Builders Host 3rd Annual NE Sonex Fly-In!
08-31-11

Sonex Aircraft builders hosted a very successful North East Sonex Fly-In in Keene, NH on Saturday, August 20th, after weather squashed the first attempt for this year's event in June. The Fly-In was the 3rd Annual run for this event, and it attracted a great turnout, estimated at over 80 people with 4 Sonex and 1 Xenos on-display! "In the Sonexes were Aaron Knight, Glenn Hunt, Casey Lyon and Dana Thurston," reports event organizer Mike Smith. "And as a special treat this year Mike Jackson (formerly of NJ; now of PA) came up with his Xenos!"

Sonex rides were given and some of the Sonex pilots in attendance gave presentations about their Sonex Aircraft experiences. Door prizes were provided by Sonex Aircraft and Wicks Aircraft Supply, and a fantastic lunch was provided by the local FBO, Monadnock Aviation.

"It was great to see faces from last year, and great to meet some new builders this year," writes Mike. "Thanks to Glenn Hunt and the local EAA Chapter 1314 for helping to host the event!" Our sincere thanks goes to Mike, Glenn, and all their helpers for hosting another outstanding grass-roots Sonex builder event!

Find more builder events, or submit your own event
for our Sonex Builders' Events Calendar!

Waiex First Flight: James Shell
08-22-11

Congratulations to James Shell of Bremen, Indiana whose AeroVee powered, standard gear Waiex (S/N W0077) flew for the first time on August 15th! "Waiex 77, aka Miss Gypsy, flew for the first time Monday evening August 15th," writes James. "I like to thank my wife (Miss Gypsy) for helping build the plane, Brian Taylor for being the test pilot and my instructor, Lowell Farrand my EAA Technical Counselor, Kerry Fores from Sonex for aircraft questions, and my friend "Dink" for all his encouragement... Miss Gypsy and I look forward to many fun hours after Phase I is complete." Gold Wings are on the way!

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Waiex First Flight: Brian Charlton
08-19-11

Congratulations to Brian Charlton of Westchester, Ohio whose AeroVee powered, standard gear Waiex (S/N W0126) flew for the first time on August 4th! "Thanks to Sonex for a first class kit, and Kerry [Fores] for all the tech help," writes Brian. "Also many thanks to the members of EAA Chapter 974, Hamilton/Fairfield, Ohio. I really enjoyed building 126 over two and 1/2 yrs. Now I’m going to enjoy flying it." Gold Wings are on the way to Brian!

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Sonex First Flight: Gary Motley
08-15-11

Congratulations to Gary Motley of Westminster, Colorado whose AeroVee powered, standard gear Sonex (S/N 1155) flew for the first time on August 14th! "The controls were so light and responsive that this plane will be a joy to fly," writes Gary. Gold Wings are on the way!

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Sonex First Flight: Dave Storey
08-15-11

Congratulations to Dave Storey of Felton, Pennsylvania whose Jabiru 3300 powered, standard gear Sonex (S/N 1171) flew for the first time on July 29th! "What a great day!" writes Dave about the inspection and first flight of Sonex 1171 on his birthday. "Coming from spam cans this plane is what I would call a very affordable BLAST! A special thanks needs to go Frank Silveira from California for all the above and beyond transition time in his Sonex whom I now consider a friend along with local flier John Murr and his Waiex. Thanks Sonex for what I would consider one of the best all around kit airplanes on the market." Gold Wings are on the way to Dave!

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SubSonex Jet Makes First Flight!
08-10-11

Sonex Aircraft, LLC is excited to announce that the SubSonex jet aircraft prototype, JSX-1, made its maiden flight today, August 10, 2011 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, WI. The SubSonex was piloted by air show performer and owner of Desert Aerospace LLC, Bob Carlton. The flight lasted approximately 14 minutes and focused on exploring the low-end of the aircraft's speed envelope, including stalls, and a low approach in the landing configuration.

Read more, see photos, and watch the video from our Official Press Release!

Learn more about the SubSonex at the Hornets' Nest R&D web site!

