee and AeroInjector, and the SubSonex jet aircraft research & development project.

The Monnetts hosted a Sonex Builder Happy Hour event at Sun 'n Fun's Sunset Grill again this year. The Thursday afternoon event attracted several current and prospective builders and a great time was had by all. On Friday evening, the Monnetts participated in another meeting of the Aircraft Kit Industry Association, as AKIA continues to move forward on several industry initiatives.

The week was punctuated by the first annual Florida Sonex Association "Spring Sonex Fest" on Saturday, April 13th at the Zephyrhills Airport, just a 35 minute drive from Sun 'n Fun grounds. This event was the first of what the FSA hopes will become a series of "Member Pilot Home Airport Fly-In's," which are sponsored by FSA member pilots and friends at their home base airport. "I would like to say a special 'Thank You' to my wife Anna, Mike Hartsung, Onex & Sonex pilot/Builder Jim Wright, Jack & Beth Leidenheimer, Ted Weis, Ted Corberly and Vincent Risalvato," writes FSA founder Mike January. "We could not have done this without their support."

The Zephyrhills event attracted over 96 guests and 15 aircraft: 7 Sonex, 4 Waiex, 1 Onex and 3 other aircraft types. The event brought together the FSA members and future builders from around the state of Florida and as far away as Canada, with Canadian visitors Bill Bryan and his wife Alice winning a gift certificate for free attendance of a Sonex Builder Workshop! The longest Sonex Aircraft flight into the event was Kip Laurie from Atlanta who was down for Sun 'n Fun with his Waiex.

John, Betty and Jeremy Monnett also were in attendance at the event, and enjoyed connecting with FSA members and prospective builders. "Everyone in attendance thought that it was exciting to meet and talk with the people behind the company," writes Mike. "Thank you John, Betty and Jeremy for making this a very memorable day."

"Our events cannot happen without the support of the local builders, pilots and the community in which they are held," continues Mike January. "The Airport Management was excellent, very professional, and we hope to hold a larger event there in the future. Zephyrhills Airport and the city are one of the friendliest airports and communities we have had the pleasure of holding one of our events at. If you’re ever down that way stop in to ZPH and say hello to everyone."

Sonex Aircraft, LLC would like to extend a huge Thank You to Mike January, FSA members and Zephyrhills Airport management for making this grass-roots Sonex Builder Event such a great success, and an event that will hopefully become an annual Sun 'n Fun tradition for Sonex Aircraft enthusiasts!

Sonex builders gather with the Monnetts at the Sunset Grill on Sun 'n Fun grounds for a happy hour event on Thursday.	John Monnett gives a forum to Sun 'n Fun attendees about the AeroVee Engine Kit, AeroInjector and other AeroConversions prodcuts.
The Florida Sonex Association "Spring Sonex Fest" at Zephyrhills Airport attracted 12 Sonex, Waiex and Onex aircraft and over 96 guests.
(L to R) FSA founder Mike January and his wife Anna with Betty, Jeremy and John Monnett.	FSA members and airport management did an excellent job planning for the event, with plenty of shade, seating and food available.
Kip Laurie (blue shirt) shows-off his Waiex to Zephyrhills attendees.	Early Sonex builder and friend to all, Wayne Andrews, rolls-out on the Zephyrhills runway.
Florida Sonex Association founder Mike January on the wing of his AeroVee powered Waiex.	Jim Wright departs Zephyrhills in his "Yellow Jacket" Onex, which attracted a lot of attention throughout the day.

Find More Sonex Builders' Events!

Sonex Aircraft in the News:
Onex Featured on Kitplanes July Cover!
04-17-13

Sonex Aircraft, LLC is extremely pleased and excited to report that the Onex single-place, folding-wing aircraft design is prominently featured in the July, 2013 issue of Kitplanes Magazine! The Tri-Gear Onex prototype, piloted by Sonex CEO Jeremy Monnett, is featured on the magazine's cover, with a feature story starting on page 6 inside. The 8-page article, "Onex: 85% scale equals 100% fun," is a flight review covering both Tri-Gear and Standard Gear Onex prototypes, written by LeRoy Cook from a refreshing "grass roots" homebuilder perspective. The magazine will be in mailboxes soon, and will be available to subscribers on the Kitplanes web site.

