Waiex First Flights – Sonex Aircraft https://www.sonexaircraft.com The Sport Aircraft Reality Check! Mon, 08 Jan 2024 17:38:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.sonexaircraft.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-gold_wings_3937-32x32.jpg Waiex First Flights – Sonex Aircraft https://www.sonexaircraft.com 32 32 145799239 Waiex-B First Flight: Martin Giraldo – Completing His Father’s Dream https://www.sonexaircraft.com/first-flight-martin-giraldo/ Mon, 08 Jan 2024 17:38:39 +0000 https://www.sonexaircraft.com/?p=22468 Read More]]> Congratulations to Martin Giraldo of Bogotá, Colombia for completing his father’s dream of building and flying an aircraft by flying Waiex-B (S/N WXB0020) for the first time on December 21st! “At Sun ‘n Fun 2016 my father Mauricio Giraldo purchased the Waiex-B [kit] and in November of that year the tail kit arrived and so began the dream of building his own airplane,” writes Martin (The B-Models were brand-new at that time), “He built 95% of the project but due to Covid 19 he passed away so I, Martin Giraldo his son also a pilot and aviation lover, finished the project 2 years after his death.” Gold Wings are on the way!

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Maurico Giraldo, Martin’s father, working on WXB0020 before his death from Covid 19 in 2021.

]]> 22468 Waiex-B First Flight: Patrick Murry https://www.sonexaircraft.com/first-flight-murry/ Thu, 07 Sep 2023 14:42:15 +0000 https://www.sonexaircraft.com/?p=21927 Read More]]> Congratulations to Patrick Murry of Gardner, Kansas whose standard gear, Jabiru 3300 powered Waiex-B (S/N WXB0038) flew for the first time on June 19th! "With the mentorship of Bob Mika and the transition training provided by Jeff Schultz as well as some mechanical assistance in the final stages, my naked Waiex broke the surly bonds on Juneteenth," writes Pat. "No significant issues to report. Looking forward to many more flights." Gold Wings are on the way! Also, our apologies to Pat for the late posting — this post got buried in pre-AirVenture preparations!

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]]> 21927 Waiex-B First Flight: Murray Parr https://www.sonexaircraft.com/first-flight-parr/ Tue, 16 May 2023 17:05:44 +0000 https://www.sonexaircraft.com/?p=21683 Congratulations to Murray Parr of Dunlop ACT, Australia whose standard gear, Rotax 912ULS powered Waiex-B (S/N WXB0015) flew for the first time on May 6th! “Couldn’t be happier with how well the Waiex flew,” writes Murray. Gold Wings are on the way!

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]]> 21683 Waiex-B First Flight: Elwyn Peachey https://www.sonexaircraft.com/first-flight-peachey/ Mon, 27 Feb 2023 21:03:28 +0000 https://www.sonexaircraft.com/?p=21468 Read More]]>
Congratulations to Elwyn Peachey of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania whose standard gear, AeroVee Turbo powered Waiex-B (S/N WXB0048) flew for the first time on February 19th! “Great first flight of Waiex N48YX on Sunday Feb 19, 2023,” writes Elwyn. “The satisfying reward of 2 years of night and weekend kit assembly. Many thanks to Sonex for an incredibly well done kit.” Gold Wings are on the way!

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]]> 21468 Waiex First Flight: Jeff Wisneski https://www.sonexaircraft.com/first-flight-wisneski/ Tue, 20 Sep 2022 21:58:52 +0000 https://www.sonexaircraft.com/?p=20706 Read More]]> Congratulations to Jeff Wisneski of Milwaukee, Wisconsin whose standard gear, AeroVee Turbo powered Waiex (S/N W0196) flew for the first time on August 17th! “I am happy to report that the airframe exceeded my expectations and has been great to fly,” writes Jeff, “I wanted to stay with the original design to achieve the handling characteristics touted by Sonex. An example would be not increasing the instrument panel size to allow the control sticks to remain at their full intended length. I am experiencing very light and responsive controls without being touchy. The airframe is also proving to be very stable for being so small and light.” Gold Wings are on the way to Jeff!

