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With a little luck and a lot of work, maybe they'll even catch up to the Taylorcraft in terms of overall usability and efficiency, cost to own and operate, slow speed safety, and panache.
PatrickW
Active Member
I wonder if they originally planned to announce at Oshkosh, but then decided not to as a strategic move, given that Van's had announced plans for a new plane (and would be getting all the attention).
Now that some time has passed with nothing new being heard from Vans, Sonex comes out with a much more detailed design of THEIR new plane.
IMHO, this was a smart move on the part of Sonex.
- Pat
TarDevil
Well-Known Member
Wish I were younger!
Put a Cygnet like wing on it and an O-200D up front. Then they could move into the SLSA kit market.
That trend would be people getting tired of litteraly melting inside their low wings while sitting #3 to get out, waiting on some guy on long final.
saini flyer
Well-Known Member
From the website:
Can the Sonex High Wing be transported on a trailer?
Yes. The Sonex High Wing features removeable outboard wing panels, similar to the SubSonex, with a fixed inboard wing section. Max width of the aircraft with outboard wings removed is 89-5/8” allowing the high wing Quick Build Kit and completed aircraft to fit in enclosed trailers and ocean freight shipping containers.
My plane is really a great plane and a blast to fly. But when the OAT gets into the upper 80's and above I really try to limit how long I sit on the ground before take off. The Corvair does not overheat at all but the pilot does!
There have been those that have altered the canopy latch to hold it partially open but I decided against that. When it's really hot I fly with a friend or just hangar talk ...
saini flyer
Well-Known Member
Based on the drawing above , it has a yoke!I always thought that a Tailwind looked like a high wing Sonex. It does appear from from this layout sketch that the forward visibility is not gonna be very good as the pilot's head is well back under the wing and there is a long glare shield and a cowling out front. View out the side looking down is much improved over the low wing version though ...
View attachment 114691
As I age this might be the plane I need as it certainly would be easier to get in and out of. But they would loose their minds if I stroked a 3.0 Corvair on it!
CAVU Mark
Active Member
Ran's Outbound S-21 was back ordered two years when I checked.
Hope Sonex uses something other than the Wittman gear.
Hope Sonex uses something other than the Wittman gear.
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2020
- Messages
- 120
Sonex will probably continue to use their titanium rod gwar as they have always done.
Side-by-side all-metal high wing sounds fine and seems like a lot of people are excited about it and it should have a market, but..
1. Visibility into the turn looks atrocious. Not a problem in low wings. At least in a Cessna I can lean forward to look into the turn. When landing I'm not looking at the wheels, I'm looking down the runway.
2. I can see the appeal of LSA category, but it severely limits useful load for 2 people. So should have an option for a higher gross.
3. Why the big header tank that is forward of the cg? Why not just use wing tanks and maybe a small header tank? The wing tanks are closer to the cg so you have a smaller cg shift.
1. Visibility into the turn looks atrocious. Not a problem in low wings. At least in a Cessna I can lean forward to look into the turn. When landing I'm not looking at the wheels, I'm looking down the runway.
2. I can see the appeal of LSA category, but it severely limits useful load for 2 people. So should have an option for a higher gross.
3. Why the big header tank that is forward of the cg? Why not just use wing tanks and maybe a small header tank? The wing tanks are closer to the cg so you have a smaller cg shift.
Tiger Tim
Well-Known Member
No, that’s not its real name and probably doesn’t fit into the same categories of performance or use, but check it out:
www.kitplanes.com
New High-Wing Design From Sonex - KITPLANES
Sonex Aircraft announced a new high-wing design today, adding to its lineup of low-wing aircraft. The new model, slightly reminiscent of the Wittman Tailwind should be available by late summer 2023. The aircraft will be offered in a Y-tail and a T-tail version, as well as a taildragger and...
www.kitplanes.com
Tiger Tim
Well-Known Member
I swear I looked for a thread on this before posting but now I see I missed it. Mods, do your thing.
I think it looks like a BD-4 with the edges filed off.
A couple of friends are building now. According to one of them, the primary driver for the long lead time is that they're giving priority to their 'ready-to-fly' build shop. Logical; the profit margin on those has to be a lot higher (much higher purchase price, no builder support expenses).
Bigshu
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2020
- Messages
- 576
Eh, they survived Cleanex and others, so...
Well we'll just have to see about that but you're correct ... it does appear that is what it is. I did see this that shows some numbers (subject to change of course):
It appears so but I'm not sure certain folks in the group could handle it twice ...
