Biggest. Oshkosh. Ever!

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022 broke all kinds of records for EAA, making it the biggest event ever, and it was the biggest Oshkosh ever for Sonex in several ways! Keep scrolling, this is probably the biggest Oshkosh web post ever, as-well!

Sonex Open House
The events kicked-off with our traditional Sonex Open House and Homecoming Fly-In in Sunday July 24th, a day before the start of AirVenture. While a bad storm on Saturday night hampered fly-in attendance on Sunday, a large crowd still attended the open house along with one each customer SubSonex, Onex and Sonex. The Sunday event included the official public unveiling of the SubSonex JSX-2T two-place jet prototype, and wrapped-up with the traditional taxi of factory and customer aircraft to AirVenture grounds.

One Week Wonder
The show started and ended in a big way for Sonex with the official kickoff of the 2022 One Week Wonder by EAA’s Jack Pelton. Throughout the week, over 80 build volunteers and ambassadors plus thousands of AirVenture attendees with their individual signed rivet contributions helped to ensure a successful completion of the Waiex-B for this year’s One Week Wonder. The aircraft taxied in-front of the AirVenture crowd at the end of Sunday’s air show, meeting the week’s incredibly ambitous goals. See the full One Week Wonder photo gallery below along with each day’s video coverage by the Experimental Aircraft Channel on YouTube. The One Week Wonder served as an inspiration to AirVenture attendees, volunteers and Sonex staff alike, showing what a dedicated group of like-minded aviation enthusiasts can achieve together and showing that building a homebuilt aircraft is within anybody’s reach!

Two-Seat SubSonex JSX-2T
After Sunday’s unveiling, the SubSonex JSX-2T prototype was moved to the Sonex exhibit booth at AirVenture for display next to the single-seat SubSonex JSX-2. The aircraft is still under construction, but the Sonex staff worked hard to get it ready for viewing at the show with wings and tail attached, canopy and nose cone installed, and a cockpit ready for folks to try-on for size. The prototype received a ton of customer and media attention during the show, and several Kit Reservation Deposits were taken! Reserve Yours Today!

Show Orders and Lead-Times
The show was also a giant year for Sonex kit orders, exceeding all expectations as excitement and demand for our products continue to grow! Lead-Times are still very good compared to the rest of the homebuilt industry, however, so if you didn’t get a chance to order at the show, place your order now! Complete Airframe Kits and Sub-Kits currently have an approximate 16 week lead-time and Quick Build Kits are currently booking-out approximately 9 months. Cost pressures keep increasing, however, so be prepared for price increases to come soon. See Our Kit Options and Order Today!

 


 

Rotax 912iS Installation
In preparation for the One Week Wonder, Sonex conducted its first-ever factory installation of a Rotax powerplant with the Rotax 912iS. While Sonex has been making 912-series engine mounts and Sensenich props available for several years and customers have been making their own engine mounts and installations for even longer, the One Week Wonder was the perfect opportunity for Sonex to develop advanced support materials with our own factory installation.

As the factory aircraft and the One Week Wonder progress through flight testing together, Sonex will be refining and preparing custom parts for the installation along with a Firewall-Forward Installation Guide for release later this year. Accessories will include the custom Sonex/Toucan Exhaust System, an AeroConversions/Rotax Prop Hub Spool Extension, Radiator Mounts and Ducts with Custom Radiators, Sonex/Rotax Oil Tank Mounts and more! This new engine support will combine with our existing engine support offerings to further increase the popularity of Sonex designs!

What About the High Wing?
While no announcements were made during AirVenture about the upcoming Sonex High Wing design, and we didn’t even have a sign in the booth about it, "Tell me more about the High Wing" was probably the most frequently uttered phrase in the Sonex booth at AirVenture 2022! With SubSonex JSX-2T engineering nearing completion, and a lot of preliminary structural engineering completed on the High Wing this Spring, Sonex will be kicking development of the new aircraft into high-gear this Fall and it will be in the Sonex exhibit booth at AirVenture 2023!

The High Wing will also give Sonex the opportunity to completely round-out its engine support package offerings with the first factory installation of a UL Power engine with the UL350iS! Like Rotax engines, Sonex has been making engine mounts available for UL Power engines for years, and with the High Wing project we will be developing specific support materials and instructions for the installations in our aircraft!

One Week Wonder Daily Video Coverage

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

 

One Week Wonder Photo Gallery