Sonex Aircraft Sonex

{|Infobox aircraft type
| type = Kit Aircraft
| manufacturer = Sonex Aircraft
| designer = John Monnett
| first flight =
| introduction =
| retired =
| status =
| primary user = Private Owners
| more users =
| produced =
| number built = 311 (Sonex, Dec 2011)1 (Onex, Dec 2011)33 (Waiex, Dec 2011)7 (Xenos, Dec 2011)
The Sonex can also be built from plans. Company founder John Monnett was approached by an Italian business looking for an aircraft that would meet their Microlight category. A variation of Sonerai was initially proposed to meet the 40 mph minimum flight speed requirement. Eventually a clean sheet design was built around a Jabiru or VW engine installation with similar all aluminum box fuselage construction as the Monnett Moni. The Sonex can accept various lightweight – less than – engines of between
The Sonex, Waiex and Xenos all qualify as American experimental light sport aircraft (ELSA).

The Sonex plans contain several construction options, including conventional or tricycle landing gear, as well as a center or dual stick. Motor mount drawings are supplied for all three recommended powerplants: the 2180cc Volkswagen, 2200 Jabiru, and 3300 Jabiru. High performance is achieved through a clean aerodynamic shape and simple, light weight construction. The Sonex can be built from scratch using factory supplied drawings or may be assembled in approximately 800 to 1,000 hours using the precut complete airframe kit. A complete kit based Sonex can be constructed for as little as USD$25,600. The aviation website Aero News. Net named the Sonex the Plane Of The Year E LSA Kit Category for 2006.