Sonex
 Sonex. Photo: Ahunt at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
| |
| Make | Sonex Aircraft |
|---|---|
| Model | Sonex |
| Type | Kit Aircraft |
| Country |  United States
|
| First flight | 28 February 1998
|
| Number built | 311 (Sonex, Dec 2011), 1 (Onex, Dec 2011), 33 (Waiex, Dec 2011), 7 (Xenos, Dec 2011) |
| Registered in the US | 479 (FAA register, October 30, 2026) |
| Seats | one, one passenger |
| Engine | Jabiru 3300, 120 hp |
| Cruise speed | 170 mph (Sonex) |
| Range | 400 mi (Sonex) |
| Service ceiling | 23,000 ft (Sonex) |
| Max weight | 1,220 lb (Sonex)
|
| More aircraft · For sale | |
The Sonex is part of a family of light, all-metal, low-wing, two-seat homebuilt airplanes, with the single-seat Onex and the Waiex and Xenos, sold as kits by Sonex Aircraft of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. By 2014 builders had finished 500 of them, and it can also be built from plans.[1] In the U.S. there are 479 with a valid registration, counted by model name (including Waiex and Onex) because homebuilts are registered under their builders' names.[2]
History
Company founder John Monnett was approached by an Italian business looking for an airplane for its microlight category. He ended up with a clean-sheet design built around a Jabiru or Volkswagen engine, with an all-aluminum box fuselage like his earlier Monnett Moni. It takes light engines, under 200 lb, of 80 to 130 hp, and the Sonex, Waiex and Xenos qualify as experimental light-sport aircraft.[1]
The plans offer tailwheel or nosewheel landing gear and a center or dual stick, with engine mounts for the 2180cc Volkswagen and the Jabiru 2200 and 3300. Its speed comes from a clean shape and simple, light construction.[1]
Registered in the United States
The FAA register lists 479 of these airplanes with a valid U.S. registration. Here they are by the model name the FAA uses.[2]
| FAA model name | Registered |
|---|---|
| SONEX | 402 |
| SONEX ONEX | 12 |
| SONEX B | 12 |
| SONEX WAIEX | 11 |
| SONEX-B | 6 |
| SONEX A | 4 |
| SONEX TD | 3 |
| SONEX WAIEX-B | 2 |
| SONEX 3300 | 2 |
| SONEX COMPLETE KIT | 1 |
| SONEX AEROVEE | 1 |
| SONEX ACFT MODEL A | 1 |
| SONEX JSX-2 | 1 |
| SONEX AIRCRAFT ONEX | 1 |
| SONEX MODEL B | 1 |
| SONEX TRI-GEAR | 1 |
| SONEX LLC ONEX | 1 |
| SONEX SPORT TRAINER | 1 |
| SONEX HIGHWING | 1 |
| SONEX MODEL A | 1 |
| 14 other model names | 14 |
Specifications (Sonex)
| Item | Sonex |
|---|---|
| Crew | one |
| Passengers / capacity | one passenger |
| Length | 18 ft 1 in |
| Wingspan | 22 ft |
| Height | 4 ft 8 in |
| Wing area | 98 sq ft |
| Empty weight | 620 lb |
| Maximum takeoff weight | 1,220 lb |
| Fuel | 16 US gallons (60.6 litres) |
| Engine | Jabiru 3300, 120 hp (six cylinder horizontally-opposed aircraft engine) |
| Cruise speed | 170 mph |
| Stall speed | 40 mph |
| Never-exceed speed | 197 mph |
| Range | 400 mi |
| Service ceiling | 23,000 ft |
| Rate of climb | 1,400 ft/min |
Figures as given in the Wikipedia article and its sources.[1]
Photos
-
Sonex (N232TM). Photo: Ahunt at English Wikipedia, Public domain -
Sonex Aircraft Xenos (N112XS) at Airventure 2008. Photo: TimothyMN (talk), CC BY 3.0 -
Sonex (N12SX) on floats at Airventure 2008. Photo: TimothyMN (talk), CC BY 3.0 -
Sub Sonex JSX-1. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Sonex Onex. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 -
Sonex Waiex Viking Engine. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 4.0 -
Sonex Aircraft Waiex. Photo: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 4.0 -
G-CGPL - SONEX Taxiing at Dunkeswell Aerodrome. Photo: Georgiearl47, CC BY-SA 4.0
All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; click a photo for its full credit and license.
Buying a Sonex
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Wikipedia, "Sonex Aircraft Sonex", read November 1, 2026. Airplane Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Federal Aviation Administration, Releasable Aircraft Database, file dated October 30, 2026. Valid registrations of fixed-wing airplanes whose FAA maker and model names belong to this family. Airplane Wiki uses only counts from this file, never owner names or addresses.