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Question about flying the Sonerai 1

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R

rameses32

My name is Charley, I am new to the board, I live in Australia, but am originally from Kansas. I am seriously considering the Sonerai 1, but am curious about it flight charicteristics, is it an aircraft that you would recomend for a new pilot with a total of 30 hours in the air. I relize this is a very open ended question but all opinions are welcomed.
Charley
 
Charlie.....If you plan on building a Sonerai 1 from scratch, and plan on building flying time in a taildragger of some type while you are building the airplane, you will probably have a couple hundred hours of flying time by the time the Sonerai is finished.
If you are buying a flyable Sonerai 1 , I recommend you get time in anything taildragger that you can. Some dual in a Sonerai 2 would be great, but some practice with a Luscombe, or a Swift, or a Pitts even would help.
Things to watch for with a Sonerai 1 are: Inertia and planning in the traffic pattern. A Sensitivity on takeoff and landing roll. You can raise the tail on takeoff long before the rudder is ready to do its job. P- factor is probably opposite of what you were trained in. Less visibility for reference than what you may be used to.
The Sonerai 1 needs to be gently guided around, not pushed and shoved around the sky like you can get away with in a Cessna 150. Hope this helps...Ed F.
 
Hi Charlie and welcome to the forum. I hope the forum serves you well.

What you need is a game plan and to follow that plan so that when you're ready to fly your Sonerai, you can do it safely.

I assume that you will be building from plans and not purchasing an already flying Sonerai I. It usually takes 800 to more realistically 1200 hours to finish your Sonerai. This may not sound like much but for many of us with life's other commitments, this equates to 2 years or more. During this time you must continue to fly in whatever aircraft you can find to build time. Preferably something quicker on the controls like a little Grumman then transition to a taildragger like a Decathlon, Luscombe or Van's RV. A few hours in the pattern in a Pitts S2 can be the icing on the training cake.

Okay, the above is obvious. If you are in a situation like I was, finding a Decathalon, Luscombe or Pitts to train on is no easy task. These planes are usually not for rent at your local FBO. These planes still exist under private ownership and the owners may not want their pride and joy being used by someone they don't know. This is where the EAA Flight Adviser Program can come in handy. Albeit not the program's true purpose, your volunteer flight adviser has contacts with other EAA members that own aircraft like Luscombes and Pitts and may be able to put a good word in for you. Of course the Flight Adviser program is not for social networking but really a structured program designed to keep you safe by using a methodical approach to answering the ultimate question "Am I ready to fly this aircraft".

If the Sonerai I is the design you really want, then go for it. Just get the proper training first.
 
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