John Monnett
President, Sonex Aircraft LLC
 
John, a multi-thousand hour private pilot with both glider and float plane ratings and an A&P Mechanic, has many designs to his credit including the Sonerai sport aircraft series, Monerai sailplane, Moni motorglider, Monex racer, along with numerous other homebuilt aircraft. John has over 40 years of homebuilt aircraft and restoration experience along with extensive engine development and testing experience. John was inducted into the EAA Homebuilder's Hall of Fame in 2001 and his designs are on display in the Udvar-Hazy National Air & Space Museum and the EAA AirVenture Museum.

Betty Monnett
Chief Financial Officer
 
Betty brings ten years of teaching experience and over twenty years in Public Relations and Advertising. Her outgoing and friendly personality make her one of Sonex's greatest assets. Her primary responsibilities are as Sonex Aircraft CFO, however, Betty's involvement and support knows no bounds.

Jeremy Monnett
Chief Executive Officer
jeremy@sonexaircraft.com
 
Jeremy, a private pilot with glider and float ratings and a mechanical engineer, joined Sonex in October, 1998. Previous to joining Sonex, Jeremy worked for two years as a payload systems engineer at The Boeing Company in Seattle and as a Summer Intern at General Motors in Detroit. He has been working along side John on various restoration and experimental projects for most of his career. Jeremy currently serves as Sonex Aircraft CEO and leads Sonex Aircraft's engineering efforts.

Mark Schaible
General Manager
mark@sonexaircraft.com
 
Mark has been an aviation enthusiast for as long as he can remember. Perhaps best known as an aviation photographer, Mark photographed for EAA for several years before moving on to a freelance career. His images have appeared in publications like Sport Aviation, AOPA Pilot, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Popular Mechanics and many others. As a life-long EAA Member, working at Sonex is the fulfillment of a dream to be immersed in an experimental aircraft design and production environment and at home, Mark is working on the construction of Waiex S/N W0029 - albeit very slowly with a wife and four young children at home. Mark currently serves as General Manager for Sonex Aircraft and is responsible for most of the company's day-to-day operations while continuing to focus on sales, advertising, public relations and web site development.

Kerry Fores
Technical Communications Manager
kerry@sonexaircraft.com
 
Kerry has been with Sonex Aircraft since January 2003, but volunteered his time beginning in 1999, as soon as he learned of the still-developing Sonex. Kerry scratch-built a Jabiru 3300-powered Sonex, "Metal Illness", which first flew in February 2004 and was awarded a Bronze Lindy in the Plans Built category at AirVenture 2006. Kerry, a private pilot flying as a sport pilot, logged nearly 500 hours in his aircraft in just 7 years - including aerobatics and multiple cross country flights - before selling it in 2011. He is currently balancing building another Sonex with home remodeling and motorcycle riding.

Kerry's versatile work background fits perfectly into the Sonex Business Model and includes technical writing, graphic design, print production management, design-draftsman, photography, British car maintenance, and air force weapons loading. His primary duties at Sonex Aircraft are technical support - both direct via phone and email, and indirect through the development of technical manuals - but his experience at Sonex allows him to fill any role including sales, shipping and receiving, and assisting with research and development.

Heather Zahner
Office Manager / AR-AP / HR
heather@sonexaircraft.com
 
Heather has been at Sonex since February of 2005 and fits-in perfectly with the flexible and gifted Sonex Staff. She brings an extensive background in Office Management, Customer Service and a great understanding of the heart of a small business.

In her spare time, Heather runs a small real estate rental business with her husband Tony. She and Tony are the proud parents of Gracie-Jean (2006) and James (2010).

As Office Manager, Heather leads the Customer Service team at Sonex Aircraft, while also managing accounts receivable, accounts payable and human resources.

Steve Mitchell
Warehouse Manager

Steve joined the Sonex staff in September of 2011 as a full-time Warehouse Associate, and was promoted to the position of Warehouse Manager in 2012. Steve manages all Sonex Warehouse activities, including incoming and outbound shipments, kit, engine and general order packing, and management of Sonex full-time and part-time staff.

Ryan Grady
Warehouse Associate

Ryan Grady joined the Sonex staff as a full-time Warehouse Associate in February, 2012. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys hunting, fishing, travel, and working on cars.

Mark Forss
Purchasing & Technical Support

Mark Forss has been involved in the aviation industry since the early 1980's. He holds a Private Pilot certificate with Single and Multi-Engine ratings. Mark Forss joined the Sonex staff in September of 2012, after directing the EAA's SportAir Workshop programs for 10 years. Experienced in sheet metal, composite fabrication and molding, he's currently building a single place VW powered aircraft, is part owner of Tri-Gear Sonex SN# 450, and aspires to complete a homebuilt powered paraglider in the near future.

Mark Forss' primary duties are as Sonex Aircraft, LLC's Purchasing Agent, coordinating with Sonex and AeroConversions suppliers to stock the Sonex Warehouse. Mark is also tasked with an increasing role in the Sonex Technical Support department, applying this extensive homebuilding experience while he continues to grow in his Sonex-specific knowledge.

Brian Rupnow
Engineering

Brian has been at Sonex since September of 2012, working in the Sonex Hornets' Nest R&D department. As an R&D Engineer, Brian works on 2D & 3D drafting, engineering support, construction of prototype aircraft, as well as project management and tracking for the ambitious Hornets' Nest project list.

Brian is a graduate of University of Wisconsin - Stout, double majoring in plastics engineering and manufacturing engineering. Brian has a diverse background including plastics - injection molding, R&D medical instruments, rapid prototyping, machining and R&D on 2- and 4-stroke racing engines.

Brian has maintained a life-long interest in aviation, including an EAA Young Eagle flight experience in high school and flying RC aircraft, and he is currently working toward his Private Pilot license.

Our Mission at Sonex Aircraft, LLC:

Sonex Aircraft, LLC is committed to providing the recreational aviation community innovative, cost-effective and efficient aircraft kits, powerplants, and accessories and supporting them with industry-leading customer service.

In addition, Sonex provides leadership to the grass-roots homebuilt community to protect the experimental-amateur built rules and cultivates new pilots and airplane builders through educational efforts.

Our Vision:

To continue the Sonex Aircraft heritage of Product Innovation, Affordability, Simplicity, Versatility, Performance, Engineering, and Quality and to expand these themes into a broader aviation marketplace.