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

😈

 

.

[Thruster88]

Sonex is back.

 

Facebook

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 06:42 AM by Thruster88

[rgmwa]

Good news. Hope they can turn things around and make a go of it.

[BrendAn]

 now waco has ceased production. aircraft companies are dropping like flies at the moment.

[onetrack]

Never fear - DIMOR, the German owner of WACO is still going to continue building their range of Junkers retro and ultralight aircraft, so you can still get your choice of fluted/corrugated-clad German specials to impress the girls. 😄 

 

Junkers Aircraft | Manufacturer of historic ultralight aircraft

JUNKERSAIRCRAFT.COM

---

Discover the world of Junkers Aircraft, its historic microlights and the innovative technology that revolutionized aviation.

 

[Marty_d]

Yeah... At around 300k Euro if I remember the Sport Pilot article correctly... And Skippy thought the Spirit was expensive!

[skippydiesel]

14 hours ago, Marty_d said:

Yeah... At around 300k Euro if I remember the Sport Pilot article correctly... And Skippy thought the Spirit was expensive!

I fear you misquote me - The Spirit is not expensive, as small aircraft go, its an art work that delivers looks, rather than performance, much like the Junker above (which at least has a second seat).

 

For those who value form over function, I have no doubt that the Spirit/Junkers are highly desirable aircraft, worth every penny of posser potential.😈

[skippydiesel]

As for Sonex reopening - Good news indeed however I fear that the inability of, consecutive management teams, to move with the times, will see it fold again in the not to distant future (I hope I am wrong).

 

Their focus on a high wing varient of the Sonex, which will face stiff competition from a market already saturated with similar aircraft, rather than adopt the far more cost effective innovations offered by Robin Austin, speaks volumes as to their myopic view of what the customer wants.😈

 

 

[BrendAn]

21 minutes ago, skippydiesel said:

I fear you misquote me - The Spirit is not expensive, as small aircraft go, its an art work that delivers looks, rather than performance, much like the Junker above (which at least has a second seat).

 

For those who value form over function, I have no doubt that the Spirit/Junkers are highly desirable aircraft, worth every penny of posser potential.😈

the spirit cruises at 100 mph on 2 gph.    why do you have such a problem with it.

[Thruster88]

1 hour ago, skippydiesel said:

 

 

Their focus on a high wing varient of the Sonex, which will face stiff competition from a market already saturated with similar aircraft, rather than adopt the far more cost effective innovations offered by Robin Austin, speaks volumes as to their myopic view of what the customer wants.😈

 

 

Not sure about " a market already saturated with similar aircraft ". Which ones would they be.

 

Sonex is much faster than zenith types, it is much much cheaper than Van's RV15, Cub clones etc.

 

Sonex high wing, fast, cheap and two up aerobatic. Only the looks are a little negative but beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say.

[skippydiesel]

1 hour ago, Thruster88 said:

Not sure about " a market already saturated with similar aircraft ". Which ones would they be.

 

Sonex is much faster than zenith types, it is much much cheaper than Van's RV15, Cub clones etc.

 

Sonex high wing, fast, cheap and two up aerobatic. Only the looks are a little negative but beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say.

For Australia - I like a high wing, just font belie the Sonex will be a success. It s not just the kit/plans built market its up again, its a host of similar factory builds. Time will tell😈

[skippydiesel]

2 hours ago, BrendAn said:

the spirit cruises at 100 mph on 2 gph.    why do you have such a problem with it.

As stated  (other thread) I have no problem with the aircraft itself, just the ridiculous hype around an aircraft, that can only be described as a triumph of form over function.

 

A Rotax 912 UL (80hp) will likly match the fuel consumption(7.5L/gr ULP 91 RON ) and depending on airframe, probably in a better all round performing aircraft.

 

If the handsome Spirit meets your expectations- go for it!😈

[facthunter]

You Massively Over-react sometimes Skip and seem so definite as to what one should seek to get from an aeroplane. We are all different (Thankfully) and  I don't think its good to Impose one's Own values  on others choices  so forcefully as you have done on this Little Plane in Particular.  The whole world can read what's Published HERE.  I say to anyone who has the guts to try Market a Plane "Good ON YOU" We need more of this. Knockers are a dime a dozen. Nev