Why I went from Challenger to Sonex
Get ready for this, I have a LONG list of reasons why. Forgive my scattered thoughts and poor formatting on this story. It may sound like I dislike my previous plane (The Challenger) but that could not be farther from the truth.
First, why the Sonex? Well I was really impressed with the performance of the Sonex and the fact that it was relatively inexpensive in comparison to other models. That was impressive to me. I looked for a long time for a good deal and when I found the kit close by for a good price (at the same time I actually had the money for it) I went ahead and bought it. I also like the fact that I can perform moderate aerobatics, that is comforting to me. I almost bought another Sonex last year but by the time we talked through it, I was not happy with my end of the deal. I would have had to put more money in to finishing and updating it and when all was said and done, I could have just bought a completed and flying kit. I also had the desire to build something but wanted to get away from fabric so I could sell my hanger and tie down at the airport closer to me. My commute will only be 3 miles now, whereas it was about 40 minutes before. This further increases the times that I can go get a quick fix. If I am leaving work late in the evening I would have to drive 40 minutes (longer from work) and hope there was enough sun to actually fly. If I am just down the road it will give me a chance to fly more often, not just on weekends that the weather cooperates. Since I was ready to move on from my Challenger (“C” as I call it) it seemed like a good next step. I wanted to build but I did not want to build a Challenger because they cost nearly the same and while I enjoyed flying the Challenger it was not as capable as most of us try and convince ourselves it is. I flew it with doors off for a long time and I love it but it wanders too much in yaw (in my opinion) when I put doors on, even with finlets, it was very akward. It honestly just felt like it could be unsafe if I was in a precarious position and I happen to have the doors on, recovery would be much harder. I flew the heck out of the plane with doors on and off but it I just don’t like it with the with doors on. I wanted to have a faster cross country speed as well, I was tired of only venturing out on 20-50 mile trips because anything beyond that was inconvenient. I started wanting to move away from the aging 2 cycle engines and the fear of them failing (which usually limited my travels). Although I took great care on maintaining and operating my engine, there is still a stigma on 2 cycles. Back when I was having problems getting the airplane started I was getting frustrated with having an aging airplane and components that were reaching their life expectancy. I figured I was going to need a starter soon, my radio/intercom had been pissing me off, My charging system was on the fritz, etc. I got all the components working but I just wanted to quit while I was ahead and while the airplane was in good condition for the next owner. I wanted something new that I could assemble, get the repairman cert for, and know inside and out. I was tired of cruising at 70 and wanted to be much faster. Since mine was a clipped wing I had unimpressive climb performance when carrying an adult with me on a warm day. I rode with a guy in a Sonex and it was like night and day, THAT was what I wanted. I will miss the days of putting along with the doors off and sightseeing, but the trade-off for something I could venture much farther in, and in more comfort, is much more worth while.
Getting back to the moderate aerobatics. I always feared that there would be some force or turbulence that would get me turned sideways, vertical, or upside down. While I realize that is far fetched, IF it was to happen, the C is not very capable of handling that. I wanted a plane that if I was turned upside down I could not worry about the wings falling off, or tearing the fabric from stress.
I guess this story was a long way of saying my expectations have exceeded the C’s capabilities and ability to satisfy my desire. I needed something to keep me interested and maintain some excitement. It was a great “starter” plane but now I need a bit more.