A First-Time Builder Takes on the Sonex Highwing

One of the first questions homebuilders are almost always asked is how many years and hours it took them to complete their aircraft. Another is how long did they dream of building before finally ordering a kit? As I suspect many reading this have, I’ve been thinking about building a kit airplane for as long as I can remember. I started out like many before me, building and flying RC planes when I was a teenager. You could say I’ve been working my way up to the aircraft level of DIY projects ever since. The first of my large-scale DIY projects were plansbuilt wooden runabout boats, which I started not long after we bought our first house. The watercraft projects came out beautifully and proved that I had the patience and perseverance to see challenging projects to completion, as well as an understanding and supportive wife. However, for one reason or another it never felt like the right time to tackle an airplane project until recently. I am now in my midlife point, without a current crisis. I have the itch for another large project and a desire for my own airplane.

The parameters of the airplane I desire is one that is a swift, efficient cruiser with side-by-side seating for two adults, capable of dropping into the local grass airport for pancakes, and with enough baggage capacity to carry either camping equipment or two carry-on size suitcases. I would like to build using matched-hole technology and all-metal construction. My 6-year-old son desires the occasional loop and roll capability.

Numerous kits fit that criteria. However, I have noticed most use engines that have been soaring out of our budget lately without gains in modernization. At AirVenture 2024, it hit me, or maybe it was the sun glaring off it. Sitting there on display was the half-built prototype of the Sonex Highwing. Despite the unimaginative name, it checked the boxes for us. Looking at it felt like my time to build an airplane had come. We learned all we could about it over the next six months. Then, in February 2025 on the first day they became available, we put down a $500 reservation deposit and were number 9 in line. The prototype was finished and flown by AirVenture 2025. Sonex stated then that they were shooting for tail kit deliveries by the end of the year. It turned out pretty close; Sonex started shipping Highwing tail kits on Jan. 21, 2026. I drove from central Indiana to Sonex in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on Jan. 22, 2026, and picked up our tail kit, the first in a customer’s hands. Doubt still creeped in: Could I really do this? These newer matched-hole kits are promised to be the easiest to build yet, but is that the reality?

As soon as I got home, I started to inventory the kit parts. Every piece accounted for and set on a shelf according to where it will be used. A separate box contains the hardware, lots of 1/8-inch blind rivets and some AN3 hardware. What I did notice is that instead of sticker labels with the part number affixed to the parts, they were all now ink printed directly on the parts. No sticker labels to remove, already saving time! I still tape labeled some parts just so they were easier to read while glancing for a specific part on the shelf. On top of the plans pages, the Sonex build tree remains much the same as previous Sonex kits. Begin at the bottom and work your way up. Each assembly page in the plans is a box on the build tree. You can start at any page that does not have a page connecting to the bottom of it. For instance, you could start at SHX-V06 or SHX-V04. I started at SHX-H06, the elevator root assembly, which is page 6 of the horizontal tail assembly, hence H06. SHX simply stands for Sonex Highwing.

When starting a page in the plans, simply collect the parts from the parts list in the top left corner of the plans. The elevator root assembly consists of just four items: L&R root ribs, the elevator horn weldment, and CCP-42 rivets. The instructions are printed directly on the plan below the parts list; everything you need is on the plans page. Just prep your parts by deburring the edges and rounding off sharp corners, and then Cleco together as instructed. The entire tail kit will take you two drill bit sizes, #40 and #30; having long ones in addition to short ones sometimes is helpful. In about three or four hours we have inventoried our tail kit and completed the first of the 12 pages in our tail kit. Confidence grew quickly.

Moving on to the vertical stab FWD spar assembly next, SHX-V04. We gathered the parts and spent time needed to make sure we would lay out the parts properly and understand how they orient together in the assembly. The beginning of each new assembly takes the most thought. Each plan page is just one assembly, so the plans are nicely uncluttered, and orientation is helped with section views. For example, helpful arrows labeled “A-A” in this front view match a section view labeled “Section A-A” elsewhere on the same plan page to help visualize proper orientation. I did find one typo in the parts list of this plan. A quick email to Sonex had the typo fixed and other builders updated. Sonex puts plans revisions on their website for each airframe. There is an email list builders should join, and when a revision is made, we’ll get an email letting us know of a new revision in real-time. A revision will be alphabetically labeled. NC is the original, then revision A, B, etc., to indicate the number of revisions, and it’s printed on the bottom right of each plan page to reference you are using the most up-to-date plan.

Gathering the parts from the parts list for the forward vertical stabilizer spar assembly, I found another obvious time saver. The thick aluminum spar fitting is already pre-bent! In my research of previous Sonex kits, I knew this task was one of the first challenges for builders. In the past, you needed a V-block, an arbor press, and a proper size socket to make the proper radius bend. I had prepared a V-block months ago and secured a borrowed arbor press. Now, I don’t even get to use them!? More time savings and less chance of making an improper bend that will show up later when attaching the tail to the fuselage, nice! I did get to spend about a half hour smoothing all the factory cut edges of the part. It is also predrilled to #40 to match the forward spar channel predrilled holes. Once prepped, just Cleco, then up-drill to #30, deburr, and reassemble for riveting. I’m sensing a theme. We’re going to spend a lot of time deburring parts after up-drilling them. Good deburring tools are a must-have item. That’s about a day’s worth of building so far, 7 hours.

First impressions after day one as a kit builder? First, why did I wait so long to do this! Second, I’m so glad that I waited so long to do this! Framing up parts is enjoyable work. It’s just the beginning, but confidence is very high at the moment. The pre-piloted holes are clearly making a huge impact on the pace, simplicity, and enjoyment level. Not everything is pre-pilot drilled, though. The flight controls (rudder/elevators) are not predrilled or cut to length, only preformed, just like previous Sonex kits. We’ll be measuring, marking, cutting, and drilling those in our next installment. Visible progress is coming along quickly, which is extremely motivating. When I take a short break, I am really drawn to get back to work on the project.