Will there be a small personal jet available, you can assemble yourself in your hangar? Yes, Sonex Aircraft is excited to report the achievement of several major milestones in the SubSonex Personal Jet program during the month of February: The first SubSonex kit shipped from the Sonex factory. Four new SubSonex model JSX-2 pilots were minted in Moriarty, NM. Bob Carlton received his Low-Level Statement of Aerobatic Competency (SAC) card for the SubSonex, in-preparation for the 2015 air show season!
Interestingly, the first SubSonex kit left Sonex Aircraft headquarters in Oshkosh, destined for customer Redge Greenberg of Durango, Colorado. The Ultra-Quick Build Kit was transported in the optionally available Triton TC 167 enclosed trailer by Sonex staff to Greenberg's home. This is the first in a series of seven kit deliveries included in the first kit production run, and marks the conclusion of an intense six month effort to bring JSX-2 from prototype aircraft to a fully-developed quick build kit product.
"I hold commercial glider, helicopter & single engine land licenses, accumulating 4500+ hours in numerous aircraft," writes Greenberg, "but I never got the chance to fly a jet. I first saw the prototype of the SubSonex at Oshkosh, and followed the development for over a year. When Sonex offered the jet as a kit, I was first in line. Like my RV8, the SubSonex is aerobatic, but the Sonex company also included a ballistic parachute for extra safety. I'm looking forward to finishing my SubSonex soon and adding jet capability to my aviation skills."
Within days, two more kits will be delivered to customers in Ontario Canada and Pennsylvania, with kit deliveries to Missouri, Kentucky, and Oklahoma to follow next week. The seventh kit will be delivered to New South Wales, Australia via 20' ocean container. Orders are now being accepted for the second run of SubSonex Quick Build Kit production, to commence in August, 2015.
At the beginning of this month, four new pilots became qualified to fly SubSonex JSX-2. Sonex Aircraft President John Monnett and Sonex CEO Jeremy Monnett travelled to Moriarty, New Mexico to join Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) Bob O'Haver and BonusJet flight instructor Billy Hill in making their first flights in SubSonex JSX-2 and subsequent qualifying flights for SubSonex permanent Letters of Authorization (LOA).
The Moriarty airport, home of SubSonex chief test pilot and air show performer Bob Carlton, is also the base of Carlton's BonusJet training program through his company, Desert Aerospace. SubSonex customers can obtain dual instruction in the jet-powered TST-14 Bonus sailplane, dubbed the "BonusJet," using the same PBS TJ-100 turbojet systems used in the SubSonex to contribute toward their SubSonex LOA's. DPE O'Haver is available to the BonusJet program for issuance of SubSonex temporary and permanent LOA's to qualifying pilots.
Meanwhile, all four pilots made their first flights of SubSonex JSX-2, all four with diverse flying backgrounds from highly-experienced jet pilots O'Haver and Hill, to JSX-1 qualified pilot John Monnett, to piston Sonex pilot Jeremy Monnett, who recently completed the BonusJet training program. "Remarkably, all four flights looked nearly identical," commented Jeremy Monnett, "which is a testament to SubSonex JSX-2's outstanding flying qualities."
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