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I towed my Sonerai II to St. Lazare airport around 7:30 AM on October 10, 2007. It was 8 degrees C. (cold enough), yet we were warmly welcomed by Jack Brown the airport manager. We assembled until about 2pm, did a ground run and went for lunch. The Jabiru engine was still hard to start, but once started it ran like a top. I had asked a test pilot to do the first flights for me. The Sonerai is not a Cessna. Further I need a better cold start strategy. In the end I settled on using a recycled hair dryer to warm the cylinders for 10 minutes each side.

There was a 24 mph wind from the west, which meant the east/west runway but it's also only 1700 feet;.not much if you have to reject at Vr.

The ground run went well. Mag drop was perhaps 30-50 rpm. Jabiru idles hot at 800 rpm. Takeoff power is 3100 with an optical tach.

CHT was about 400 F, but the probes are on #3 & 4 spark plugs. EGT isn't yet recorded but perhaps 1300F. The oil temperture never went above 180F and held 40 psi all the time.

I asked John Wyman, the test pilot, to hold takeoff power until he had circuit height and was in a position to glide to the runway. I am very pleased that the oil cooler on the firewall performed as intended. It gives me 2.5 liters/quarts of oil instead of 2. The oil is Shell 100W.

A few taxi runs were made but not above, say 40 mph. One caused the tail-wheel rod to snap off. I suspect the turns were too sharp and on a rough area of the taxi strip. I'll make up a new rod tomorrow. No real harm has been done.

The takeoff into a stiff wind was 1000 feet on turf. It lifts off at 60 then takes maybe 4-5 seconds to reach Best ROC, then climbs out at 90 very nicely. I don't have a completed Climb Report yet. The weight at takeoff was 768 lbs; 538+10 gals fuel + 155lb pilot. When I fly it, the Gross Weight will be 908.

The controls are very sensitive and remain useful right down to about 60 mph. The stall was mild, and the buffet is reported as light. The height loss at stall (nose drop) was slight (less than 100 feet) but you have to maintain a close watch on directional control with the rudders because if you let it go say 30 degrees it will enter a spin.

John did a low pass for the cameras at about 140 mph and another at 70, noting that Sonerai takes a little while to gather itself when the throttle is opened. The prop is a Sterba 54 X 48. Essentially it's a cruise prop.

The circuit was flown at 80. The first landing on the 1700 foot strip was a little too long and became a touch and go. The second approach saw the speed reduced to 70 on final, 65 over the fence and flare at 60. It was landed and stopped in 900 ft or less.

This first flight lasted 30 minutes. The smile was permanently pasted to my face. We did a second walk around where we noticed the missing tail-wheel rod. I checked the belly and asphalt below the engine, both were dry and showed no signs of leakage. The oil level did not fall with this flight. I will have to drain the oil separator when the engine compartment is cool. The test pilot had to be pried from the cockpit with a pry bar!

The checks completed and hands shaken all around, the Sonerai was taken back up for flight #2 just before sunset. The Test Pilot took the aircraft up to 2000 feet and carried out a study of the flight controls and engine performance, where more than rate 1 turns and climbs are performed. It is noted that the rudder is very sensitive in flight and is more sensitive than other aircraft, save other acrobats and racers. Thus, the application rudder is more pressure than movement to control yaw. If you allow the yaw to run free you will be slipping and skidding all over the sky. Parts of the first flight exhibited some of this. Once the controls are coordinated and used in conjunction with the smooth application of power then the Sonerai becomes a great joy and excitement to fly.

The wind direction had changed to the south so a change of runway was indicated during the second flight. The landing went really well. It was noted that if you can concentrate on getting the groundspeed down to 40 as smoothly as possible then the opportunity for the aircraft to ground loop is practically eliminated.

I have completed the flight review the government demands but am going to be working on proficiency in tail-draggers generally and Sonerai in particular.

John Wyman, Bill's test pilot, first flew the Sonerai on October 10, 2007

This what all the work has been for. I basically disappeared into my shop for the last 6 months for yesterday's test flight. It was a
complete success and I have good feedback from John Wyman (see photo with engine running) who was the test Pilot for this. I had prepared the aircraft carefully for this and tested everything twice but still one never knows what is in store when you fly an airplane for the first time.

Because a Sonerai II is an aerobat and a racer I have some training to do before I can fly C-FPGS (papa-golf-sierra) solo. Still I hope to do so before the snow comes. in flight, nearly...