Learn More about the Onex!

Find More Articles About Sonex and AeroConversions Products!

Onex First Flight: James Fairchild
04-16-13

Congratulations to James Fairchild of Pinson, Tennessee whose standard gear, AeroVee powered Onex (S/N ONX0020) flew for the first time on April 13th! Gold Wings are on the way to James!

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

Sonex First Flight: Roger Tracy
04-16-13

Congratulations to Roger Tracy of Lake Placid, Florida whose tri-gear, AeroVee powered Sonex (S/N 1579) flew for the first time on April 8th! Gold Wings are on the way!

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

Sonex Builders' Events Calendar: 11th Annual Great Southern Sonex Gathering Scheduled!
04-03-13

See the Report from Last Year's Event!

The organizers of the Great Southern Sonex Gathering have announced the scheduling of their 11th Annual event for 2013! Slated for Saturday, November 2nd in Bryan TX, the event will provide another great opportunity for current and prospective builders to see examples of Sonex Aircraft up-close, talk to their builders, and even experience a flight.

This grass-roots event, and many more, can be found on our Sonex Builders' Events Calendar. The schedule for 2013 is filling-up, offering many potential opportunities to see a Sonex Aircraft in your area!

Find More Sonex Builders' Events!

See the Sonex Aircraft, LLC Company Events Calendar!

Waiex First Flight: Cédric Nicomette
04-02-13

Congratulations to Cédric Nicomette of Le Truel, France whose standard gear, AeroVee powered Waiex (S/N W0178) flew for the first time on March 31st! "My first few minutes of flight I given an indescribable pleasure," writes Cédric. "Thank you for allowing me to realize my dream of having an good aircraft at the age of 27 years." Gold Wings are on the way to Cédric!

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

Sonex First Flight: Jerry Loeffelbein
04-02-13

Congratulations to Jerry Loeffelbein of Cashmere, Washington whose standard gear, AeroVee powered Sonex (S/N 1320) flew for the first time on March 29th! "Many thanks to Sonex for great support, as well as Larry Engert for a ride in his Waiex, and many on the discussion boards for their invaluable help," writes Jerry. "Now the fun begins!" Gold Wings are on the way!

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

Sun 'n Fun 2013 Reminder:
Don't Miss Sonex Forums at Sun 'n Fun;
Check-Out the FSA Fly-In at Zephyrhills!
03-29-13

Be sure to check-out the Sonex Events Calendar for full details about Sonex Aircraft events being held during Sun 'n Fun 2013! Sonex Aircraft, LLC will once again be conducting informational forums at the 2013 Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In & Expo in Lakeland, FL, as well as a builders' Happy Hour event.

Addtionally, the Florida Sonex Association will be holding their First Member Home Airport "Spring Sonex Fest" on Saturday, April 13, at the Zephyrhills Airport. Zephyrhills Airport is just a 35 minute drive from Lakeland: Get Directions!

Find More Sonex Builders' Events!

See the Sonex Aircraft, LLC Company Events Calendar!

Sonex Employee Anniversaries:
Jackie Schultz Celebrates 1 Year of Service!
03-29-13

Congratulations to Jackie Schultz, who celebrates her 1-year employment anniversary at Sonex Aircraft, LLC this month! Jackie is a member of our Customer Service Team, and her primary responsibilities involve the handling of your Complete Airframe Kit, Sub-Kit and engine orders, following them from order placement to fulfillment and shipping.

Read more about Jackie, and the rest of the Sonex Aircraft Team!

Sonex First Flight: Eric Marenyi
03-25-13

Congratulations to Eric Marenyi of Richlands, North Carolina whose standard gear, VW powered Sonex (S/N 825) flew for the first time on March 24th! "Flew absolutely wonderfully on the first flight," writes Eric. "Great project and a great plane!" Gold Wings are on the way!

