Sonex Closes Its Doors

[skippydiesel]

 

[T510]

Sad to see another manufacturer fold

[skippydiesel]

Yes!

 

Unfortunatly there will be future problems with support, both advice & material, for Sonex ownersl.

 

I feel for those who have purchased kits, that now may never be finished.

 

The Sonex range are great little aircraft however I think their stubborn refusal to move with the times, in particular their very late "recognition & support" of Rotax engines, has not done them any favours. This coupled with limited fuel capacity/range (if you stick to the plans) has left them well behind aircraft with similar cruise performance. In much of Australia we don't have the luxury of a potential fueling location every 100 nautical miles or so.😈

 

 

[rodgerc]

Spot on Skippy….

I built and flew a 2300 cc AeroVee (upgraded from 2180cc Nikasil) powered Waiex that was a ton on fun and as strong as an ox, but the lack of a 912-ULS Rotax option (at the time) dictated that our relationship would not be long-term.

The good news for existing owners is that they are so simple, that anything short of a destroyed spar cap is easily repaired or replaced. 
If (when) a new owner emerges, they would be well advised to relaunch with a decent Rotax mount….I’m not convinced the high wing variant was going to set the world on fire. 

[skippydiesel]

I don't know much about the high wing but do know that it faced competition from other similar aircraft (RV, etc?) and I doubt, broke new ground/ offed anything extra to define it.

 

Sonex had moved quite quickly support the Rotax engine option, only recently comming out with a Rotax compatible ring mount - perhaps e too little to late.

 

My Rotax 912ULS varient has wing tanks to give it extra legs - Sonex were appalled at the inovaton.

 

😈

[Thruster88]

Interesting comment early in the vid from the owner about one of the reasons for their financial difficulties, "competition from our own aircraft on the used market". I see and understand what he he saying. Why buy a new aircraft or kit when one can buy the same item for half or less price and have it immediately. 

[skippydiesel]

6 minutes ago, Thruster88 said:

Interesting comment early in the vid from the owner about one of the reasons for their financial difficulties, "competition from our own aircraft on the used market". I see and understand what he he saying. Why buy a new aircraft or kit when one can buy the same item for half or less price and have it immediately. 

True!! At least in part;

One , significant benefit, if you are building  in Australia - As the builder, you decide a whole host of matters associated with the aircraft. The purchaser, of the completed second hand aircraft, gets to live with these decisions. The purchaser of a completed kit is not much diffrent to the purchaser of a factory built aircraft ie you can not change very much.

As for purchase cost - much will depend on quality of build, engine, prop and avionics choices, maintenance record, flight hours, (for Rotax) calendar age, etc and of course the reputation of the aircraft. A good one will cost you a lot more than half the build cost, possibly for a very popular one, more than the build cost. Build cost is usually materials only - the hours & years of building rarely get recognised in the sale.

[rgmwa]

3 hours ago, Thruster88 said:

Interesting comment early in the vid from the owner about one of the reasons for their financial difficulties, "competition from our own aircraft on the used market". I see and understand what he he saying. Why buy a new aircraft or kit when one can buy the same item for half or less price and have it immediately. 

That was one of the issues that contributed to Van’s recent problems, although management, cost control and supply chain and increasing costs combined with a flood of orders (paradoxically) during Covid were the major factors. 

[BrendAn]

i watch a lot of american aviation videos and the flavour of the month over there is the high wing taildragger bush plane.

a lot of competition in a limited market.

[skippydiesel]

Speculation:

• The era of the home builder, slaving away, often for a decade or more, at his/her aircraft project, is diminishing with the post war baby boomers dropping off the twig.
• The younger generation (s) want their entertainment now - not in 10 years.
• For a kit supplier to be economically viable into the future, it will need to be a plug and play affair.
• Vans & some others have gone some way towards this concept, with their matched hole construction (meccano) offerings.
• I belie even the Vans approach will ultimately fail, in favour of plastic fantastic's where the "builder" basically connects/installs premade factory modules, that he/she have selected from the factory menu.
• These plastics,will in general be fare more economical to fly, likly less polluting in both fuel and noise emissions and conform more closely to the designers intended performance & safety standards

😈

 

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