Kits And Accessories Now Fully Developed
The FAA National Kit Evaluation Team (NKET) has approved and
published amateur building checklists for the new Onex
Single-Place, Folding-Wing Sport Pilot Aircraft. Availability of
these approved checklists allows current and future Onex builders
to show compliance with the "major portion" requirement of 14 CFR
section 21.191(g) for experimental/amateur-built aircraft, commonly
referred to as the "51 Percent Rule." This not only effects
builders in the United States, but it also allows builders in many
other countries, whose aviation authorities base their homebuilt
aircraft regulations upon NKET approval, to build the Onex design.
NKET checklist participation also opens the opportunity for Onex
builders to legally obtain commercial assistance for their
projects.
Onex First Flight
Sonex Aircraft also announced this week that Onex upholstery
packages, as well as Onex-specific installation provisions for the
AeroConversions AeroVee Engine. These new additions to the line of
Onex kits, accessories, and support serve to finalize the Onex
aircraft design as a fully developed kit aircraft package, are now
available as the earliest Onex kit customers are nearing completion
of their aircraft.
"We wrapped-up the year 2011 as an incredibly successful and
action-packed year for the Onex design!" writes Sonex Aircraft CEO
and Onex lead designer Jeremy Monnett. "We saw first flight of the
#1 standard gear prototype on January 27, 2011, completed a flight
test program on the aircraft, created a feature-packed Onex
Complete Airframe Kit and Sub-Kits, completed the full set of Onex
plans, achieved first flight and testing of the #2 tricycle gear
Onex prototype, and sold & shipped over 50 Onex kits by
year-end with Onex orders staying strong in 2012! We are pleased to
hear of the rapid progress being made by Onex builders, and some of
the first customers
whose kits shipped in July and August are getting very
close to completing and flying their aircraft."
The Onex (pronounced "One-X") is a single-seat aircraft designed
to offer an even-more economical way to build and fly a sport pilot
aircraft. The folding-wing design can fit into a garage, or share a
T hangar with other aircraft, be trailered on local roads, and the
wing panels are easily removed for trailering at highway speeds.
The Onex follows the Sonex Aircraft design and engineering
tradition in offering a simple, robust, aerobatic aircraft capable
of squeezing incredible performance out of lower powered engines.
Like all other Sonex Aircraft, the Onex is designed for use with
the AeroConversions AeroVee Engine. The simple, low cost, and
technically advanced AeroVee Engine Kit is a perfect fit for the
Onex, offering outstanding performance and economy. The Onex
Complete Airframe Kit and Sub-Kits are the most advanced kits ever
produced by Sonex Aircraft, offering more than ever before in
prefabricated parts and matched-hole tooling. Staying true to the
Sonex Aircraft mission of offering The Best Performance Per Dollar,
Onex kit builders can get their aircraft flying for as little as
$25,299.
Sonex Aircraft LLC's participation in the FAA NKET process dates
back to participation in the FAA's Amateur-Built Rulemaking
Committee (ARC) formed in August of 2006 to examine industry
compliance with homebuilt aircraft rules. In October, 2009 Sonex
Aircraft hosted the FAA's newly formed National Kit Evaluation Team
in using Sonex, Waiex and Xenos kits for their practice evaluation
exercises, making Sonex Aircraft a natural choice for the NKET's
first official evaluations to follow. All versions of the
Amateur-Built Aircraft Fabrication and Assembly Checklist (2009)
form for Sonex, Waiex, Xenos, and Onex aircraft are available for
download from the Internet.