2010 AirPigz 'HOTY' - Algie Composite Aircraft LP1

Also check out my extensive report on the Algie LP1 from November 2010

The AirPigz 2010 'Homebuilt Of The Year': the LP1 from Algie Composite Aircraft

 You might already know that the AirPigz Homebuilt Of The Year award is not a conventional accolade. The 2009 HOTY award was presented to Sonex Aircraft for their Waiex, but that took place on January 7, 2009... the year was just underway and an award winner was already being announced. That's because 2009 was sure to be a really tough year from an economic point of view, and I felt that the time was right to acknowledge a homebuilt aircraft that excelled at being just what people needed. The Waiex is extremely affordable while also being relatively easy to build and has fabulous performance. Those three lines don't very often cross.

 For 2010, things were a little better financially across America so I decided that the 2010 HOTY award would wait to be presented until the year was over, you know, like everyone else would do it. So here we are in early 2011 and I've picked the new HOTY for 2010, but you can be sure that I haven't made the choice in a conventional manner. The LP1 from Algie Composite Aircraft is the winner, but there's one fairly obvious snag. It hasn't even been off the ground yet. For many people in the position of picking a winner for an award like this, that fact would be a bit of a problem. I understand, I really do. But I've got some really important and interesting reasons why picking the LP1 makes perfect sense. Please read on to see if you agree.

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Add 'Cub Training Centers' To Save GA In America (CoolPix & Video)

(click pic for hi-res)         A perfect Piper Cub at Oshkosh 2010

 I've been spoutin' off about the near-perfection status of the good ole original Piper J-3 Cub for a long time now, but my post the other day about Sonex Aircraft's Onex and how it might be able to fix the desperate condition of General Aviation gave me a chance to suggest something fairly radical. What if we took a giant step backward and made a hardcore effort to put 200 or more original Cubs to work all across America teaching people how to fly? Why would we wanna do this? Well, a fully certified Cub in good condition can be bought for under $40,000, which means you can get about THREE of these antique airplanes for the cost of one of those supposed-to-be-really-affordable LSA's. And while I admit that I haven't flown any of the new LSA aircraft, I do have a lot of time flying a clip-wing Cub around with the window down and the doors open... I know there's no way any of the modern LSA's can be more 'fun' than a Cub.

 In my estimation, the 'fun' factor is essential in getting people into the amazing world of aviation. But we desperately need to find ways to make it more affordable too. The much lower initial investment of the Cub helps right away, and then the daily operating costs should be able to compete directly with an LSA, or maybe even beat it. Possibly most important is the idea that we NEED to make this kind of a solution happen. To me, this means that we need people passionate about flying that will dive in and make this work without the idea that it's all about money. I'm not suggesting they shouldn't make, sure they should! But if making money is priority number 1, then most likely the cost structure will be built in a way that makes it all cost too much. 

 I'm also thinking that we probably need to strategically place these Cub Training Centers at just the right spots around the country to be sure that they have enough activity going on to make the operations profitable. Ultimately, I think we need some benevolent, trusted group of people or organization to oversee this plan. With a bit of centralization, I would think the operations could be streamlined and standardized to make it all work very successfully.

 About now is when some of you are shaking your head at all this crazy dreaming. Well, it is a bit crazy, but it's way past time we get some sort of active 'pilot producing' plan into action. With the buying power of the average American shrinking a lot over the last 10 years and the cost of avgas over $4 a gallon, what are we gonna do? We can give up and watch it all dwindle down to nothing, but you and I both know that's not really an option here. 

 So, the real point to this post is just to soak in a little Piper Cub imagery. The CoolPix pic above should stir up a little passion in you, and the video clip from One Six Right below should really get your grass-roots blood pumping. You can be sure I'll be back on this subject soon with more of my ideas on how to make Cub Training Centers a reality. Til then, feel free to leave a comment... even if you think I'm crazy : )

Can The Onex (1X) From Sonex Save General Aviation In America?

(click pic to enlarge)  
My rendering of a patriotic version of the yet-to-fly single seat Onex from Sonex

(6 pix + 1 video)

 I understand it might be a bit of a stretch for many people to consider that a small single seat VW powered homebuilt airplane might play any part at all in saving General Aviation in America, but at the moment, I can't think of anything more likely. I feel this way for several reasons, starting with the fact that this little sport-pilot compliant airplane, which hasn't even had its first flight yet, is the closest thing I've seen to what I call a 'Grand Slam' homebuilt. If you haven't seen my post from a while back on the Grand Slam homebuilt, here are the 4 parts that make it up:

 1) affordable

 2) great performance but not excessively demanding to fly

 3) relatively and realistically easy to build

 4) electrifying looks

 The one specific point I brought up previously when I mentioned the Onex as a contender for the four-run-homer was whether its looks could be classified as 'electrifying'.  Well, now that I've seen it in person, both at the Open House at their facility at Oshkosh on the day before OSH10 started, and at their booth during Oshkosh, I can say that the Onex definitely looks potentially low-voltage electrfying. True, I wouldn't call it full on electrifying like the 1970's BD-5, but the Onex appears to be so far down the road to fulfilling the other three elements of the grand slam that I gotta think this little cutie is gonna be the closest we've ever been to hitting it out of the park with the bases loaded.

