Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Aerospace |
Founded | 1998 |
Founder | John Monnett |
Headquarters | Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | 9 |
Subsidiaries | AeroConversions engines |
Website | sonexaircraft |
Sonex Aircraft, LLC is an American kit aircraft manufacturer located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, producing kits for four all-metal homebuilt monoplanes. The company was founded in 1998 by John Monnett, who has designed the Monnett Sonerai sport aircraft series, Monnett Monerai sailplane, Monnett Moni motorglider, and Monnett Monex racer.
The company opened a flight center and a 5,600 sq ft (520 m2) parts distribution warehouse in 2006. [1]
In 2013, the FAA National Kit Evaluation Team (NKET) approved fast-build "51% rule" versions of the Sonex, Waiex, and Onex. [2]
Jeremy Monnett, the son of founder John Monnett Jr. and CEO, was killed in an airplane crash in 2015. [3]
In June 2018, John Monnett announced his plan to retire and sell the company. [4] In January 2022, Sonex employee and general manager, Mark Schaible, purchased the assets of Sonex Aircraft LLC and Sonex Aerospace LLC, forming them into a new company, Sonex LLC. Schaible will be owner and president of the new company. [5]
In December 2019 the John Monnett-designed Sonerai was acquired by Sonex Aircraft. [6]
The company rolled out a prototype highwing aircraft in 2024. [7]
Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
---|---|---|---|
Sonerai | 1971 | Single piston engine low-wing homebuilt airplane | |
Sonex | 2000 (customer built) | 500 by 2014 [8] | Single piston engine low-wing homebuilt airplane |
Waiex | 2003 | Single piston engine low-wing homebuilt airplane | |
Xenos | 2003 | Single piston engine low-wing homebuilt motor glider | |
Onex | 2011 | Single piston engine low-wing homebuilt airplane | |
ESA | Unbuilt single electric engine low-wing homebuilt airplane | ||
SubSonex JSX-1 | 2011 | Single jet engine low-wing homebuilt airplane | |
SubSonex JSX-2 | 2014 | Single jet engine low-wing homebuilt airplane | |
Teros | 2015 | Single piston engine low-wing unmanned aerial vehicle | |
Sierra Hotel | Single piston engine high-wing homebuilt airplane [9] |
Company subsidiary AeroConversions manufactures the AeroConversions AeroVee Engine, a custom aircraft implementation of the Volkswagen air-cooled engine.
The Hornet's Nest is the research and development arm of Sonex LLC.
At AirVenture 2007, Sonex Aircraft announced a project to work on innovative technologies in aviation. The E-flight projects includes using an electric motor, ethanol-based fuels, and other power plant alternatives. [10] In December 2010, an all-electric Waiex was test flown from Wittman field in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The aircraft was flown with a 54 kW (72 hp) brushless DC electric motor, managed by a newly designed controller. Power is from a collection of 14.5 kW-hour lithium polymer batteries, giving the aircraft an endurance of one hour at low-speed cruise or 15 minutes of aerobatics. [11] [12] This was the beginning of the development of the Sonex Electric Sport Aircraft. [13]
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 300,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide. It hosts the largest aviation gathering of its kind in the world, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
Lancair International, Inc. is a U.S. manufacturer of general aviation aircraft kits. They are well known for their series of high-performance single-engine aircraft that offer cruise speeds that surpass many twin-engine turboprop designs. Along with the Glasair series, the early Lancair designs were among the first kitplanes to bring modern molded composites construction to light aircraft.
Flight Design General Aviation GmbH is a German aircraft design company and aircraft manufacturer, formerly based in Leinfelden-Echterdingen and Kamenz and now in Eisenach.
The Onex, Sonex, Waiex and Xenos are a family of lightweight, metal, low-wing, two seat homebuilt aircraft. Kits are produced and marketed by Sonex Aircraft, a small manufacturer based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. By 2014, 500 customer built aircraft had been completed. The Sonex can also be built from plans.
The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled, gasoline-fuelled, boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods.
The Sonerai is a small, VW-powered homebuilt aircraft, designed by John Monnett. The Sonerai began to compete as a single-seat, mid-wing, tailwheel Formula-V racer class formed in 1972. The Sonerai soon evolved into a two-seat model called the Sonerai II.
The Xenos is a light, aluminum, low-wing, two seat homebuilt aircraft, that can be registered as a motor glider or a light-sport aircraft (ELSA). Kits are produced and marketed by Sonex Aircraft, a small manufacturer based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The ICON A5 is an American amphibious light-sport aircraft (LSA) designed and produced by ICON Aircraft. A concept aircraft was first flown in 2008, and creation of the production tooling began in December 2012. The first production aircraft made its first flight on July 7, 2014, and made its public debut at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh on July 27, 2014. A year later at AirVenture, it was temporarily donated to the youth group Young Eagles, with the first official A5 customer deliveries occurring in 2016. As of 2019, 100 A5s had been delivered. The aircraft is known for having brought significant excitement and publicity to the LSA industry since its unveiling in 2008, although company legal and financial issues have slowed production since 2016.
The Onex is an American single-seat, low-wing aircraft first flown on 27 January 2011 and currently being produced by Sonex Aircraft as a kit for amateur construction.
Aviation in Wisconsin refers to the aviation industry of the American Midwestern state of Wisconsin.
The Flight Design C4 is a German four seat, high-wing, single engine light aircraft under development by Flight Design of Leinfelden-Echterdingen.
The Sonex Electric Sport Aircraft (ESA) was a two-place aircraft design that was under development by Sonex Aircraft, using the 80 hp (60 kW) Sonex e-Flight electric system for thrust. Sonex designed this aircraft as a part of an attempt to develop alternate fuels, to ensure feasibility of inexpensive sport aviation in the future.
The Synergy Aircraft Synergy is a proposed five-seat, single-engine, kit aircraft, designed by John McGinnis of Kalispell, Montana and intended for production by his company, Synergy Aircraft.
The SubSonex is an experimental, single-seat, amateur-built jet aircraft from Sonex Aircraft's "Hornet's Nest" development division.
The Aircraft Kit Industry Association (AKIA) was an American aviation advocacy association that was formed in July 2012 and formally constituted at AirVenture 2012.
The Liaoning Ruixiang RX1E is a Chinese two-seat electric aircraft, designed by the Liaoning General Aviation Academy at Shenyang Aerospace University and manufactured by the Liaoning Ruixiang General Aviation Manufacture Company Limited of Shenyang.
Sling Aircraft (Pty) Ltd, formerly called The Airplane Factory (Pty) Ltd., is a South African aircraft manufacturer based at Tedderfield Airpark, Eikenhof, Johannesburg South. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of light aircraft in the form of kits for amateur construction and ready-to-fly aircraft for the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight and the American light-sport aircraft categories.
Bye Aerospace is an American aircraft manufacturer based in unincorporated Arapahoe County, Colorado. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of electric aircraft, including unmanned aircraft for geospatial role and light aircraft for the flight training role. The company was founded by George E. Bye, who remains the CEO.
The Pivotal BlackFly is an American electric-powered VTOL personal air vehicle designed by Canadian engineer Marcus Leng. It was publicly revealed in 2018, after nine years of development. The aircraft is intended to be supplied complete and ready-to-fly and Opener are in the process of starting production at their Palo Alto, California site.
The Sling HW is a South African four-seat, single-engine, high-wing homebuilt aircraft sold in kit form by Sling Aircraft of Johannesburg South.