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Sonex First Flight: Olivier Pettinari
08-08-11

Congratulations to Olivier Pettinari of Rixheim, France whose AeroVee powered, standard gear Sonex (S/N 1393) flew for the first time on July 30th! "Sonex kit is fantastic," writes Olivier. Gold Wings are on the way!

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EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2011:
Another Big Success for Sonex Aircraft, LLC
08-04-11

The Sonex Aircraft booth at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2011.

Group picture of Sonex Aircraft builders and pilots at the July 24th Open House and Homecoming Fly-In.

Sonex Aircraft had another great week exhibiting at the 2011 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh convention held July 25th through 31st! The festivities kicked-off on Sunday, July 24th with the 8th annual Sonex Aircraft Open House and Homecoming Fly-In. Several customer aircraft arrived at the Sonex factory for the event, and we had well-over 200 attendees throughout the day. In the afternoon, customer and factory aircraft lined-up for the mass taxi to AirVenture convention grounds to be parked in the homebuilt parking area adjacent to the Sonex display booth. Throughout the week, a total of 24 customer-built Sonex aircraft were flown-in to the convention!

Builders were again invited to the Sonex factory on Monday evening, July 25th for the Sonex Hangar Party. Music, refreshments, and good times were had by all.

Throughout the week, Sonex enjoyed great traffic through our display booth at AirVenture with visits from many current and future Sonex Aircraft builders. The Onex single-place aircraft prototypes attracted a great deal of attention in the booth, their folding wings catching the eyes of all who passed-by. There was also a Onex Kit Gallery on-display, showing Onex kit parts and sub-assemblies, and the aircraft's ease of construction. Many potential builders brought home free Sonex literature & DVD's and attended the Sonex factory tours offered daily during the show.

Sonex forums were also well-attended during AirVenture this year, covering all aspects of current and future Sonex and AeroConversions products. The E-Flight electric powered Waiex was again on display in EAA's Innovation Center at AirVenture, and forums given by the E-Flight development team also attracted much interest.

Our special thanks goes-out to all Sonex pilots who flew their aircraft to Oshkosh this year, as well as to all current and prospective builders who attended our events and visited us in our booth, making this another great AirVenture for Sonex Aircraft, LLC!

Open House attendees enjoy a complimentary pizza lunch as they take in the sights on the Sonex ramp.	Well over 200 current and prospective builders gathered at the Sonex Open House to see customer-built aircraft and tour the factory.
Attendees took the opportunity to try Sonex Aircraft factory prototypes on for size during the open house, and at the AirVenture booth display.	Factory prototypes and customer-built Sonex aircraft line-up for the mass taxi arrival to the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2011 show grounds.
Sonex owners John, Betty, and Jeremy Monnett take some time to recognize Sonex builders during Monday night's Hangar Party.	Sonex Aircraft lead engineer Pete Buck gives a forum about developing electric aircraft ASTM standards at the EAA Innoviation Center.
The Sonex booth at AirVenture saw a steady stream of prospective builders throughout the week!	Jeremy Monnett presented a very well-attended Onex forum at the EAA Homebuilder's Hangar during AirVenture.

Sonex First Flight: Philip Cashmer
08-04-11

Congratulations to Philip Cashmer of Winter Haven, Florida whose AeroVee powered, standard gear Sonex (S/N 1101) flew for the first time on June 16th! "The Aircraft performs as advertised," writes Philip. "Special thanks to My Wife Marian for the extra hand when needed. 40 hrs flown off on Aug 1st, 2011" Gold Wings are on the way!

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Sonex First Flight: Ian Mitchell
08-04-11

Congratulations to Ian Mitchell of Benalla, Victoria, Australia whose Jabiru 2200 powered, standard gear Sonex (S/N 976) flew for the first time on July 29th! "Performance certainly is as advertised," writes Ian. "Looking forward to flying off the test hours & expanding my horizons. Thanks for your help." Gold Wings are on the way to Ian!

