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Not being rich, I focused on the cheapest airplanes, such as Cessna 150, and was about settling into one of those, when the medical regulations struck in 2012. After getting the medical certificate back, I had to consider an SP-compatible airplane seriously. Unfortunately, factory made, they fall into 3 broad categories, neither of which I found terribly appealing.

Category 1 is a 1946 antique. When the short-lived aviation boom happened after the WWII, a great many personal airplanes were built, far more than the market could absorb. Many continue to fly, owning to the fact that the oppressive regulation was lagging the boom, and later they were grandfathered in. One can do a lot to keep an airplane flying, if the official documentation is limited to 1 sheet of paper describing the airframe limitations. Many of them sell below the price of Cessna 150, in cases going as low as $10k! Mind that I am only considering useable airplanes here, not corroded runouts.

Unfortunately, people of 1946 were small, very small. This is what made the personal airplanes of 1946 SP-eligible in the first place, but in the same time they barely function as 1-place airplanes today, and I find it difficult to fit into them. Performance of many of them is very disappointing, especially Chief. It may even be dangerous at the altitude where I live. Still, I found Luscombe 8A basically acceptable in the lot. But the deal-breaker is the need to maintain a true antique. I find it challenging, bordering on impossible. Every satisfied owner of such airplane has a hangar full of spare parts and tools, and spends a lot of time caring for the bird. I may afford the tools and spares, but I know that I'll never dedicate the time. 

Category 2 is the modern LSA, built after the 2006 regulation change that created the LSA and SP as we know them today. They are invariably expensive. I looked closely at the leaders (CT and GX) at $140k, mid-runners like Allegro and Aerotrek for $90k, and the newest champ of the cheap, RANS S-6ELS, promised to reach $60k in 2013 dollars. I learned how the LSA industry does its utmost to make them cheaper. They even succeed, in a way, as the cheapest traditional airplane is $300k+ nowadays. But it is still too much.

Category 3 is the former "fat" ultralight. Some of them are S-LSA, most are homebuilts, very few are survivals of the 2006 devastation and grandfathered in as E-LSA. Kolb, Hawk, Gull. Now, the price of these is about right, in the teens, for the used ones (new S-LSAs hit about $35k+). But they are very much ultralights. The performance is nothing to write home about, neither in speed, nor in range. And no wonder, most fly with 2-stroke engines. These engines do not contribute to safety, either. Seisures, ignition failures, fuel supply failures -- all are common on them. Buying one of these means forgetting about any kind of travel by airplane, essentially.

So, what to do? My wife, ever the optimist, insisted that I stopped thinking about junk airplanes and endeavoured to keep the 3rd Class medical. But I thought of a better idea: if the industry won't supply me with an airplane, I can get a homebuilt!

Sadly, too many people had this great idea, and prices of decent RVs float in the vicinity of about $70k, give or take. And there's not much else that's worth looking at. Except Sonex.

Sonex is a product of well-regarded designer John Monett, who solicited it for a production in Europe, before offering it as a kit. It is easy to build, so I don't need to seek out examples built by experienced builders. It is an all-aluminum airplane, that makes it easy to maintain. Unlike most RVs, it is SP-compatible. And the performance of it is amazing: 135 KTAS is claimed by builders. We are talking Grumman AA-1B speeds here, but on 80 hp! Sonex accomplishes that in part by being very light (gross 1100 lbs), in part by using a lifting fuselage, that many people find butt-ugly, but I don't care. But above all, it's cheap. The 200-hour examples can sometimes be had for under $30k. Look at what kind of S-LSA is sold for $40k in Category 3 to feel the difference.

But it was not to be. Encouraged by these considerations, I seeked out a local builder, James in Los Alamos, who let me have a fit check. Results were disappointing, even prohibitive.

First, I cannot fit under the canopy. This problem is rather common for me in low-wings. The only S-LSA that I fit in is Evektor SportStar with the old pre-Harmony tall canopy, so there's nothing new here. In Sonex, I must crane my neck. James' airplane has the so-called "lowered seat mod", that comes standard on Waiex.

Some builders make the canopy bubble up a bit, but it gives up the speed and may be problematic in case of a crash, because the tail is still the same.

Second problem is control interference. It is less visible, but just as serious. It turned out that my thigh is jammed hard between the flap lever and the stick. Sonex Aircraft offers an option of moving most of controls to the center, which may help. But the airplane is just small no matter what.

So I had to back off for now. But a Sonex/Waiex/Xenos/Onex would be an awesome deal for someone who's short.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 11:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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