This is what comes in the box
Sonex does not assemble the engine,they leave that chore to the builder.They claim a 12 hour build time to which I will add 50% for head scratching ,coffee making and some more head scratching,for a realistic 18 hours build time..I have no doubt some will put this together in 8 hours and some will take days.
Aerovee
Basic info on the Aerovee can be found here http://www.aeroconversions.com/products/aerovee/index.html
What the aerovee achieves
Why an Aerovee can’t be hand proppedOne of the downsides of the Aerovee is that you can’t hand prop it. The Aerovee uses magnatron ignition (like your lawnmower), the engine must be pulled over at a minimum speed of 250 RPM before the coil will even think about firing. Thick oil on a winter day or a heavy parasitic load may cause problems. If you try to hand prop, you could never get the RPM required to activate the Magnetron’s electronics.
To Jab or not to jab and why I don't think it's worth it
There has been much talk about using the Jabiru engine in the Sonex and some even entertain the idea for the Onex(2200).The talk usually regresses to Jab's being a far superior and far more powerful engine then the Aerovee.As to the Sonex the argument goes something like "It's better to have 120 HP than 80 or even 100 if they ever release the turbo for the Aerovee.So for the Sonex lets assume you believe this and decide your going with the Jab 3300 over the Aerovee turbo pretending it's available now.The Aerovee will produce 100hp intermitent and 80hp continuous.The Jab 3300 will produce 120hp intermitent and 100 continuous.The Aerovee turbo I would expect to sell for around $9000 and the Jab3300 sells for $19,900.
Yikes we are more than doubling the price and only picking up 20 extra HP.It doesn't take an accountant to tell you that's not a good tradeoff.
Unless you live at a high elevation airport it just doesn't make any sense to pay $9000 for 20 pony's.Then there is the issue of maintenance.The Jab will only take Jab parts where as the Aerovee uses generic racing parts something you can get the best price on.It's no secret that the Jab also has cooling issues and for a couple more thousand dollars and some added weight you can take care of that problem too.
I have been guilty myself of saying "It would be great to buy the Jab but I just can't afford it" Now having heard ,read, and thought more about it I can say "No I don't really want a Jabiru(unless of course those 20 extra HP can be had for a reasonable price).If I could make the 0-200 work in the Onex I would jump at the chance but since weight is the enemy I don't see that happening .
Soooo if I was going to throw money around I would throw it at the UL 260i engine at 97 HP and FADEC to boot.It's more expensive than the Jabu but truly a far superior engine or as my accountant would say good value for the dollars spent.If i could spend $19,900 A couple thousand more would be money well spent.(latest figure I have is about $21,500us .for the 118hp and $16500 us for the 97hp) Just my opinion of course ;)
Yikes we are more than doubling the price and only picking up 20 extra HP.It doesn't take an accountant to tell you that's not a good tradeoff.
Unless you live at a high elevation airport it just doesn't make any sense to pay $9000 for 20 pony's.Then there is the issue of maintenance.The Jab will only take Jab parts where as the Aerovee uses generic racing parts something you can get the best price on.It's no secret that the Jab also has cooling issues and for a couple more thousand dollars and some added weight you can take care of that problem too.
I have been guilty myself of saying "It would be great to buy the Jab but I just can't afford it" Now having heard ,read, and thought more about it I can say "No I don't really want a Jabiru(unless of course those 20 extra HP can be had for a reasonable price).If I could make the 0-200 work in the Onex I would jump at the chance but since weight is the enemy I don't see that happening .
Soooo if I was going to throw money around I would throw it at the UL 260i engine at 97 HP and FADEC to boot.It's more expensive than the Jabu but truly a far superior engine or as my accountant would say good value for the dollars spent.If i could spend $19,900 A couple thousand more would be money well spent.(latest figure I have is about $21,500us .for the 118hp and $16500 us for the 97hp) Just my opinion of course ;)