Onex reveal at the Sonex open house on Sunday July 25, 2010

 The basic design philosophy of the Onex is to take all the great simplification ideas that John Monnett and crew have engineered into the Sonex family of airplanes, and apply them to a single seater intended to be as affordable as possible. The best news from my perspective is that the guys didn't make it as absolutely tiny as they could, and they aren't trying to get it to fly on the smallest engine available. You could insert some thoughts on the Moni here if you want to. However, by making the Onex a size that is both roomy and comfortable, and by putting an engine on the nose that they've proven can fly two people around quite nicely in a Sonex or Waiex, they are on the brink of offering an airplane that fits real people and will have some very sharp performance. It was obvious when looking in the cockpit that this little airplane has a lot of room inside.

 The more you study the lines on the airplane, the more you see how everything falls into just the right spot. If you want both simple-to-build and visually pleasing (a real rare combo in homebuilt airplanes), then I think you'll be pleased with the way this airplane looks. And, for those who've struggled a bit with the lines of the Sonex and Waiex airplanes, I think you'll find that the Onex is able to sidestep any weirdness and go straight to the head of the class. First, by being a much narrower fuselage, you don't get that sharp break in the slab sides as they work their way past the cockpit. And second, the cowling has a softer shape in the area where the Sonex cowl can be a little, shall we say, 'different'... plus having the heads of the cylinder banks push out thru the cowling sides not only narrows the cowling a bit, but it's one of the coolest nods to the classic cowl of the J-3 Cub ever!

 After you get past the simple fact that this is a great looking airplane that obviously wouldn't be complex to build, you can move on to some other really cool aspects of the Onex. The folding wings specifically. The idea was to create a folded size that would allow for easy trailering and easy storage in a normal sized garage. With the wings folded, it's just a tad over 8' wide, and it's just under 7' tall. all while still giving the airplane 78 sq ft of wing area total, which is enuf to keep the slow end of the speed range from being too hot. Even cooler than all that is the fact that it literally takes about 5 seconds to fold a wing panel. They've very cleverly designed the mechanism to not require any kind of disconnecting of the control linkages to be able to accomplish the fold. You unlock the wing. You fold the wing up!

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Oshkosh 2010 Pic Stream #3 - Getting Settled In (16 pix)

 Check out that long morning shadow coming off that Luscombe! Tuesday started with loads of sunshine and stayed that way most of the day. Some overcast appeared for a while in the afternoon, but it was a good day for weather.

  Mid morning had lots of activity going on at AeroShell Square. Here, Art Nalls tells a very interested crowd about his Sea Harrier. This is the only privately owned flyable Harrier jump jet in the world. 

The airplane is scheduled to put on some flight demos thru the week, and I'm sure it will attract a lot attention. I also talked with Art and we're working on doing a podcast before too long. I'm sure it will be fascinating to get the story behind the journey of pilot and airplane to reach this point.

  How'd you like to have a grandpa who would make this for you?! As I worked my way around all the goodies on AeroShell Square, I spotted this ultra-cool DC-3 wagon with some pretty happy kids in it. Tho I think they might have been getting tired waving to all the people looking at them... they were very popular!

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Oshkosh 2010 Pic Stream #1 - It's All About To Begin! (17 pix)

 It's not really much of a campsite here in this early Sunday morning picture, but it's Oshkosh(!), so I'm off-the-scale happy. Even with all the mud and challenges that have hit the last stages of getting this event up and running, it feels really good to be back at Wittman Field! I'm thinking that in another day or so it should like a lot more like home.

 You can see from this pic that the heavy rains from a few days ago have really left their mark on the campground. Even tho this is a Sunday morning view, most of the campground is much better than this. However, it is a sloppy mess over a lot of the grounds. They actually starting turning away the large motorhomes because there weren't any solid spots left for them, even thru the day on Sunday. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and the thousands of people staying away from the airport around the city of Oshkosh in their big motorhomes will finally be able to get into Camp Scholler.

 After getting some campground pictures, I made my way over to the other side of the airport where Sonex Aircraft was having an open house/lunch. It was a perfect opportunity for them to show off some of the progress they've made on some new aircraft. The biggest news came from a smaller airplane... the Onex. This single seat VW powered airplane is specifically designed to be inexpensive and very easy to store. The simple folding wing concept allows it to fit in some really small spaces.

 Here John Monnett is showing the wing folding process. They've put a lot of work into making it all very simple to accomplish, and it was obvious that the good sized crowd on hand for the reveal was really impressed.