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

Waiex First Flight: John Gillis
03-19-13

Congratulations to John Gillis of Larkspur, Colorado whose tri-gear, Jabiru 3300 powered Waiex (S/N W0116) flew for the first time on March 16th! "Plane performance exceeded expected parameters," reports John. "Flew with minimal pilot inputs, literally flew hands off when trimmed. Aircraft well engineered and a strong thumbs up to Sonex. Thanks to all at Sonex, especially Kerry and Jeremy. Plan on taking her to AirVenture in August to show her off." Gold Wings are on the way to John!

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

Sonex First Flight: Warren Kirkup
03-19-13

Congratulations to Warren Kirkup of Leeton, New South Wales, Australia whose standard gear, AeroVee powered Sonex (S/N 908) flew for the first time on March 10th! "Very happy with it's handling and performance," writes Warren. "It was a great experience to build...Thanks to the other Sonex builders who were a great help to me." Gold Wings are on the way to Warren!

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

AeroConversions AeroBrakes Now Shipping!
03-13-13

Sonex Aircraft, LLC is excited to announce that the new AeroConversions AeroBrake Hydraulic Brake System is now shipping!

First announced in late January, 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. In-keeping with the Sonex and AeroConversions tradition of providing simple and elegant products for sport aviation, the AeroBrake employs a unique non-caliper design that allows convenient and easy removal of the wheel assembly for maintenance of tires, wheels & bearings.

The first batch of customer orders shipped at the end of last week, and more are in-stock for immediate shipping. The AeroBrake is competitively priced, with packages starting at $350. Upgrade price for new Complete Airframe Kit or Sub-Kit purchase is $300.

You can read more about the AeroBrake system at our AeroConversions web site at: www.AeroConversions.com

Read the Official AeroBrake Press Release!

Sonex First Flight: Kenneth Robbers
03-13-13

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

Spring Sonex Builder Workshop a Success!
03-07-13

Sonex Aircraft held it's Spring, 2013 Sonex Builder's Workshop on March 2-3rd, the 53rd Sonex Workshop event! The weekend attracted another enthusiastic group of current and prospective Sonex Aircraft builders, as attendees from across the country and around the globe traveled to Oshkosh to learn more about building, owning and flying Sonex Aircraft. The group constructed sample Sonex metalworking projects, received detailed informational sessions about all Sonex Aircraft designs, engine options, AeroConversions products, and all other aspects of Sonex Aircraft ownership.

Some great flying weather afforded an opportunity on Saturday and Sunday for several fly-by's of Sonex and Onex factory prototypes. Workshop attendees had the chance to inspect every inch of Sonex factory prototype aircraft, and try them on for size.

The Sonex Aircraft Workshop continues to be an extremely valuable experience for our builders, saving them time, money and answering many frequently asked questions in the building process. Sonex Builder Workshops are held several times per year at the Sonex Aircraft, LLC facilities in Oshkosh, WI, and significant kit discount incentives are offered for attendees. Our next Sonex Workshop will be held June 1-2, 2013. Sign-up Today!

Workshop attendees gather with their metalworking projects for a group picture with Sonex Aircraft staff.
Sonex CEO Jeremy Monnett performs fly-by's with the prototype Onex taildragger, taking advantage of the weekend's great flying weather.
Jeremy welcomes Workshop attendees, and they get an opportunity to introduce themselves and talk about their interests & past building experiences.	Sonex Founder and President John Monnett gives a walk-around tour of factory prototype aircraft, focusing on the key design features that make Sonex Aircraft so successful.
Workshop attendees get a tour of the Sonex Aircraft warehouse to see what they can expect in parts quality and packaging when their kit shipments arrive.	Jeremy also demonstrated the tri-gear Sonex Sport Trainer (pictured) and the tri-gear Onex prototype during fly-by's on both Saturday and Sunday.
John demonstrates Sonex building techniques for the Workshop's sample metalworking project.	Jeremy instructs attendees in solid riveting techniques for the main wing spars of Sonex Aircraft.
The Sonex Workshop project uses the Sonex Aircraft plans system and incorporates all major types of metalwork used in the construction of Sonex kits.	Sonex employees such as Mark Forss (left) are on-hand to assist attendees with their projects, give feedback on their quality and suggest tips for improvement.

