Range Map
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Payload vs. Range
Fuel on board
Cargo
nm
Range
Trip Preview
Name a destination in the map header above and this becomes your trip: time en route, what you burn, what it costs, and whether you get there without stopping — at the load you have set.
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We do not have a cruise speed on file for this aircraft, so there is no honest time or cost to give you for this leg.
En route
Fuel burned
Direct cost
Fuel cost
Tanks run dry about past before at this burn.
Mission Profile
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Estimated Ownership Costs
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About the Waiex
Overview
The Sonex Waiex is a two-seat, side-by-side experimental amateur-built (E-AB) sport aircraft from Sonex Aircraft of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, sold today as the Waiex-B kit. It is the same all-aluminum low-wing airframe as the Sonex fitted with a distinctive Y-tail in place of the conventional tail, and it shares the Sonex’s engine options: the standard 80 hp AeroVee 2180, a Volkswagen-derived flat-four, or the optional 120 hp Jabiru 3300. On the AeroVee it cruises around 130 knots on under 4 gallons per hour with a clean stall near 40 knots; the Jabiru raises cruise to about 150 knots and the ceiling to roughly 23,000 feet. It can be built with tailwheel or tricycle gear and is stressed for light aerobatics.
The Waiex is chosen over the Sonex almost entirely for its appearance: mechanically the two are near-identical, so the decision usually comes down to whether the builder wants the Y-tail’s distinctive look. Against a used certified two-seat trainer such as a Cessna 150 it concedes a type certificate, IFR capability and resale liquidity but flies far cheaper and stores in a garage; within the family it sits alongside the conventional-tail Sonex, above the single-seat Onex and beside the long-wing Xenos motorglider. As with the Sonex, the engine choice frames operating cost: the AeroVee is the family’s lowest, the Jabiru trades fuel for speed.
Key Features for GA Buyers
- Distinctive Y-tail. The Waiex replaces the Sonex’s conventional tail with a Y-tail, its defining visual feature and the main reason a builder picks it over the Sonex.
- Two engine options. The standard 80 hp AeroVee 2180 is Sonex’s own VW-derived engine and the economy choice; the optional 120 hp Jabiru 3300 adds cruise speed and a higher ceiling for more fuel and cost.
- Low operating cost. On the AeroVee the Waiex burns under 4 gallons per hour and runs on avgas or automotive mogas, holding its direct operating cost to about $44 per hour.
- Sport Pilot eligible. A clean stall around 40 knots and a light gross weight let the AeroVee-powered Waiex be flown on a Sport Pilot certificate, and the airframe is stressed for light aerobatics.
Trade-offs
- Owner-built quality varies. As an amateur-built kit, its finish, rigging and systems reflect the builder; a used example rewards a careful pre-buy and a look at the builder’s log.
- Two seats, modest payload. With two adults and fuel the Waiex is near its useful load, and baggage space is limited.
- No published TBO on the base engine. The VW-derived AeroVee carries no certified time between overhauls, so overhaul reserve is a planning judgment; the Jabiru does publish a TBO but runs at higher cost.
- Little to gain over the Sonex. Mechanically the Waiex matches the conventional-tail Sonex, so the Y-tail is a styling choice rather than a performance upgrade.
See Also
- Sonex – the same airframe with a conventional tail. Compare
- Onex – single-seat folding-wing Sonex on the AeroVee. Compare
- Xenos – two-seat Sonex motorglider. Compare
- Sonerai II – Monnett’s VW-powered tandem racer, the line’s ancestor. Compare
Technical Specifications
Dimensions & Weights
- Height
- 5 ft
- Length
- 18 ft
- Parking area (ft²2)
- 739 ft²
- Max Takeoff Weight
- Source: manufacturer figure 1,150 lbs
- Max Landing Weight
- 1,150 lbs
- Useful Load
- Source: manufacturer figure 530 lbs
- Fuel Capacity
- 16 gal
Performance
- Cruise Speed
- Source: manufacturer figure 130 KTAS
- Never-Exceed (VNE)
- Source: manufacturer figure 171 KIAS
- Max Structural Cruise (VNO)
- Source: manufacturer figure 118 KIAS
- Stall, Clean (VS1)
- Source: manufacturer figure 40 KIAS
- Range
- 350 NM
- Service Ceiling
- 16,000 ft
- Rate of Climb
- 800 fpm
Engine
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Sources
Where the figures on this page come from. Waiex specifications are traced to published references; estimated values are flagged inline next to the figure.
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