Sonex Aircraft Will Be Selling Plans And Parts For John Monnett’s Original Aircraft Design

Sonex Aircraft has announced that the Sonerai line of aircraft designs is coming home! Sonex Aircraft, LLC will be selling the plans and parts for John Monnett’s original aircraft design.

The Sonerai is the aircraft that started it all for John Monnett. Sonerai I was designed by John for competition in the newly-conceived Formula Vee air racing class and made its first flight in 1971. After people began requesting plans for the aircraft, John was in business. The Sonerai was eventually offered in several configurations including 2-seat variants, mid-wings, low-wings and a stretched fuselage variant, and continues to be a popular homebuilt aircraft design with many examples still flying and new projects currently under construction.

Sonerai fuselage construction is welded 4130 steel tubing with fabric covering, and the wings are fabricated from 2024-T3 Alclad aluminum.  You will need simple metal working tools, and access to oxy-acetylene gas welding equipment, or a TIG welder, to complete the airplane. One of the most attractive features of the Sonerai is that the wings can be easily folded. This important feature will allow you to keep the airplane at home, and tow it to the airport on its own tires, or share hangar space with other airplanes, using a minimum amount of floor space. With low hangar availability and the high cost of hangar rent in many localities, this is indeed an important feature that is available on all Sonerai models.

SoneraiWorks LLC is closed its doors December 20. The plans and parts should be available through Sonex shortly after the first of the year, according to the company website.

(Image provided with Sonex news release)

FMI: www.sonerai.com