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Sonex First Flight: Ronald Olson
08-02-11

Congratulations to Ronald Olson of Beaumaris, Victoria, Australia whose AeroVee powered, standard gear Sonex (S/N 989) flew for the first time on July 31st! "Thanks Sonex for producing such a fantastic kit aircraft!" commented Ron. "The first flight showed the high quality of the AeroVee engine and the performance was as per Sonex tables. Flying characteristics were fantastic. Thanks Sonex Team for all your assistance with this beautifully engineered aircraft kit." Gold Wings are on the way!

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Sonex First Flight: Jim Shinas
08-01-11

Congratulations to Jim Shinas of Los Alamos, New Mexico whose Jabiru 3300 powered, standard gear Sonex (S/N 907) flew for the first time on July 22nd! "The first flight of N125YS was conducted by my son, James Shinas," writes Jim. "The plane climbed like a rocket even with a density altitude of 9,200 feet! ...The enjoyable flight was topped off by a soft landing. From the ground it sounded and looked great." Gold Wings are on the way to Jim!

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Waiex First Flight: Clifford Ball
07-22-11

Congratulations to Clifford Ball of Roseville, California whose Jabiru 3300 powered, standard gear Waiex (S/N W0045) flew for the first time on July 16th! "45 minutes of pure fun," writes Cliff. Gold Wings are on the way!

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Sonex First Flight: Ron Voss
07-22-11

Congratulations to Ron Voss of Rockford, Illinois whose AeroVee powered, standard gear Sonex (S/N 1138) flew for the first time on July 12th! Gold Wings are on the way!

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Arlington Sonex Gathering a Big Success
07-21-11

The Arlington 2011 Sonex gathering turned out to be the biggest in the 9 year history of the event. "We had over 15 builders show up at the event and many more that were at the fly-in but could not make the party," reports event organizer David Weber. "The total number of people attending the 2011 Arlington Fly-in Sonex Picnic BBQ was close to 50! Once again John, Jeremy and the Sonex team supplied some great door prizes and made the event that much more exciting. There are many more to thank for helping me put on this event but a special 'shout-out' goes to the Rio Linda crew for all they did.

Sonex Aircraft, LLC would like to again thank David and his crew for hosting another great Sonex builder event! Find more builder events, or submit your own event for our Sonex Builders' Events Calendar.

Builders Host First Annual
Mid Atlantic Sonex Gathering
07-20-11

The first annual Mid Atlantic Sonex gathering was held June 25th, sponsored by Sonex builders Jim Ballenger and Pete Pearson, and the event was enjoyed by all. "We must thank our lovely and understanding wives Pat Ballenger and Jan Pearson for all the help in making the event a success," write event organizers. "We enjoyed very nice, albeit quite hot, weather." Jim and Pete reported that 6 Sonex and 4 Waiex aircraft participated, along with several GA aircraft that were flown in, making for a total of approximately 25 attendees. Attendees came from as far away as Georgia, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

Several attendees and prospective builders were able to get introductory flights in Sonex aircraft during the event, with further arrangements made for subsequent rides after the gathering.

Builders John Davis, Wayne Andrews, Bob Frost, Shayne and Peter VanSchalkwyk took the short flight south to the First Flight airport and sent in the picture below, taken in front of the first flight monument at Kill Devil hills.

Sonex Aircraft, LLC would like to heartily thank Jim and Pete, along with all participants, for making another outstanding grass roots Sonex builder event a success! Find more builder events, or submit your own event for our Sonex Builders' Events Calendar.

E-Flight Webinar Archive Available Online
07-15-11

The E-Flight Webinar Hosted by EAA on Wednesday evening, July 13th, has now been placed online as a permanent video archive. If you missed the live presentation, you can watch the archive online anytime.

Learn More about the E-Flight Project!

Catch the E-Flight Webinar Wednesday Night!
07-12-11

On Wednesday, July 13th at 7pm Central Time, Sonex Aircraft will present a Webinar update of the E-Flight Initiative electric flight project. We’ll discuss some of the latest developments and talk about what you'll see at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2011. The presentation will last approximately 1 hour and will cover all of the developments over the past year, since last summer's E-Flight webinar, which can be viewed as a video archive.

Webinar (web-based seminar) presentations use slides and live audio from the presenter, and audience members can ask questions or be polled for their opinion in the webinar's interactive format. Space is limited, so Sign-Up Now!