A Jet You Can Actually Afford!

Friday, April 03, 2015 at 11:12 PM ET

Verified

Tired as she was after doing her crackerjack show, Patty Wagstaff graciously let me take a quick iPhone snap of her and Pipistrel Florida dealer Rand Vollmer. It doesn't do her beauty justice but her warmth and good nature shine through for sure. A couple excerpts from her comments to the dinner guests last night. Her first flight was in a Cessna 206 in Alaska. It was fully loaded, the turf runway at an Inuit village she was helping aid was soggy, yet the pilot chose to launch without using the full runway. The airplane failed to achieve flight before achieving the end of the runway. "I'd been around airplanes with my father, so I knew not using the whole runway was a bad idea. We were suddenly upside down, fuel dripping, my knees were shaking. I decided right there I was going to learn to fly. I thought, 'I can do better than this guy any day!'" Although there was no CFI in her town in Alaska, she talked a guy into teaching her, after he tasked her with finding a plane. She went all over the airport, found a Cherokee 140 owner willing to loan her the plane, and she was off towards a brilliant career. Now, reflecting back on her amazing 32 years of aviation accomplishments, she says her instructor liked to say "She bugged the hell out of me!" And she adds, "It all seems to have gone so fast. I'm glad I learned to be persistent at an early time in my life." About flight training, she advises: "Find a CFI you like with a personality that works with yours. It's like a date: you want to get along with each other."

Key Takeaways:

Sonex Aircraft offers the SubSonex JSX-2 personal jet kit for under $130,000.
The SubSonex JSX-2 made its airshow debut at Sun 'n Fun 2015.
The aircraft features a 247-pound thrust engine, retractable landing gear, and a BRS parachute.
First seven customer kits were delivered in early 2015, with more available.

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Be honest with yourself. You always wanted to fly a jet, didn’t you? Having your very own jet to rocket around the sky would be so cool, right? C’mon … who wouldn’t love that? The trouble is affording one of the darn things and then paying through the nose to fuel and maintain it.

Well, the good folks at Sonex Aircraft have long prided themselves on (and have achieved the goal of) offering modestly priced airplane kits that the rest of us can afford. How about a jet airpane (kit) for less than many ready-to-fly LSA? Yep, Sonex says “base price” is $130,000 and while that may still be a chunk of change for many, you have to admit it is reasonably affordable as jets go.

Those of you planning to attend Sun ‘n Fun 2015 — and I hope that is many of you! — will be able to check out SubSonex JXS-2 Personal Jet and you can catch its first-ever airshow act. You may have seen it fly at their home field of Oshkosh but you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

After being absent since 2006, Sonex Aircraft is returning to Sun ‘n Fun with an official exhibitor presence at the 2015 event in Lakeland, Florida. Look for the company’s distinctive yellow airplanes in the North East Exhibit area, booth NE-29 where they will have an AeroVee Turbo-powered Sonex Sport Acro along with SubSonex.

The Wisconsin kit manufacturer also plans several forums including one for prospective SubSonex Personal Jet owners (on Friday, April 24th). Check this link for Sonex events plus their forums at Sun ‘n Fun 2015.

SubSonex JSX-2 is available as a kit aircraft and the company noted the first seven customer kits were delivered in early 2015, with production slots still open for delivery by year-end. The microjet aircraft is powered by the PBS TJ-100 engine, producing 247 pounds of thrust. It features a larger cockpit, larger instrument panel, fully retractable landing gear, a BRS whole airframe emergency parachute, higher fuel capacity in a rotationally molded cross-linked polyethylene fuel cell, easily removable wings, and a more sculpted and aesthetically pleasing nose section.

Sonex announced that their SubSonex Air Show, flown by renowned performer Bob Carlton, will make its worldwide debut at the 2015 Sun ‘n Fun show, saying that Bob is scheduled to perform on Tuesday, April 20th and Sunday, April 26th.

The company said their SubSonex air show routine will feature maneuvers previously unheard of in a jet aerobatic routine. “The SubSonex microjet is capable of speeds of 300 mph,” said Bob Carlton, “and can perform all the classic aerobatics, including maneuvers like tailslides, normally considered taboo in a jet. However, it’s not just about high speed. With its incredibly wide speed range, the SubSonex can turn tight and stay close so that air show spectators aren’t waiting for a turnaround.”

Sold only as a quick-build kit, SubSonex includes almost everything required to fly with the exception of avionics and paint. Available options for the JXS-2 include MGL Avionics‘ iEFIS touchscreen, a Mountain High oxygen system, Aveo PowerBurst LED position and strobe lighting, heated leather upholstery, cabin heat, and a Triton TC 167 enclosed trailer modified to transport the SubSonex. Transition Training is available; contact the company for details.