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Thu, Nov 25, 2010

Classic Aero-TV: Sonex Aircraft -- Inside The Hornet's Nest (Part 1)

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

E-I-C Note: The Aero-TV Team -- Jim, Tom, Paul, Nathan, The 'Other' Jim, Ashley, Wes, Klyde, Anjin, and the rest of the aero-gnomes -- want to wish you Happy Thanksgiving while we all pursue our own various and sundry holiday diversions. Our regular daily webcasting schedule will resume promptly on Monday, November 29th. In the meantime, please enjoy this 'classic' episode of Aero-TV from the past year as we all attempt to get over the Mother of all turkey hangovers...

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 that 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.'

FMI: www.sonexaircraft.com, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews

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