Sonex -- The Sport Aircraft Reality Check!

Airframe Kits Packaging Sonex Airframe Kit shipments consist of two main articles: (1) A pallet with several boxes; (2) A tube or crate containing the aircraft spar caps.
Dimensions and Weights: Sonex/Waiex: The Sonex and Waiex kit pallets, with boxes, weigh approximately 700 lbs and measure 10 feet long, by 4 feet wide, by approximately 4 feet tall. The Sonex/Waiex spar cap tube measures 13 feet long by 5 inches in diameter and weighs approximately 31 lbs. Xenos: The Xenos kit pallet, with boxes, weighs approximately 825 lbs and measures 10 feet long, by 4 feet wide, by approximately 5 feet tall. The spar cap crate weighs approximately 85 lbs and measures 21 feet long by 6 inches in both width and height. International Shipments: Kits shipped outside of the conterminous United States and Canada are fully crated and weigh approximately 1200 lbs for the Sonex and Waiex, and approximately 1400 lbs for the Xenos. The shipment dimensions remain essentially the same. The Pallet: The Sonex Pallet is no ordinary freight pallet. It contains a major portion of your kit parts, 11-16 layers of flat laser-cut skins and fittings, sandwiched between two layers of OSB fiberboard. It is very important that you keep this in mind when receiving your shipment. Remember to inspect the pallet for damage and don't forget about the parts inside the pallet when a "helpful" truck driver offers to discard the pallet for you. We cannot overstate this warning: Do Not Discard Your Pallet before unpacking the parts inside! The lumber from your pallet may also be used to construct the workbench for your kit project. Unloading: Although Your Kit weighs over 700 lbs and is 10 feet long, don't panic about accepting delivery at your residence. You don't need a fork lift or any specialized equipment. The kit can be unloaded by two people if need be. The banding holding the kit boxes to the pallet can be cut and each box may be easily unloaded from the truck by hand. The pallet itself (you are going to remember to keep the pallet, right?) weighs between 200 lbs for the Sonex and 250 lbs for the Xenos. It can be unloaded by hand by two people of average strength if you lower each end of the pallet off the truck one at a time, with both people on one end at a time only. You could even lower one end onto the ground and have the truck driver pull the trailer out from underneath the other end of the pallet if need be, although there is a very slight risk of part damage with this method, and a high risk of crushing your toes or your family pet if you're not careful. In most cases, if you are of reasonably average strength and flexibility, you and the truck driver can unload the shipment by hand if you are taking delivery of the kit by yourself. If you can recruit some flying buddies to lend a hand, however, the unloading process will be that much easier and safer. The driver will also appreciate not being asked to help hand unload, although most drivers will help if needed. If you are having the kit shipped to a location where there is a fork lift available, it is always best to lift the kit from one end using fork extensions whenever possible. Watch for "Lift From Other End" labels when doing so.	Domestic Airframe Kit Packaging International Airframe Kit "Full" Crating
	"...Your packing is by far the best I have ever encountered." Read More
	Warning: There are parts inside the kit's base pallet. Do Not Discard Your Pallet!
Checking for Damage: Before signing the freight Bill of Lading, be sure to check the kit for obvious signs of damage and note any possible damage on the Bill of Lading before signing. Sonex is not responsible for freight damage, and if damage occurs, you must file a damage claim with the freight company. More details about our freight damage policy and what to do if damage occurs can be found in the Sonex Terms and Conditions. Taking Inventory: Your airframe kit will include a detailed pack list. The cover page of your pack list consists of a table identifiying each box on the pallet. The freight company's shipping labels on each box are numbered and those numbers correspond to the table on the pack list cover page. The following pages of your kit pack list give a detailed accounting of all parts packed in your kit and in which boxes they can be found. Be sure to completely unpack and inventory your kit as soon as possible. If there are damaged items inside the kit, your damage claim will go much smoother if you file it within 10 business days of receiving your freight (For more instructions about freight damage, view the Sonex Terms and Conditions). Also, if there is anything missing from your kit that has not been noted as a backorder on your pack list, you must report it to us as soon as possible. If you are missing items in your kit, please be sure you have unpacked the kit completely and have double-checked that you are missing parts before calling. We will then send you the parts you need right away. If you wait more than a month or so to check for missing items, however, you may be charged for those items.
Shipping For our full shipping policy, please see the Sonex Terms and Conditions page.