As of October 30, 2007:
I have done some dual in a Citabria and a Cessna 172, about 10 hours now, getting back up to speed and also doing some high speed taxi runs in my Sonerai. The closest aircraft to Sonerai I've flown is a Citabria, because it is also aerobatic and because the power to weight ratio is the same. Most recently I've been trying to polish my skills on a Cessna 172, but, the truth is there is no aircraft that I know of that prepares one to fly a Sonerai. Mine has the Jabiru 80 HP engine that runs like a top.

Gord Larsen of F-86 & Lockheed 1011 fame ferried my Sonerai (C-FPGS) to Cornwall for me and Bruce Olson, a B777 Captain, served as my instructor/flight advisor with a VHF radio from the ground. Neither would be able to accompany me in the Sonerai for reasons of weight and rate of climb.

I planned to try a couple of high speed runs to see how it was on asphalt, having been mostly on grass so far, and it was a bit skittish, but manageable. During the second run my instructor said to fly it, so I raised the tail at 50 and rotated at 60. It was a bit mushy in pitch but quite flyable. I kept the nose down until I had 90 and then climbed out to circuit height. I'm guessing that my best ROC is 1000 fpm. During climb the pitch trim is full forward.

At say 500 feet, I started a left turn. At that point I found that the really central issue is rudder and the control of yaw. Once my Sonerai yaws, it stays yawed unless you use rudder to stop the yaw. Sonerai has neutral stability in the lateral axis (yaw). I was all over the sky. The Jabiru engine installation comes with a 15" engine mount. The additional forward fuselage length affects lateral stability or at least cancels out the advantages of the stretched aft fuselage.

One thing that is great is the visibility, you can see everything and everybody. The controls require modest inputs and low forces. In flight they are very effective. Two fingers on the stick is enough. The pilot needs to be very effective in the use of controls too.

I also found that if I put my foot firmly into the rudder to stop the yaw, my Sonerai would start a fairly aggressive Dutch Roll but would reduce that slowly. The Theory of Dutch Rolls says that you control it by eliminating yaw. This is not a small task. The cautious use of rudder and control of yaw became a central task in this flight. This aircraft is a little tiger, wanting to get away.

About this time I asked myself just exactly what I thought I was doing flying an aircraft like this. Bruce Olson called me on the VHF and suggested I get up from circuit height and do some air work, say at 2000'. I had done a flyover to have a good look at Cornwall airport. While I was flying, there were about 6 singles and twins doing various things flying around the airport. I could have wished them all away. Best to leave.

So I climbed up to 2000 feet and tried a few gentle turns. Though the wind was calm on the ground there was some chop in the air. It didn't take much to upset my aircraft and full concentration to get it settled down again. If the 500 hours of flying I have are adequate, I need every one of them to fly this little tiger.

I realized that controlling it straight comes before turns, so I set up a couple of flying exercises to fly straight along Highway 401, both east and west. If I could hold it straight there, maybe I could land straight. About that time Gord Larsen radioed that the aircraft was much easier to control when the power is off, so landing would be easier than the air work. I sure hoped so.

Then I set up a series of rate one turns with the idea of setting up the rudder for the turn and then to roll in just enough aileron. It worked better than the first turn I made after takeoff, but far from perfect.

More than once I came out of a turn and found the slip indicator ball at full travel and could hear buffeting at 85 mph. If I quickly pressed in rudder to eliminate the yaw a substantial Dutch Roll would begin and it would take 10 or 15 seconds to stop it entirely. Not fun on the first flight, thus it became important to control the yaw all the time. I did not think I could land if the yaw as great as I was experiencing. I worked on yaw control for maybe 15 minutes, with only some success. I do not know where that buffeting comes from or what it signified exactly. My best guess is that it's from the horizontal or vertical stabilizer. It was later learned that if the aircraft slip ball is yawed full deflection, then at 115 mph the buffet could be pre-stall buffet.

It was now about an hour before sunset and though the wind was nearly calm, the direction had changed so I had to change runways (from 28 to 10) for whatever landing approaches I was to make. I have landed on both these runways but I had my hands full before the runway change. At least the sun was now at my back for final approach.

So I decided to try a low and over to evaluate sink rate, necessary power, handling, decision points and so on. The first approach was fairly tight but quite a bit too high. I was sure I was not up to slide-slipping during the final turn to bleed off altitude before landing. While my forward slips and slipping turns in Cessna were acceptable, they were not good enough for this. Therefore I went around and early. I needed a new plan.

