Wednesday 30 July 2014
Oh, Hello Turbo
I must admit it's been an awesome feeling knowing that the turbo version of the Aerovee has now been officially released. I was really hoping Sonex would have released it a bit earlier ,,,like when my kit left the factory! However, I can understand why they waited until Airventure to unveil it. I have been thinking about the freight costs from Oshkosh for the kit and shuddering but I guess that won't help. It'll be worth it in the end,, and especially that first flight. Who knows,, maybe I could even fit one to my current plane :)
Saturday 26 July 2014
About to leave factory in Oshkosh
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I guess you'll be saying that it looks quite built already. Well as it happens I have bought the quick build version of the aircraft. The factory has assembled a good portion of it, but believe it or not, there is still 51% left to build.
I did look at buying second hand vs new and so forth, but in the end decided to buy new and build. There are some fantastic second hand Sonex planes out there in Australia and it would have been far cheaper to buy a second hand one. The main reason I didn't was that I plan to register this plane in the GA experimental category, and as it happens, in this situation, if you don't build the plane you cannot maintain it. Had I bought one and registered it through RAA I could have maintained it, but unfortunately no Aerobatics would have been the case. Only in GA can you legally do Aerobatics. Oh did I forget to mention that,,, yes this plane is Sportsman Aerobatic rated. Not that I'm really a big fan of Aero's but if I have the plane, it would be nice to be able to legally do them.
-Brett
Aviation Tragic
As a bit of an Aviation tragic, I've set this blog up to follow the build of my second kit plane. This page, being a reminder and a record for myself, so I can look back on, hopefully years from now, and ask why I ever decided to build a second one.
I think mainly I wanted to build a second plane so that I could actually enjoy the experience this time. The first kit plane I bought, I was actually lucky to receive, as basically the company went broke after I had paid in full for the kit. I did however receive the kit two years later in a somewhat frazzled frame of mind about it and really had had quite enough before I even started. Well the kit came and I finally finished it four years later, but I can't say it was a good experience. What I did learn from it, was to buy kit aircraft of which there are lots flying already, one which has an easy to follow plan and a design that someone else has done all the experimenting on for you. It won't take the EXPERIMENTAL out of the plane, but it will take the experimenting out. I guess only those who have built planes before will really understand.
So I'd basically decided I would build a Sonex. I went to Oshkosh during Airventure 2013 to have a look at the planes properly and to try them on for size. I checked out as many other planes as I could and talked to the manufacturers to gauge their approachability. However, I don't know if it was my mindset or not, but the Sonex stand stood out like a beacon. I talked to Jeremy who was kind enough to give me about thirty minutes of his time. He patiently talked all about the new quick build options, my current aerovee installation in my Aeropup Aircraft and the new turbo option, then yet to be released, and the hurdles facing its release. Joe Norris and and few others were very helpful regarding the info and statistics I seemed obsessed with, like the cruise speed haha. I have to add a big thanks to Mark Schaible as well for making the purchase go ahead without hurdles. As I write this the kit will be due for pick up from Fremantle port next week. All this wouldn't have happened without the team at Sonex being an easy company to deal with. The factory tour was also a great thing to be part of and I really enjoyed meeting the rest of the crew and to see how the whole operation worked.
So hopefully if you decide to follow this blog whilst I build this new plane you'll get a good feeling for how much time and patience it really takes to undertake a project like this. Maybe it will inspire a few others to see the rewards and thrills an undertaking like this can achieve.
-Brett
I think mainly I wanted to build a second plane so that I could actually enjoy the experience this time. The first kit plane I bought, I was actually lucky to receive, as basically the company went broke after I had paid in full for the kit. I did however receive the kit two years later in a somewhat frazzled frame of mind about it and really had had quite enough before I even started. Well the kit came and I finally finished it four years later, but I can't say it was a good experience. What I did learn from it, was to buy kit aircraft of which there are lots flying already, one which has an easy to follow plan and a design that someone else has done all the experimenting on for you. It won't take the EXPERIMENTAL out of the plane, but it will take the experimenting out. I guess only those who have built planes before will really understand.
So I'd basically decided I would build a Sonex. I went to Oshkosh during Airventure 2013 to have a look at the planes properly and to try them on for size. I checked out as many other planes as I could and talked to the manufacturers to gauge their approachability. However, I don't know if it was my mindset or not, but the Sonex stand stood out like a beacon. I talked to Jeremy who was kind enough to give me about thirty minutes of his time. He patiently talked all about the new quick build options, my current aerovee installation in my Aeropup Aircraft and the new turbo option, then yet to be released, and the hurdles facing its release. Joe Norris and and few others were very helpful regarding the info and statistics I seemed obsessed with, like the cruise speed haha. I have to add a big thanks to Mark Schaible as well for making the purchase go ahead without hurdles. As I write this the kit will be due for pick up from Fremantle port next week. All this wouldn't have happened without the team at Sonex being an easy company to deal with. The factory tour was also a great thing to be part of and I really enjoyed meeting the rest of the crew and to see how the whole operation worked.
So hopefully if you decide to follow this blog whilst I build this new plane you'll get a good feeling for how much time and patience it really takes to undertake a project like this. Maybe it will inspire a few others to see the rewards and thrills an undertaking like this can achieve.
-Brett
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