Builder News – Sonex Aircraft

Sonex-B First Flight: Rich Mercurio

waiex29 — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 21:48:52 +0000

Congratulations to Rich Mercurio of Pataskala, Ohio whose AeroVee Turbo powered Sonex-B (S/N SNB0027) flew for the first time on February 3rd! “Took off and landed on 9OA5 in Hebron, Ohio behind the AeroVee turbo,” writes Rich. “Thanks to Jim Carter and Jim Baldwin who looked over my shoulder during build. Sonex help line also answered a lot of questions. As advertised, it was easy and fun to fly.” Gold Wings are on the way to Rich!

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Sonex First Flight: Steven Ridge

waiex29 — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 22:31:04 +0000

Congratulations to Steven Ridge of Stocksbridge, Sheffield, UK whose CAMit 3300 powered Sonex (S/N 1383) flew for the first time on January 6th! “Now Finished and flown from Crosland Moor, Huddersfield,” writes Steven Gold Wings are on the way!

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Sonex First Flight: Carl Jaeger

waiex29 — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 22:30:25 +0000

Congratulations to Carl Jaeger and friends from Norway whose UL350iS powered Sonex (S/N 1571) flew for the first time on December 27th! “Sonex #1571, reg nr LN-SNX flew for the first time in Kristiansand, Norway on 27th December,” writes Carl, “It is standard gear, with a UL Power 350is engine which provides plenty of power. Handling is nice and crisp with aerobatic ailerons. It is built by Stig Kiil, Hans Otto Espegren, Rune Bjørkelid and Carl Jaeger.” Gold Wings are on the way!

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Waiex-B First Flight: Martin Giraldo – Completing His Father’s Dream

waiex29 — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 17:38:39 +0000

Congratulations to Martin Giraldo of Bogotá, Colombia for completing his father’s dream of building and flying an aircraft by flying Waiex-B (S/N WXB0020) for the first time on December 21st! “At Sun ‘n Fun 2016 my father Mauricio Giraldo purchased the Waiex-B [kit] and in November of that year the tail kit arrived and so began the dream of building his own airplane,” writes Martin (The B-Models were brand-new at that time), “He built 95% of the project but due to Covid 19 he passed away so I, Martin Giraldo his son also a pilot and aviation lover, finished the project 2 years after his death.” Gold Wings are on the way!

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Maurico Giraldo, Martin’s father, working on WXB0020 before his death from Covid 19 in 2021.

What if David Attenborough Meets a Waiex?

waiex29 — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 18:26:54 +0000

“Hope you enjoy this fun side of building a Sonex,” is the closing slide of this new video made by Australian Waiex-B builder Andy Gaunt, and that says it all. What is a homebuilt aircraft project supposed to be if not fun? Builders of Sonex kits are having fun in many different forms, keeping the true spirit and intent of amateur building intact.

You can see more ways in which Sonex builders and pilots are having fun on our Sonex Flying Stories Page!

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Sonex First Flight: Addison Singleton

waiex29 — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 16:21:08 +0000

Congratulations to Addison Singleton of Somerset, Massachusetts whose AeroVee Turbo powered Sonex (S/N 1405) flew for the first time on October 11th! "A very proud day for me!" writes Addison, who perservered through life interruptions to build his aircraft. "Started this project in 2015 and finally made it to the finish line! Appreciate everything the Sonex team has done to help me along the way! My family and I are proud of our little airplane and look forward to future adventures and travel!" Gold Wings are on the way!

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Kitplanes eXenos Series: First Flight!

waiex29 — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 22:16:52 +0000

Another installment in Paul Dye’s series of Kitplanes Magazine articles about his electric-powered eXenos is now available: Read the Article!

This series covers the installation of FLIT LLC’s Zaero electric propulsion package in Paul and Louise’s Xenos Motorglider. Paul first flew Xenos serial number X0061 on April 8th, and has written a series of feature articles for Kitplanes Magazine about the Zaero electric package installation, his being the first customer installation to be completed and flown.

The latest installment of Paul’s feature story series covers his eXenos first flight and includes more great information about the Zaero installation along with some great tips for the first flight of any homebuilt aircraft.

Learn More About the Xenos Motorglider!

See the Entire eXenos Series of Articles from Kitplanes Magazine

Cross-Country to T25 in my Sonex: Robbie Culver

waiex29 — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 20:43:08 +0000

Sonex builder Robbie Culver (Sonex 1517) and his wife Brenda, both pilots, have decided fulfill their lifelong dream of airpark living. A talented writer and photographer, Robbie decided to document his Sonex relocation to Aero Estates Airport for Air Facts Journal to share this enjoyable, though weather affected trip to his family’s new Texas dream home. Read the Article!

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…and, here’s the video of Brenda’s arrival in her 1945 Champ!

New Addition to the SubSonex Airshow Fleet: Torrey Ward

waiex29 — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 22:19:58 +0000

Sonex is pleased to announce that another SubSonex owner has hit the airshow circuit in his microjet! Torrey Ward, owner of SubSonex JSX0019, can now be added to the list of pilots flying the SubSonex Personal Jet in airshows. He joins the ranks of Tom Larkin who currently flies an extensive schedule of shows each year, and Bob Carlton who earned the 2017 Art Scholl award the 2015 Bill Barber award thanks in-part to his shows with the SubSonex.

Learn more about Torrey Ward and his SubSonex airshow on his web site: microjetairshow.com

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Xenos-B First Flight: Paul Armstrong

waiex29 — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 21:20:59 +0000

Congratulations to Paul Armstrong of Ashland, Oregon whose AeroVee Turbo powered Xenos-B (S/N XNB0014) flew for the first time on October 3rd! "The project took my wife (Denise) and I 1100 hours, spread over 5 summers, and is as easy to fly as it was to build," writes Paul. "I think that I only needed to contact [Sonex Technical Support] twice during the build." Gold Wings are on the way!

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