Aero-TV: Sub-Sonex JSX-2T and the Science of Evolution

Calling All Aspiring Jet Pilots

Sonex Aircraft, LLC—the Oshkosh, Wisconsin-based manufacturer of kit-aircraft—is accepting deposits for its SubSonex JSX-2T, a two-place, home-built, personal jet.

Aside from being a capable aircraft in its own right, the JSX-2T is intended, in part, to serve as a trainer for pilots seeking to transition into Sonex’s single-seat SubSonex JSX-2—upon which the new airplane is based. Sonex asserts with candor and confidence that the JSX-2T will prove itself “the lowest cost jet trainer ever.”

Flight-testing of the JSX-2T is slated to get underway in early 2023 with kit production to commence by the year’s fourth quarter.

True to its trainer (T) designation, the JSX-2T features side-by-side seating and extensive commonality with its JSX-2 counterpart. The two aircraft are similar in wing planform and loading, and share numerous system architectures. The high-degree of similitude between the JSX-2 and JSX-2T promises to streamline pilot transition from one aircraft to the other.

That the JSX-2T gives rise to a weird set of specifications is certain. The aircraft’s diminutive 620-pound empty weight belies its 880-pound useful load—just as its 202-knot Vne contradicts its 63-knot stall speed. The JSX-2T’s dorsal-centerline-mounted 292-lbf PBS TJ100 turbojet engine and V-tail empennage evoke images of what Hitler’s V-1 flying bomb might have looked like had it been designed by Beechcraft circa 1950.

To reserve a JSX-2T kit, interested parties will need plunk down $15,000. Sonex estimates the total cost of the completed aircraft—to include engine, avionics, and interior upholstery—will be in the neighborhood of $155,000. Customers who cancel their JSX-2T reservations will incur a $1,500 fee.
Persons seeking to fast-track the completion of their JSX-2Ts will be happy to know Sonex—in addition to the basic kit—will offer Quick-Build and Ultra-Quick-Build options for $66,000 and $74,000 respectively.

Like all Sonex aircraft, the JSX-2 and JSX-2T are evolutions of the Sonerai, a Volkswagen-powered homebuilt airplane designed by John Monnett in the early 1970s. Monnett’s single-seat, mid-wing, tailwheel craft proved a respectable Formula-V racer, and he developed it steadily until 2019, when Monnett sold the design to Sonex. The Sonerai appellation is a portmanteau—albeit a stylized one—of Sonic and Cosmic-Ray

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