The second approach was made from a circuit height of 500'. I set up a cautious descent rate on downwind, with the engine power set and pitch trim full aft. The new plan? Set up your approach very early. I made very cautious turns but I made them early so I could adjust them to align with the runway centerline and with a modest descent rate. Pitch trim is Full Aft.

I was aligned with the runway a bit later than I wanted yet the aircraft was straight and the pitch and power were good so I continued the approach at 80. Over the fence at 70 I reduced the power and rounded out then felt the elevators to see when it was ready to flare. It stayed straight. At that point I closed the throttle and held it off, and off and off.

The aileron and rudder control were good. I kept the wings level. About 60 it was flaring the way I had hoped and held it off for a full stall landing. The 6 inch tail-wheel touched down first and I had a small bounce on the mains, maybe one foot but it did not hurt my sore back, so it wasn't much. The rest of the landing was directional control (jealously guarded) until 40, then brakes on until about 10 then taxi in and shut down. In nearly calm air the Sonerai is not hard to land.

Hand shakes all around. My instructor/flight advisor asked me if I will fly it again? The take off and landing were ok. I can and will do better. I need lots of air work. The aircraft development program will have to wait. The time to learn to fly is now.

My flight advisor noticed once that I was doing airwork at 75. If it stalled with the yaw all the way out it would flick into a spin. Get high to do your air work. The maneuvering speed is about 115. It's a good speed to fly.

It was not until the drive home that I realized that when I corrected for yaw, the pitch up I experienced is not an isolated response but part of a Dutch Roll. In my hands, a significant concern not easily or quickly eliminated. Controlling the pitch does not stop the oscillations. My speed control was good, but I was flying the circuit at 90. If the engine quit where would that leave me?. I want 110 on downwind. Generally my circuit is too large but it got me down safely. There is work to be done.

Summary of what I've learned: Precise control of yaw is essential, Very good control of pitch and roll really help too. At every moment you need to be making good decisions. Though it's harder to fly at low cruise speeds there is relative safety there. It will not stall at 115. Flying the Sonerai is a stretch for sure, and possibly contains some risk, yet there is possibly no dual aircraft that will really prepare you for this.

The learning curve on your first flight is nearly vertical. Develop strategies quickly to fly this very sensitive aircraft. Once you've flown it, I'm not sure that continuing to do high-speed taxi runs is wise. They are inherently risky. Probably every landing is a full stop landing. A touch and go teaches you very little about the central skill. That is precise directional control during roll out.

After I landed my flight advisor told me that two pilots had accidents with Sonerai's at his home airport. Right! One entered a balloon breaking competition. It involved low and slow. He was lost in that accident. I don't remember the details of the other, but he lived. Swell!

Anytime I fly my Sonerai I need to bring my "A" Game. Nothing else will do. Finally in Flight!

Fall 2007 & The winter Ahead:
The two flights I have in Papa-Golf-Sierra showed me that a few more things need to be done.

The air scoops need to have baffles to deflect air down between the cylinders. The left Cylinders are 50F warmer than the right. The Jabiru 3300 engines have this now.

Handling will benefit from replacing the tail wheel rod with chains and springs.

If possible, egress would be easier if the hinged side of the canopy had a quick release mechanism.

The control stick is mounted so low that your hand contacts your stomach before full travel is reached. The stick needs to be raised, the wooden grip made smaller and contoured to one's hand.

The pitch trim lever is beside one's left leg. Access needs to be easier. I will probably also add a Horizontal Stabilizer Trim mechanism from the design in Sonerai Service Letter of October, 1996. The elevator trim is not quite effective enough.

Drag Reduction: I note that Jeff Lange has increased his Sonerai cruise speed from 145 to 186 mph by reducing drag through 4 methods:
1. Remove it,
2. Streamline it,
3. Seal it,
4. Smooth it.
It will also help if I install the wheel pants and possibly a tail-wheel pant as well.

I won't just be working on the aircraft. My flying skills need improvement too.

There are a couple of people who offer dual training in Pitts S2's. Because the Pitts is about as twitchy as a Sonerai, proficiency in a Pitts would be a huge plus for me in flying Papa-Golf-Sierra.

The best case scenario would be to have Sonerai ferried to the training center so that I can progress from solo in a Pitts to solo in C-FPGS smoothly and without delay. Thus I am making plans to spend whatever time it takes to become proficient as winter turns to spring.