Sonex Highwing Tail Kits Ship, Fuselage Work Begins

If you have a deposit down on a Sonex Highwing, you might want to clear some space in the garage. Sonex began shipping tail kits for the new design on Tuesday, with the first customer pickups already happening at the factory.

Sonex says the current production schedule has the first wave of tail kit orders heading out the door through mid-February. For those willing to brave the Wisconsin winter, the components fit in a small SUV.

One builder who picked up his kit on January 22 reported being impressed that the parts are now laser cut and, perhaps more importantly, pre-bent. That includes the spar fittings and rudder horns, which used to be a manual bending task for the builder. The company has also moved to inkjet labeling directly on the metal, ditching the old peel-off stickers that often put up more of a fight than the rivets.

With the tails moving, Sonex says it is starting production on the fuselage kits and the quickbuild assemblies. They are still finalizing the plans, but the parts production is ramping up. The company is nudging reservation holders to finalize their orders now to get in the queue, though they are allowing folks to wait until flight testing concludes to lock in their spot.