Sonex Holds 50th Builder Workshop!
02-01-12

Sonex Aircraft celebrated it's 50th Sonex Builder's Workshop on January 28-29th, hosting another great group of current and prospective Sonex, Waiex, Xenos, and Onex builders! Attendees from across the country and around the globe traveled to Oshkosh to learn more about building, owning and flying Sonex Aircraft. The group constructed sample Sonex metalworking projects, received detailed informational sessions about all Sonex Aircraft designs, engine options, AeroConversions products, and all other aspects of building, owning and operating Sonex Aircraft.

On Saturday evening, many Workshop attendees took the opportunity to join Sonex Aircraft staff in attending the EAA Chapter 252 annual banquet, held in the EAA AirVenture Museum's Eagle Hangar. The featured guest speaker for this year's banquet was Sonex Aircraft Founder and President John Monnett. The banquet included great food and a wonderful atmosphere, with guests dining among beautifully-restored warbirds.

Unfortunately, wintry weather during the Workshop weekend prevented us from performing the traditional Workshop fly-by's with Sonex Aircraft prototypes, however, attendees were still able to gain valuable experience and left with no questions unanswered. In response to the challenges of conducting Winter Workshops, Sonex Aircraft has adjusted the schedule for 2013 to include an early Spring, Summer, and Fall Workshop. The full 2012-2013 schedule can be found on the Sonex Builder Workshop home page.

The Sonex Aircraft Workshop continues to be an extremely valuable experience for our builders, saving them time, money and answering many frequently asked questions in the building process. Sonex Builder Workshops are held several times per year at the Sonex Aircraft, LLC facilities in Oshkosh, WI, and significant kit discount incentives are offered for attendees. Our next Sonex Workshop will be held May 5-6, 2012. Sign-up Today!

Jeremy Monnett welcomes Workshop attendees, introduces the Sonex staff, and passes the microphone around for attendees to introduce themselves.	John Monnett gives a walk-around presentation on Saturday morning, discussing the major features behind Sonex Aircraft designs.
John demonstrates metalworking techniques used in building the Sonex Workshop Project.	Attendees get to work on their projects after plans reading and metalworking demonstrations.
A Workshop attendee traces a form block to make the project's scratch-built wing rib.	A father-daughter team sets to work on competing Workshop projects.
Jeremy works with an attendee to demonstrate solid riveting techniques used for assembly of Sonex Aircraft wing spars.	John gives an overview of Sonex kit construction techniques, such as the squaring and skinning of wing structures.

Read More about Sonex Builder Workshops!

Onex Update: An Action-Packed Year!
01-26-12

 
As we celebrate the 1 year anniversary of the Onex Single-Place, Folding Wing aircraft's first flight on January 27th, a new Onex update has been posted to the Hornets' Nest R&D web site! This update includes updated performance data, information about Onex hardware kits, new pictures of the Onex Tri-Gear, and a new video.

We'd like to remind all Onex enthusiasts that there is another EAA-hosted webinar scheduled to cover the Onex on Wednesday, February 15th at 7pm Central Time, presented by Sonex Aircraft CEO and lead designer of the Onex, Jeremy Monnett. Space is limited, so Sign-Up Now!

You can find more information about the Onex on the Onex Home Page.

Read More About the Hornets' Nest!

Advocacy Alert: Take A Stand Against User Fees for Recreational Aircraft
01-24-12

Sonex Aircraft, LLC is alerting all customers and aviation enthusiasts against a new effort by lawmakers to institute user fees for General Aviation. Although this new proposed $100 per flight fee structure exempts recreational piston aircraft, non-piston recreational aircraft are not exempted, potentially threatening the operation of gliders, balloons, recreational jet aircraft, electric aircraft and unpowered ultralights (hang gliders and paragliders).

