The Sonex provides the speed, range, durability, versatility, and product/builder support that I was looking for. At first I considered building a Quad City Challenger II (clipped wing version). In fact, I was about two weeks away from ordering that kit when I began to rethink my goals. The Challenger is a great aircraft for the price, and it has an awesome safety record. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it didn't meet enough of the performance and construction criteria I was looking for.
These are the things I considered extremely important for my future aircraft:
- Excellent Safety Record;
- Good Builder Support through the internet and through the factory;
- A good set of drawings or a descriptive Builder's Construction Manual;
- Preferably a "quick-build" kit option.
As for the aircraft itself the following items were a must;
- Solid construction (preferably all-metal, but fabric or composite would be fine);
- Two-place (side-by-side seating), tricycle gear, 80 HP or greater, 4 cylinder engine;
- Removable wings and easily trailered. I wanted to avoid hanger and tiedown fees.
- Equipped to fly at night and capable of entering most controlled airspace venues.
- Good range and economical to operate and maintain.
After re-considering these specific goals, and reviewing many of the homebuilt aircraft kit options, the Sonex quickly became the obvious choice.
