SonexAus – Sonex 1566 Richard’s Sonex 1566
I purchased my plans in early 2012, after a year spent procrastinating while finishing off a model aircraft that I swore that I’d finish so as not to have another unfinished project in my shed, I didn’t actually start to bend some aluminium until early 2013. This allowed me plenty of time to look slightly blankly at the plans and wonder what the hell I’d got myself into this time……
However, if you follow the link to my log web site you can see that I have actually managed to achieve something.
I flew the aircraft for the first time in June 2019, I’d love to say that the flight went beautifully without any problems….well it flew all right however the VW lost power after a couple of laps of the airfield, I had a brief fiddle with the mixture and discretion got the better part of valour and I chickened out and landed. The problem turned out to be a broken valve spring on the left front cylinder. I needed a change of underwear when I discovered that one!
The second ‘first flight’ took place three weeks later, this time was much more successful. I still spent quite a few hours fiddling to get my engine oil temps and cylinder head temps down to where I wanted them. However, I am personally built like a brick outhouse, with all of my clobber on I am tipping the scales at 100kg. As others before me have discovered, 80hp VW’s and lard arse pilots are not a great combination…..so many months of saving allowed me to purchase a Jabiru 3300, the difference in performance was like night and day. I’d recommend to others that if you can afford it, go for more horsepower. You won’t regret it.
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