Sonex Aircraft Sonex
Single Piston
The Sonex is a compact, all-metal kit aircraft designed by John Monnett and introduced by Sonex Aircraft in the early 2000s as an affordable sport plane for amateur builders. With its distinctive Y-tail, folding wings, and aerobatic capability, the Sonex appeals to pilots seeking nimble performance and low operating costs—cruise speeds reach 150 mph on engines as modest as 80 horsepower. The design emphasizes simplicity: riveted aluminum construction, minimal systems, and a wide choice of powerplants from AeroVee to Jabiru to Rotax, making it one of the most accessible homebuilt projects in the Experimental category. Thousands of kits have shipped worldwide, and the type has proven popular for both recreational flying and as a trainer for tailwheel skills. SkyMeter has tracked 3 flights across 1 airframes and 1 operators, with BARROW GUY J the largest observed operator.
Safety in context
The incident rate counts flights with ANY safety event detected by SkyMeter — go-arounds (a routine response, not a failure), unstable-approach gate flags (advisory thresholds), rejected takeoffs (the system working as designed), and runway events. It is NOT an accident rate or fatality rate. For accident statistics, refer to the NTSB Aviation Accident Database (USA) or the Aviation Safety Network. See methodology for what each event type measures.
Performance
Speed envelope & approach
Dimensions
Airframe geometry
Weight & identification
Operating limits
Top operators
By fleet size · last 7 days
Safety profile
Flagged flights · last 7 days
Family
Related variants
No related variants.
Recent incidents
Flagged flights of SNS7
Recent flights
Real flights of SNS7 · airborne ≥ 20 min
