Sonex Aircraft Has Sonex and Waiex B-Models and Xenos Motorglider Kits Inspected
Sonex Aircraft recently met with the FAA National Kit Evaluation Team (NKET), so they could perform an audit on three Sonex kits, the Sonex B-Model, Waiex B-Model and Xenos Motorglider Quick Build. The NKET audits carried out to ensure that a kit is compliant with Experimental Amateur Built aircraft “major portion” or “51%” rules. In short, the major portion, or at least 51% of the work needed for the aircraft to be airworthy is required to be completed by amateur builders “solely for their own education or recreation.”
Once the audit process is finished and approved by the FAA, the Amateur-Built Fabrication and Assembly Checklists for these Sonex kits will be available for download from the FAA database. Once those final checklists are up in the FAA database, Sonex will then let their customers know and update their listings.
According to Sonex, these checklists are important for kit builders, who use the checklists to simplify the airworthiness inspection process once the aircraft are built. These checklists are even more important for kit sales in foreign markets, as they are often times used as the basis for creating their own experimental built rules and regulations.
The Sonex and Waiex B-Models were announced in February, promising to usher in the next generation of kit designs and, according to company officials, including some improvements that were driven by customer request. Several B-Models kits have already been reserved, and Sonex hopes to start shipping them in June.
Sonex Aircraft is also offering Quick Build Kits for their Xenos Motorglider design after increased customer demand. Like their other kits, the Quick Build upgrade for the Xenos includes a complete fuselage with installed canopy, and complete wing panels with the wings rigged to the fuselage. These Quick Build upgrades are aimed at reducing the build time and the skill level necessary to build the aircraft.
If you’re interested in reading more about the NKET process or looking at the current Sonex Aircraft kit checklists, you can find that on the Sonex website.
Featured Image: Sonex Aircraft
