Tail Kit Shipments
Sonex is pleased to announce that shipment of Tail Kits for the Sonex Highwing have begun! Shipments and customer pickups commenced on Tuesday, with a production and shipment schedule for the first tail kit orders currently extending into mid-February. If you have not yet ordered your Sonex Highwing Tail Kit, Order Today! For those wishing to pick up their orders, the tail kit fits well into a car or small SUV as-shown in the picture above: Chris Atwood and his-father in-law picked-up their Tail Kit here in snowy Oshkosh on January 22nd.
- “PRE-BENT Laser cut parts!!!!!!!! 🙂 Wasn’t expecting that!!! (James Yrineo [builder of SNB0039] called this blasphemy).
[Previously a builder task, plate stock Highwing Tail Kit spar fittings and rudder horns are now pre-bent.] - No sticker labels! (Some say the stickers were stronger than rivets).
[Note that Sonex has been phasing-out part number stickers in-favor of ink jet labeling directly on parts for all kits.] - The cuts and holes are all clean and consistent.
- The organized way parts were packaged.
- Nothing missing, damaged or mislabeled that I could tell
Very Impressed, was worth the wait!”
Fuselage Kit and Quick Build Kit Production Starting
As Sonex continues to finalize and prepare parts for production while continuing to draft the plans set for builder construction of the kit, production of Fuselage Kit parts will begin soon, along with assembly of Quick Build Kit orders. We invite all current Sonex Highwing Kit Reservation Deposit customers and new Highwing Tail Kit customers to place their Fuselage Kit and Quick Build Kit orders now to receive the earliest shipment scheduling, in-sequence of current reservation position numbers. Kit Reservation Deposit customers that prefer to wait until conclusion of flight testing while keeping their reservation position numbers may do so, but your early orders are certainly appreciated and helpful as we plan inventory and source material. Orders may be placed on the Sonex Web Store, via the Sonex Highwing Order Form, or over the Phone.
Sonex warehouse manager Steve Severson bundles sets of Highwing Tail Kit parts for boxing and shipping.
Sonex “den mother” Char Schaible packs a tail kit box with some extra love for our great customers!
Tom Turner forms the leading edge in Highwing Tail Kit horizontal and vertical stabilizer skins.
Stephen Jones palletizes and straps tail kit boxes so they are ready to hit the road via our freight carriers.
Previously a builder task, plate stock Highwing Tail Kit spar fittings and rudder horns are now pre-bent.
Plans Preview: The Drawing System Description page shows builders how the Sonex Highwing plans set works. Download as PDF
Plans Preview: The Drawing Tree is your roadmap to the build, keeping you organized and on task. Download as PDF
Prototype Aircraft Progress
Unfortunately, early and frequent snow here in Oshkosh put a pause on our flight test progress shortly after our last update (it was -22 degrees F here in Oshkosh this morning, -27 with wind chill) so we have taken the time to complete some of the remaining installations and tweaks on our taildragger, UL Powered Highwing prototype:
Wing Tank Installations:
The auxiliary 5-gallon wing tanks have been installed in each wing center section root, giving our prototype the full 30-gallon fuel capacity intended for the design. As expected the installation is simple and gravity feeds into the main tank. Using vented, baffled caps on the 5-gallon tanks allow each tank to have only one bulkhead fitting, and the cap fits nicely under an aluminum door.
5-gallon aux. wing tank installed in wing center section root.
Wing tank cover and filler door installed.
Wing tank filler door removed, providing access to the vented cap and tank strap hardware.
The wing tank filler door has a simple clip instead of a hinge so that fueling access from the leading edge of the wing is unobstructed.
The wing tank filler door is self-aligning to the hole in the tank cover.
Aerobatic Emergency Door Release:
Emergency door release installation.
Emergency door release pilot’s side handle.
Emergency door release copilot’s side handle.
Corrected Gear Leg Length:
Corrected length landing gear legs installed with new gear leg fairings and properly rigged wheelpants. Note: 5.00×5 tires are installed.
New Windshield:
Due to the high cruise speeds that we can achieve with the Sonex Highwing, the original windshield material was too thin, causing the windshield to deform above approximately 145 mph IAS. You may notice in some of our in-flight pictures and videos that a temporary support was installed between the windshield and glare shield to prevent this deformation. We have now installed a new windshield made from slightly thicker plexiglass, which is much more rigid and will put this issue to bed. We have also been refining the windshield tooling to get nicer, easier to fit windshields produced. Installing the Highwing windshield will be a simple task for builders.
You may have noticed this temporary windshield support (bare aluminum assembly at the base of the windshield) in This Video.
Our new, thicker windshield eliminates the need for extra support at high speeds and is a refinement of our original windshield as we continue to improve the production tooling.
Ball Bearing Aileron Bellcranks:
If you sat in the Highwing prototype during AirVenture or while visiting our factory, you may have noticed additional drag in the aileron system vs. the elevator system. We resolved this by trading out the traditional Sonex bronze bushings in the outboard wing aileron bellcranks and the inboard wing aileron pushrod idlers with ball bearing installations, making the aileron system smooth as silk!
New ball bearing aileron bellcrank assembly, combined with a ball bearing aileron idler assembly smooths the aileron drive train.
New ball bearing aileron idler assembly. Note: outboard aileron pushrod is not installed in this picture.
Cabin Heat:
We have a “Homebuilder’s Cabin Heat Box” from Aircraft Spruce & Specialty and will be installing it in-conjunction with the UL Power supplied cabin heat muff so that we can get back in the air as soon as possible!
In Other News: T-Shirts!
We are excited to announce that our first item of Sonex Highwing apparel is now available! This unisex T-Shirt design is available in multiple color options and in sizes ranging from XS to 2XL.
Get your T-Shirt Today!
Order your Sonex Highwing T-Shirt today!
Order your Sonex Highwing T-Shirt today!
|
|
Sonex Highwing Kit Pricing:
While total kit price has not changed, we have redistributed some of the Sub-Kit items to better match the arrangement of our existing Sub-Kits, including separate sale of the engine mount and cowling. See our updated kit prices below and on the Sonex Web Store.
Complete Kits:
- Complete Airframe Kit: $39,000
- Quick Build Kit: $55,000
- Tri-Gear Option for Complete Airframe Kit or Quick Build Kit: $1,250
Sub-Kit Pricing:
- Tail Kit: $2,250
- Fuselage Kit: $14,450
- Fuselage Quick Build Upgrade: $10,000
- Wing Kit: $12,950
- Wing Quick Build option not available separate from fuselage purchase
- Gear & Controls Kit: $5,600
- Tri-Gear Option for Gear & Controls Kit: $1,250
- Engine Mount & Cowling (Std Gear): $3,750
- Engine Mount & Cowling (Tri-Gear): $3,350
- Kit Minus Tail Package: $36,750
The Bottom Line: What Will My Highwing Cost? Shipments Begin Year-End 2025!
|
Sonex Highwing Specifications & PerformanceSubject to change without notice
* Sonex Highwing features easily interchangeable wing tips for different span configurations. Sonex Highwing is designed to take advantage of the new FAA MOSAIC rules for Light Sport Aircraft! Specifications & Performance Subject to Change Without Notice. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