We'd like to ask all supporters to take a few minutes to please electronically sign a petition submitted to the Obama Administration to exempt these non-piston powered recreational aircraft from the $100 per flight user fee on the White House web site at: http://wh.gov/K4Q

Sonex to Present Forums at Sun 'n Fun 2012
01-19-12

Sonex Aircraft, LLC will once again be conducting informational forums at the 2012 Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In & Expo in Lakeland, FL. Although Sonex Aircraft will not have an official exhibitor presence at Sun 'n Fun, the following forums and events will be held:

Thursday, March 29th at 10am - Room #11: Forum "AeroVee Engine and AeroInjector: Sport Pilot Power" presented by John Monnett

Thursday, March 29th at Noon - Room #2: Forum "Sonex Aircraft Hornets' Nest Research & Development" presented by Jeremy Monnett

Thursday, March 29th at 3pm to 5pm - Sunset Grill on Sun 'n Fun Grounds: Sonex Aircraft is again planning a "happy hour" for our builders, hosted by John and Jeremy Monnett.

Friday, March 30th at 9am - Room #11: Forum "The Sonex, Waiex, Xenos and Onex: Sport Pilot Designs" presented by Jeremy and John Monnett

Space Still Available for Eagle Hangar Banquet!
01-18-12

Attention Wisconsin-area aviation enthusiasts: Space is still available for the EAA Chapter 252 annual banquet in the EAA Eagle Hangar featuring Sonex Founder and President John Monnett as guest speaker! Even if you're not planning to attend our Winter, 2012 Sonex Builder Workshop, you may register for the Banquet.

The EAA Chapter 252 annual banquet will be held on Saturday, January 28th in the awe-inspiring EAA AirVenture Museum Eagle Hangar facility. Dining in the Eagle Hangar among legendary warbirds is a privilege usually reserved for EAA board members or other VIP guests! The banquet will feature a catered buffet and silent auction. Download Banquet Flyer (926kb PDF file)

Registration instructions are included in the Banquet Flyer. Questions about Banquet registration may be directed to: orders@sonexaircraft.com

Space is also still available for our Winter Workshop, the 50th Workshop to be held by Sonex Aircraft! Read more about it on our Workshops Page!

Onex Single-Place Kit Aircraft Webinar
Scheduled for February 15th: Sign-Up Today!
01-11-12

EAA is hosting a highly-successful program of Webinars (web based seminars) that feature expert presenters on a variety of aviation topics, and Sonex Aircraft has once again been invited to present! On Wednesday, February 15th at 7pm Central Time, Jeremy Monnett will present a Webinar about our new Onex single-place, folding-wing aircraft kit. The presentation will last approximately 1 hour, and will provide a full update on the Onex development's progress to-date, the progress of early Onex builders, and the advanced features of the Onex kit. The Onex has been an extremely popular new product from Sonex Aircraft, LLC and over 50 Onex kits have been shipped since late July, 2011.

Webinar presentations use slides and live audio from the presenter, and audience members can ask questions or be polled for their opinion in the webinar's interactive format. Space is limited, so Sign-Up Now!

Learn More about the Onex!

Sonex First Flight: William Larson
01-04-12

Congratulations to William Larson of Dunlap, Illinois whose AeroVee powered, standard gear Sonex (S/N 861) flew for the first time on December 28th! Gold Wings are on the way!

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

Xenos First Flight: Dave Dooley
01-04-12

Congratulations to David Dooley of Erie, Colorado whose Jabiru 3300 powered Xenos (S/N X0029) flew for the first time on December 18th! "The flight went well and the airplane did everything I expected it to do," writes Dave. "Thanks to Sonex for providing a wonderful airplane and to all the people who helped along the way." Gold Wings are on the way to Dave!

View the Latest Sonex Aircraft Completions

Happy Holidays from Sonex Aircraft, LLC!
12-22-11

Sonex Aircraft will once again be shut down over the holiday break for year-end maintenance and inventory. We will be closed from Friday, December 23th thru Sunday, January 1st. Reopening for regular business on Monday, January 2nd. From all of us at Sonex Aircraft, we'd like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season!

Note that all Sonex Aircraft closings and shutdowns are now posted to our Company Events Calendar.