Sonerai 1 - small start (pun intended) and 1st post

[trumpet nelson]

First and foremost - - - I appreciate the currency of this board considering the age of the designs. Excellent. Expertise (and those other opinions...) will always be helpful and enjoyed. I am happy to see this is not an "orphaned" series of aircraft.

My status: just mailed the $75 for the newsletters (still lots of reading ahead) and have made 3 visits to a look at a Sonerai and gathered ... only the following to-date:
- Sonerai 1
- fuselage is factory welded - about mid-1980's
- squared wingtips
- original (early 1980's ?) wing without reinforcements / upgrades
- 8 ribs per wing (did I count these right?)
- no folding hinge, but wings can be removed
- 1835 vw fired with a magneto
- 1/2 inch gear
- 520 lb empty weight (it has a starter and rather large battery)
- never flown and sitting around for about 4 years
- gets about 3200 rpm for static run-up

So ..... for the brain-trust ... what are the top go / no-go items I inspect during a (potential) pre-buy? Has anyone drilled out and removed the inner wing panel skins to retro-fit the wing upgrades and to inspect? Does this even make sense? My only other completed homebuilt was fiberglass / wood and had an empty weight of 284 lbs. Currently working on a Cozy Mk IV, but missing my single place aerobatic fun.


Thanks in advance,
Nelson

 

[patmc]

Nelson,
Your one sentence says it all. If you are looking for a single place aerobatic plane, and not knowing your skill level for minimizing airspeed and G loads, I think it would be wise to have the spar mods installed. Pat

 

[Raceair]

Nelson, Welcome….I wonder about the 'Factory Welded' comment. I was unaware that Monnett Experimental Aircraft ever built Sonerai 1 fuselages…..I thought all they built was Square longeroned 2LS fuselages…
IF you intend to do aerobatics, I believe the S mod is important. For just general sport flying, with lighter gross weights, I do believe the standard wing is fine. Several of the Formula Vee racer Sonerai 1's were re-fitted with the S mod, by drilling out the rivets in the inner lower wing skins. There is (was) a Video in the archives to show how its done.
Check to see if the gear is positioned on the Fuse with wedges… It makes a big difference in ground handling.
'Never flown'……Check and see what paperwork comes with it…Getting it licensed may be a challenge... ED

 

[FarmAV8R]

Nelson,

I went through a similar situation. I have the plans for a SII-LS but found a completed SII for 40% of the cost of materials to build one. Belonged to a deceased General Dynamics engineer. His widow and kids were selling it and it had been sitting in a hangar for 12 years. All the airworthiness paperwork was done and it had been flying since the late 70's.

Here it is two years later I'm still working on it and still waiting to fly it. I started out being in a hurry, but in the interest of landing it "gently" I've slowed down and am taking my time with it (inspection, repairs, upgrades, etc).

Two things I will say -
1) I'm not a big fan of the 1/2" gear. Mine had one and it bowed outwards terribly during taxi, to the point it chewed up the inner sidewall of a tire. I have the 5/8" gear now (and thankfully it came with the extra gear so i didn't have to go out and buy one)
2) Even though I'm still working on it two years later instead of flying it, its been a wonderful learning experience, and I actually find working on it to be a relaxing getaway from the rigors of life.

And like Raceair said, pay careful attention to the paperwork you're going to get with it.

Good Luck!!

Robert

 

[Gaston]

just a detail

the 1/2 gear ( made of the right alum) will do a great job as long as the pilot collaborates.
Yes the 5/8 is stiffer but is also 6# heavier...

in early 2012 I replaced my landing gear( that had been severely abused many times and unbent 3times)
with a 5/8 but only because the 1/2 gear was not available anymore.
so I suffered a 6# increase...not a big concern for the 2276 but...still heavier

just my 2 cents

Gaston

 

[racegunz]

Nelson, greetings, we are about in the same boat, I just finished doing the a/s mod to an almost finished wing (top of the skin flush riveted). It seems easy at first, but it was a lot of drilling with much attention to not scar up the skins/ribs ect. Setting new rivets also tight if you want to use solid rivets. Not sure how you would ever set flush rivets in the wing over the top of the angles added to the top of the spar, such a tight fit to the skin there?
I can send you pics of what I did including setting up the wing fold on the wing that was not started by the same builder as my fuse.

 

[trumpet nelson]

Race Gunz,

Yes, I would appreciate some photos on you installation of the A-mod aka S-mod. I have been reviewing the 4 sheets (pages 13 thru 16) from the download section. While I am reasonably comfortable (Mechanical Engineer) with the plans/drawings, seeing the photo and your hands-on work will probably trim my question list about 90% !

Side note: I am still awaiting the newsletters and setting time aside for a lot of homework. Most likely will not complete the Sonerai 1 purchase decision until late June. Call me slow and careful ... I don't mind.

Here is my email address: [email protected]

Separately: aerobatics and I get along just fine. Typically loops and rolls are a joy, with the G meter well under 2.5 for most. But why take to the air with a 4 G wing when I can put in some work, get to know the airplane, and end up with a 6 G wing? Then again .... it took over 18 years to build my Star-Lite ... and adding 3 kids to the family. Hmmmm ....I hope I will still be around when that wing mod gets done!

Thanks,
Nelson

 

[phzabriskie]

I've flown the plane on the right (pilots view) who's that on the left?
.....Just had to, I know it was only 10 minutes but it's a logged 10 minutes. 8)
-Pete