Huge couple of weeks.

I'm really quite astounded by how the last 2-3 weeks have flown by. I arrived back at work today and really am just looking forward to just having to do my job, now that all the missions are over, and not having to worry about anything for a while.  I finished night shift last week and had about 5 hours sleep then drove to Perth to pick up the plane.  There was no chance my poor little car was going to be able to tow this largish trailer and the plane, so I had to borrow one and use that to tow it back to Geraldton. I arrived down at Fremantle port only to be horrified by what I saw. The box had been damaged in transport! At the time I really had no idea if there was anything damaged inside and really all I could do was load it up, return home and see when I unpacked it.

The trip home was rather uneventful. It was an easy drive, taking it quite slowly, but that was all good. I got home had a small break then set about unloading. So hours later I had it all unloaded and in the shed and looked upon what had happened. Thankfully there were only a few small, very easily repairable, dings. Sonex have been awesome about it all and are helping me out with what I need to do. I tell you, it really makes such a difference having these guys in your corner. I  can't express how helpful they have been through these last 12 months and now this as well.
So luckily I had my stock controller helping me with the inventory ;). It's quite a long winded task to find and tick off all the bits and pieces.

I did have a bit of a look at how the plans work and I'm slowly starting to get the hang of how the number system and so forth work. Just laying out the tail pieces and so on gives you a little understanding and I'm sure soon it will all make sense.

I had a few little chores to do on my current flying plane this week and had a good amount of things to do around the house as well so I didn't really concentrate too much on the Sonex. I think I'll probably have a good try next break when I can focus on it and not have all the extra distractions to worry about.
It had been so busy of late that when I looked at my log book, it had actually been one month since my last flight! I managed a short  but sweet flight in the pup to brush off some cobwebs and keep the engine turning.  Definitely next week I will need a longer flight however :)

On the ship

Well it seems this ship is now finally getting closer by the day. It was stuck in Singapore for about 9 days there for a bit, hence the hold up. It should still work out ok I guess for the pickup.  I have this week at work and then next week after that I have off, so by the time it gets through customs and so on I should be able to drive down to Perth and grab that bad boy. Looking forward to getting it home and not having to worry about the logistics of it all regarding customs,GST, duties and all those port charges and so on. Once in the shed I can just concentrate on building at my leisure.   It has been a big learning curve, understanding port procedures etc.  I'll be so glad when it's all over!

Below is a pic of where the ship is today,,,    getting closer :)

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 :)

About to leave factory in Oshkosh

 So here are couple of pics showing how the Sonex kit has left the factory around a month or so ago. It looks superbly packed and no doubt will arrive in Australia just as it left. I must say I am looking forward to seeing it arrive and having it tucked away nicely inside my shed so I can start to build.
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.

After finishing my first plane I vowed never to build another one,, haha.
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