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A Beautiful New Waiex (HOTY) Makes First Flight

Kip Laurie's gorgeous new Waiex with Jabiru 3300 power   photo: Sonex Aircraft

First flight for Waiex N111YX was on May 20, 2010   photo: Sonex Aircraft

 It’s kinda funny that just yesterday, in the Grand Slam Homebuilt post, I was saying how a lot of people don’t find the Sonex airplanes to be ‘electrifying’… and then this hot orange Waiex hits the scene!  It was built by Kip Laurie from Atlanta, Georgia, and the first flight was less than 2 weeks ago on May 20, 2010.  You may already know that I’ve been a fan of the taildragger Waiex for quite some time now, and even named it homebuilt of the year (HOTY) at the start of 2009!  BTW, a 2010 HOTY will probably be named at the end of this year : )

 I think the taildraggin’ Sonex is a fine airplane, but when you trade the straight tail for the V (and that tiny little rudder at the tail post!) I think an ‘ok’ airplane turns into a real hotty.  And Kip’s airplane, with that simple but awesome paint really brings the Waiex to life. 

 The fact that this little airplane can be built for under $30K puts it very close to Grand Slam status, but in my mind, that’s ultimately reserved for a single-seat airplane that can slash build and operating costs to about half of that.  It looks like the Onex (single-seat Sonex derivative) won’t be far from that, but it’s gonna need a V-tail option to have a chance of being electrifying.  So far I don’t see any mention of a V-tail for the Onex, but they are still very early in the development process. 

 But the real point here is that Kip’s orange and white Waiex is one fantastic looking airplane - great job!

AirPigz Podcast #3 - Interview With John Monnett Of Sonex Aircraft

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Sonex Aircraft president John Monnett at their Oshkosh, Wisconsin headquarters

 I met up with John Monnett at the Sonex Aircraft headquarters on the Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on Friday, February 20, 2009.  The 53 minute podcast gives some nice insight into the design philosophy behind the Sonex and Waiex airplanes which produces a flying machine that has both excellent low and high speed qualities... while also being extremely affordable and relatively easy to build.

  We also go over how John got involved in aviation, including the early years of primitive and expensive RC modeling.  And we talk about some of the influences that lead him to design the Sonerai airplanes back in the 70's.    John covers what the 'Sonex Workshops' are all about and why anyone considering building any kind of metal airplane can benefit from them.

 We talk quite a bit about the 80hp AeroVee VW conversion engine that they build.  It's the base engine recommended for Sonex airplanes, but also is very well suited to any airplane project in need of a lightweight and reliable powerplant.

 Lastly, John gives some interesting details on their development of a custom-built electric motor, controller and battery pack for making practical electric flight a dream that might actually come true!

Sonex, Waiex, and Xenos airplanes in the Sonex Aircraft showroom

The "Y" tail Waiex in flight

 

Typical AeroVee engine installation in a Sonex

John Monnett's AeroConversions modified VW engine: AeroVee 2180cc, 80hp, 161lbs. 

Sonex engineered and built electric motor, controller and battery pack nearing reality

 

On 1-7-09, the Waiex won the tongue-in-cheek AirPigz Homebuilt Of The Year award

7th Day Of 2009 And We Name Waiex 'Homebuilt Of The Year'!

Photos from Sonex Aircraft - go there for tons Sonex/Waiex info too

Yeah, I know it’s only a week into the new year, but given the outlook for 2009, we need to start it all off with a winner… and here it is! 

 The Waiex (say Y-X) from Sonex Aircraft is the 2009 AirPigz ’Homebuilt Of The Year’ (HOTY). 

 It wins this award because it mixes the best of everything: speed with efficiency, safety and great looks, along with ease of building.  When you also add in what the everyday sport pilot’s real needs are, which include stretching the dollar as far as possible, nothing beats the overall value the Waiex has to offer. 

 This airplane is so totally accessible to the ’average’ guy.  If you start with the Waiex kit, and you work disciplined and don’t go crazy adding expensive and heavy stuff to this little cutie, you can realistically expect to be flying in about a year, and do it all for right at, or just a tad north of $26,000!

 A 2-place proven design that can cruise up to 150mph for about the price of a nicely equipped 4-door Jeep Wrangler… that’s awesome!  This is definitely the year that we need a truly effecient, attractive, and best of all, affordable airplane. 

 The Waiex is basically identical to the better known Sonex (conventional tail) version, but the Y tail just seals the deal for me by having that “hey, look at me” attitude.  Performance is essentially the same for the two, and either can be built as a taildragger or with tricycle gear.  And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, it really is a ’Y’ tail instead of a ’V’.  The tail cone is actually a nifty little ‘stubby rudder’ - love it!

 Performance?  Even if you go frugal in the Waiex with the 80hp AeroVee VW engine (which runs 100LL or Auto Fuel), you can still expect high speed cruise of 150mph at 8,000’.  It’s not all speed tho.  That nice thick wing also yields a stall with flaps down of just 40mph.  Almost a full 4:1 speed ratio… absolutely amazing!

 Sonex Aircraft also has a reputation of being a company that cares about builders and always supplies a top notch kit. 

 When you mix it all up and pour it over tough economic times, the Waiex stands out as the best overall airplane for the day.  That’s exactly why it’s the 2009 AirPigz ‘Homebuilt Of The Year’ (HOTY).