Domestic Shipping: Airframe Kits shipped within the conterminous United States and Canada typically ship with either Con-Way or Yellow LTL freight companies. Once your kit is picked-up from our facility, you will receive an email from either the freight company (if shipping via Yellow), or from Sonex Aircraft directly (if shipping via Con-Way) with shipping details and instructions. If you do not have email, Sonex staff will call you with shipping details. With either company, you will have an opportunity to speak with freight company representatives and make an appointment for delivery. Keep in mind that, although most freight dispatchers are very flexible when dealing with residential deliveries, if you have to force the freight company to accomodate your schedule, you may be subject to extra delivery charges. If you are shipping to a business address, you will most likely not hear from the freight company before delivery, although you are more than welcome to contact them. When shipping to an airport or hangar, Sonex policy is to book residential delivery service unless you are shipping to a business on the airport with regular hours of operation during the business day. You may obtain quotes for shipping from Sonex prior to your kit shipment date. We will also supply you with estimated transit time based on your proximity to Oshkosh, WI, counted in business days. Sonex Aircraft, LLC is able to offer deeply discounted shipping rates to our customers and we can ship kits to most destinations in the United States for $550 or less. Picking-up your kit from Sonex: Customers do have the option of picking-up their airframe kit from our facility in Oshkosh, WI. Please realize, however, that all merchandise pick-ups are subject to 5% Wisconsin Sales Tax, regardless of the customers' state of residence. In many cases, the Wisconsin Sales Tax payment can be contributed to your home state tax payment required at the time of aircraft registration, but in some states this is not possible, or would be more expensive than paying a shipping bill and staying at home. Please check your own local and state sales tax laws. Other resources such as the EAA's Aviation Services Department can help advise you with aircraft registration strategies as well. The airframe kit and spar cap tube can be loaded into the bed of a full-size pickup truck with the tailgate left open. Please be sure to bring your own ropes or tie downs, tarpaulin, a red or orange flag and any other securement supplies you might need. International Shipping: If you are having your kit shipped internationally, Sonex will obtain shipping quotes from several vendors after your kit order has been placed, and will present you with the lowest-cost options. International kit shipments are shipped via surface freight and typically have a processing/transit time of approximately 30 days after leaving our facility. Depending on the available service in the destination country, you will usually be given the option of shipping door-to-door or door-to-port. In most cases, door-to-port shipping will be the most economical choice because inland delivery service can often be booked less expensively from within your home country than the rates Sonex Aircraft can obtain from outside the desitination country. You also have the option of shipping door-to-port and picking-up the freight personally from the port of discharge.
Airframe Kits \| Engines
Engines AeroVee Packaging/Shipping The AeroVee 2002 engine kit is packaged into three separate boxes, each measuring 24" x 20" x 12" and weighing approximately 70 lbs each. For our full shipping policy, please see the Sonex Terms and Conditions page. Domestic Shipping: For AeroVee engine shipments to the conterminous United States and Canada, the three boxes are shipped via UPS. International Shipping: If you are having your AeroVee shipped internationally, Sonex will obtain shipping quotes from several vendors after your engine kit order has been placed, and will present you with the lowest-cost options. International AeroVee shipments may be shipped via surface freight with a typical processing/transit time of approximately 30 calendar days after leaving our facility, or may be shipped via air freight with a transit time of approximately 10 business days. Depending on the available service in the destination country, you will usually be given the option of shipping door-to-door or door-to-port. In most cases, door-to-port shipping will be the most economical choice because inland delivery service can often be booked less expensively from within your home country than the rates Sonex Aircraft can obtain from outside the desitination country. You also have the option of shipping door-to-port and picking-up the freight personally from the port of discharge. Shipping an AeroVee with your Airframe Kit: If you elect to purchase your Airframe Kit and AeroVee engine at the same time, your AeroVee engine kit will most likely be shipped with your Airframe Kit. The AeroVee kit is consolodated into two boxes and ships on the same pallet with the Airframe Kit boxes. The AeroVee exhaust and intake manifold will usually be packaged into one of the Airframe Kit boxes (most likely the welded component box). Jabiru Packaging/Shipping Jabiru Engines are drop-shipped COD (COD for shipping charges only) from Jabiru USA in Shelbyville, TN 37160 in full wooden crates. The Jabiru/Sonex Installation Guide and the Sonex-specific Cooling Baffle Kit are shipped from Sonex Aircraft via UPS. Sonex airframe owners outside the United States and Canada may purchase their Jabiru engine from other Jabiru dealers and purchase the Installation Guide and Baffle Kit from Sonex.