Aero-TV: Sonex Aircraft - Inside The Hornet's Nest (Part 2)

After Years of Feast and Famine, John Monnett's Family Operation Hits Its Stride

While this two-parter is about taking a tour of the facilities that houses Sonex Aircraft's infamous "Hornet's Nest," we can't help but prefacing this series with the fact that Monnett's operation is not what you call an overnight success. John has worked in and out of the sport aviation business with a fair amount of success... and some times that were not so successful, but through it all, he's taken notes, persevered, and ultimately put together one of the most intriguing and talented sport aviation manufacturing operations in North America.

John Monnett is a 'multi-thousand hour private pilot with both glider and float plane ratings and an A&P Mechanic, has many designs to his credit including the Sonerai sport aircraft series, Monerai sailplane, Moni motorglider, Monex racer, along with numerous other homebuilt aircraft. He combines thirty-five years of homebuilt aircraft and restoration experience with his twenty-five years of kit aircraft sales and support in his latest business venture. John was inducted into the EAA Homebuilder's Hall of Fame in 2001 and his designs are on display in the Udvar-Hazy National Air & Space Museum and the EAA AirVenture Museum.' He's also a guy that has proven to be good to his word and seems to exact every bit of education out of his experiences as he can... and that's probably why Sonex has weathered the recent economic storms to not just survive, but flourish.

Sonex Aircraft states their mission 'is committed to providing the recreational aviation community innovative, cost-effective and efficient aircraft kits, powerplants, and accessories and supporting them with industry-leading customer service.'

Join Aero-TV as we spend time with the staff of Sonex Aircraft and take a look around the 'Hornet's Nest.'
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[TecnamTwin]

The idea is to fly around the local area for next to nothing. As a pilot, the joy in flying is to simply fly! The smooth quiet operation of an electric motor just enhances that experience. If it can fly for one hour, that's perfect.

[TecnamTwin]

I can't wait for the electric powerplant package to become available.

[TecnamTwin]

I'd use LiFePo which is a much safer battery than LiPo. I'm actually looking at retrofitting an electric motor to a small gas engine. That way I can takeoff, climb, and land on pure electric power, but cruise efficiently on a small ICE engine. A modified Sonex would fit the bill because it is inexpensive, easy to build, and fun to fly (responsive and aerobatic). I wonder what a small canard would do to a Sonex...

[stealhty]

yeap, you are gonna need a very long extencion cord, or a 5 minutes timer