Sonex-A purchase - What to look for

[Bryan Cotton]

Congrats! I'd have to get it approved by the war department but may be able to put you up at C77 if you need a stop. There may be others who would do the same. Even at 100kts it beats driving a uhaul.

[Hambone]

Congrats! I'd have to get it approved by the war department but may be able to put you up at C77 if you need a stop. There may be others who would do the same. Even at 100kts it beats driving a uhaul.

Thanks for the offer, Bryan! Yeah, I don't relish the idea of 2,000+ miles down I-80. I do fancy the adventure of flying it home, though. I've done that with a Flight Design CTSW, a Corben Baby Ace (almost made it home!), and a SkyRanger Classic. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventures, despite weather and maintenance challenges along the way. In many ways, I enjoyed it more than my 3,000 hours in the T-38 and A-10.

My only hesitation is the AeroVee with only 60 hours, my lack of AeroVee knowledge and maintenance skill, and just how much engine support, if needed, would be available along the route.

[WaiexB22]

Congrats on the purchase!

I could be wrong, but I think Brian may be related to Ian Bange, who is active in the yamaha group.

[bvolcko38]

I'm thinking if there are 60+ hrs on the engine...all the bugs have been worked out.

[Hambone]

I'm thinking if there are 60+ hrs on the engine...all the bugs have been worked out.

That's what I'm thinking, too. Plan at present is to go out and fly it in the local area for a few days before deciding whether to fly it or UHaul it back. I know what I'd rather do!

[Bryan Cotton]

60 hours is good. Burning up some hours in PA before you leave is really sensible. Things to be aware of, at least based on my experience:
1) oil will leak and come out the breather. More RPM means more oil coming out. Find your happy RPM and know what to expect for fuel burn and oil usage.
2) My AeroVee is not happy when rich. Lean it out.
3) Cruise climb is good for cooling. For XC we climb at 90 kts and cruise at 100.
4) With only 20A, electrical conservation is key. We run with the primary ignition only except for takeoff and landing.
Tires should be 45-50 psi. Although Darick went with bigger tires so not sure if this still holds true. Concern is the tire and tube spinning on the rim at touchdown and hard braking, which can damage the valve stem.

For comparison we burn about 4GPH and need a half quart every 10 hours. Read the AeroVee manual and have the right oil.

I'll also mention my airplane was ready for big XC before I was. Takes time to build trust and confidence.

[Hambone]

More great info, Bryan. Thanks!

I'll certainly look into each of those points as I start flying. If I decide to fly back, I won't set off back for California until I'm confident in both the airplane and my abilities.

The electrical conservation is something to look into that I hadn't considered. How much current do each of the ignition systems use? Also, I had planned on running my iPad/ForeFlight and Sentry from the 5v USB sockets Darick built into the panel. Perhaps I should run them from their internal batteries and charge them up at each overnight stop. I also have a few small 20,000 mAh power banks I can use.

[Bryan Cotton]

The primary ignition uses no electrical power. It's basically a Briggs & Stratton type magneto. The ipad will use 1-2A at 5V, which ends up being 0.5-less than an amp at 14.5. We do it all the time. Not sure what Darick has for lights. If he has a conventional master contactor that's about an amp. Radios not transmitting and transponders are low current draw. The primary ignition is fused for 10A and probably uses 7-9.

[Hambone]

I should have looked more into the lights. I did turn them on, and there seemed to be a flashing green light on the right wingtip, and a steady red on the left. Could it be that the flashing green light is a hybrid navigation light/anticollision beacon? Or maybe it was steady green and flashing white, and I didn't pick up on that.

[Bryan Cotton]

I think what is common is a strobe on each wingtip, and of course red/green nav lights there too. My nav lights also have an aft-facing white nav light. It might be that a connection has failed to the left strobe.

My nav lights draw about an amp, and the strobes the same. I only run the nav lights in the dark or at sunset. LED lights are awesome.