Read More about Sonex Builder Workshops!

Sonex Builders in the News:
Doug Boyd Featured in EAA Sport Aviation!
03-06-13

Our congratulations goes-out to Doug Boyd, builder of Waiex S/N W0080, for being prominently featured as the opening spread of the "Hands On: What Our Members Are Building/Restoring" section of the March, 2013 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine! In the article, "Clouds With Silver Linings: Iowa pilot goes from busted medical to dreamy machine," Doug describes how the Waiex represented an attractive option in the Light Sport Pilot aircraft market to keep him flying post-medical, as well as his experiences attending the Sonex Builder Workshop seminar and building his Waiex.

Sonex builder Harvey Plummer is also featured in the section on the following page, with an update on the completion of his Tri-Gear Sonex, S/N 1010.

Be sure to see our Reporting Completions page to have your Sonex Aircraft first flight posted to our web site, collect your hard-earned Gold Wings pin, and to submit your first flight announcement to magazines such as EAA Sport Aviation and Kitplanes. If you get your aircraft published in a homebuilding magazine, we'll even give you a free hat!

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

See More Articles about Sonex Aircraft and AeroConversions Products!

Sonex First Flight: Bob Maurice
03-04-13

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

Sonex Builders' Events:
SonexAus Holds Yarrawonga Fly-In; Canadian Builder Experiences Down-Under Hospitality
03-01-13

The SonexAus Australian builders' group held their fly-in event at the Yarrawonga Airport in Victoria, Australia again this year on February 16-17th. Hosted at the hangar of SonexAus members Peter and Ann McLean, the event attracted six Sonex Aircraft, which were eagerly examined by some of the growing number of Sonex builders in Australia. Weather hampered attendance vs. last year's event, but event organizers report that it was still a successful and fun gathering for all!

The next SonexAus gathering will be the organization's Annual General Meeting, scheduled for Easter Saturday afternoon during the NATFLY convention at Temora, New South Wales. Further details can be found at the SonexAus web site, as well as our Sonex Builders' Events Calendar.

SonexAus members showed Canadian based builder Mervin Friesen (Sonex S/N 122) and his son, Chris some "Down-Under" southern hospitality during a visit to South Australia in December. The pair were treated to a Xenos flight experience with Chris Dearden and Steve Nelson (Xenos S/N X0035) and some Sonex flying with Lynn Jarvis (Sonex S/N 143), including some formation flying! (More photos available on the SonexAus web site.)

Sonex Aircraft, LLC would like to extend a huge thanks to the entire SonexAus organization for their enthusiastic support of the Sonex Aircraft builder and pilot community, including grass-roots Sonex builder events such as Yarrawonga and the NATFLY gathering, as-well as their hospitality for those visiting from abroad! Be sure to check our Builders' Events Calendar for more events near you, and don't forget to submit your own events for posting on the calendar!

The flight line at SonexAus Yarrawonga 2013 fly-in.	Ian Mitchell in his Sonex S/N 976 at Yarrawonga 2013.
Ron Olson on the Yarrawonga flight line in Sonex S/N 989.	Peter Anson taxiis-out on the Yarrawonga ramp in his high-visbility Sonex S/N 894.
Eddie Kuyper at Yarrawonga in his tri-gear Waiex S/N W0075 recently imported from it's original builder in the United States.	Lynn Jarvis, Chris Dearden and Steve Nelson treat Canadian builder Mervin Friesen and his son, Chris, with some flying in South Australia.
Merv and Chris Friesen fly with Lynn Jarvis and Chris Dearden & Steve Nelson while in Australia.	Xenos S/N X0035 and Sonex S/N 143 in formation over the coast during the December Australian summer.

See the Sonex Aircraft Builders' Events Calendar!