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]]> 20706 One Week Wonder Waiex Flies! https://www.sonexaircraft.com/oww-first-flight/ Thu, 18 Aug 2022 22:48:16 +0000 https://www.sonexaircraft.com/?p=20627 Read More]]> The AirVenture 2022 One Week Wonder Waiex-B made its maiden flight early this morning here in Oshkosh! Flown by EAA and Sonex alumn Joe Norris, the Rotax 912iS powered, standard gear Waiex-B serial number WXB66OWW made a brief shake-down first flight. Initial rate of climb information indicated over 1600 feet per minute and overall performance was very good. More images, videos and performance data will be released as the test flight process continues!

Thank you to all the volunteers, EAA staff, Sonex staff and donors for helping to make this build happen! The One Week Wonder was built during AirVenture 2022, going from Complete Airframe Kit to first taxi in 6-1/2 days. See photos and video coverage of the One Week Wonder in our AirVenture 2022 Wrap-Up!

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First Flight Pilot Joe Norris and EAA’s Charlie Becker give a thumbs-up with the Sonex launch crew after the One Week Wonder’s successful first flight!

Joe Norris straps-in to the One Week Wonder Waiex-B as he prepares to take it on its maiden flight.

]]> 20627 Waiex First Flight: Bryan and Adam Cotton https://www.sonexaircraft.com/first-flight-cotton/ Tue, 09 Aug 2022 15:20:45 +0000 https://www.sonexaircraft.com/?p=20596 Read More]]> Congratulations to Bryan and Adam Cotton of Poplar Grove, Illinois whose standard gear, AeroVee powered Waiex (S/N W0191) flew for the first time on July 25th! “It’s a very easy airplane to fly,” writes Bryan, “and the Aerovee ran great. To get recurrent I flew the flight school Cessna C140. If you can do a good job on the takeoff and landing of a C140, the Waiex is pretty easy. Definitely a mild mannered tailwheel airplane. So far I’m seeing about 100kts cruise and 120 wide open. As I write this I’ve actually completed my third flight and things are getting routine. I’ve enclosed a few pictures, including Adam riveting the tail frames together in 2013 and building the engine in 2016. Same kid who is standing next to me in the first flight picture, but with a bunch of hours of construction under his belt.” Gold Wings are on the way to this father and son team!

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]]> 20596 Waiex-B First Flight: Adèle Feuillye https://www.sonexaircraft.com/first-flight-feuillye/ Sun, 07 Aug 2022 15:02:14 +0000 https://www.sonexaircraft.com/?p=20531 Read More]]> Congratulations to Adèle Feuillye of Bernes-sur-Oise, France whose tricycle gear, Rotax 912ULS powered Waiex-B (S/N WXB0045) flew for the first time on July 28th! “It flies very well,” writes Adèle, “very pleasant and precise at the control. Very efficient with a Rotax 912ULS 100HP and Duc propeller Swirl !!! 135 kt at 5200RPM! What an amazing plane!” Gold Wings are on the way to Adèle!

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]]> 20531 Waiex-B First Flight: Chris Paegelow https://www.sonexaircraft.com/first-flight-paegelow/ Tue, 21 Jun 2022 22:43:03 +0000 https://www.sonexaircraft.com/?p=19944 Read More]]> Congratulations to Chris Paegelow of Abilene, Texas whose standard gear, AeroVee Turbo powered Waiex-B (S/N WXB0021) flew for the first time on June 12th! “It was just a quick 20-minute flight at KABI (Abilene, TX),” writes Chris, “but it was clear that the plane flew great as soon as I left the ground. Very intuitive and easy to control! I am packing it up to move again almost immediately, but I’m looking forward to getting the engine tuned and broken in, and then a lot more flying at our new home. Thanks to Sonex for all the great tech support throughout my project!” Gold Wings are on the way to Chris!

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]]> 19944 Waiex First Flight: Olivier Duvauchelle https://www.sonexaircraft.com/first-flight-olivier-duvauchelle/ Tue, 26 Oct 2021 14:39:55 +0000 https://www.sonexaircraft.com/?p=12049 Read More]]> Congratulations to Olivier Duvauchelle of Herissart, France whose standard gear, AeroVee powered Waiex (S/N W0182) flew for the first time on October 24th! “First take-off made on October 24, 2021, is the culmination of 3 years of assembly of the kit,” writes Olivier, “It was exciting and interesting. We will now take advantage of it in flight for trips in Europe. A big thank you to the team!” Gold Wings are on the way to Olivier!

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