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Why not the Sonex?
Cost: The Sonex was the cheapest to build and the Lightning was second.
Speed of Assembly: While the Sonex build documentation is almost second to none, the build cycle is like a tootsie roll... Don’t you remember hearing that song? “Chewy Chewy Tootsie Roll Lasts a Long Time”. In all fairness, this is about like building any other metal aircraft.
Count on it being like a prison term, 3-5 years...
Looks: Uhhhh, what can I say; “kind of ugly”, “homely”, “stubby”? I do remember that growing up, I really liked the Porshe 911. It was so ugly and fast, that it was cute. However, I own a tractor that looks like a frog, a motor home that looks like a tissue box, I don’t need an ugly airplane!
Performance: Even with the Sonex being kind of ugly, the performance was what drew me to it. With it being the only one of the bunch that is aerobatic rated, I was really considering buying one. Then I looked at the useful load,oops!
Materials: Like I said in my Lightning review, I thought seriously about a metal aircraft because I had heard all the (quote unquote) horror stories about glass building and how messy it was. Then I thought about how long it would take to build a metal airplane; and to do it right, I would need some specialized tools... NOT!
Room: Even though the Sonex makes good use of available space, there is no getting around the small cockpit. It easily has the smallest of the bunch; not good when you’re 6’-2” and 245 lbs! Once you are in, it is slightly snug. Leg room is OK and knee room is slightly less than average.
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