My youngest son's first ride in the Waiex.

Stalls:

We went to Oshkosh.

Hello! I'm Tuomo, a private pilot based in GA. I've been on these forums since 2008 under a different username. Got my private in 2007. About a year ago started actively posting videos. The latest took us to St Simons Island.

When I selected the 80 HP Aerovee to power the Sonex Waiex I built with my son, I really had two goals in mind:

1. Economics. Cheap to buy, build, operate, maintain, and overhaul.
2. Low performance for takeoff - good for learning.

The Waiex performs great with the Aerovee. It is basically a 2180CC VW bug motor. At light weights it climbs well, though it is no super cub. My thinking on the low takeoff performance is that if you learn in a super cub, no runway will ever seem too short and you don't have to do a great job to get off the ground and over the obstacles. Here is a high weight takeoff with a recently borrowed cruise prop. I am pretty happy with my son's airmanship and his learning progress.

In cruise we are turning 100kts at 4 gallons/hour. In the pattern we burn about 2 gallons per hour.

I did all my acro training something like 25 years or more ago, mostly in an S2A. I had one lesson in a Decathlon too. I got my chute last February and today time and weather finally lined up for me to start exploring the envelope of the Waiex. Before I dove into it, I warmed up with some steep turns and big stalls. Then onto spins. Next time out I'll give loops a go. Also I'll go for more turns in the spins.

Stalls and steep turn practice.

Video from taking my dad for a ride, already covered in the picture thread.

Timelapse of the trip down and back

After all that time in the Waiex my son is pursuing his FAA private rating.

After 11 years or so I have night currency again.

I modified a headlamp to work with my 14.5 volt system, and wired it in through a dimmer. It draws 35mA at full bright.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....a7bd1ccbd8.png

First Waiex solo for my son on video: