Well-known kitplane manufacturer Sonex Aircraft, which ceased operations on March 27, citing financial difficulties, said it has restarted production at its Oshkosh, Wisconsin, factory under new ownership and a revised company name, Sonex Aviation.
“Sonex Aviation is open, in production, and entering the most ambitious chapter in its history,” the company said in a news release.
ON Capital Inc., led by Stephen Osborne, a longtime pilot and general contractor, acquired Sonex’s assets, including the Sonex Aerospace and AeroConversions product lines. The company said it plans to return to full production “within the next few weeks.”
“My family has flown for three generations. It’s an absolute honor to carry on the proud legacy of the Sonex brand,” Osborne said. “Sonex is part of how this country builds pilots and how everyday people get into the sky. Letting it disappear was never an option. To every customer with a deposit on the books…get your shop space ready. We are open. We are building, and your kit is coming.”
Perhaps most important for Sonex builders and enthusiasts is the revitalized company’s goal of resuming production of the much-anticipated Highwing model, which made its debut at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024.
Delivery of tail kits for the aircraft began in January but ceased with the rest of the company’s operations in March. Those deliveries will resume this month, with full kits available by midsummer, the new owners said in the news release. The company said it has 80 preorders for the Highwing.
“The Sonex Highwing is a product in motion,” the company said. “To our customers, our dealers, our suppliers, our employees, and the global community of builders and pilots who have stood by this brand: Thank you for believing in Sonex.”
Mark Schaible, former owner, CEO, general manager, and longtime employee of Sonex, will remain with the company as lead designer. Schaible in March delivered the message that the company was in trouble due to a “perfect storm of bank pressure, lack of sales, increasing costs, competition from our own aircraft in the used market, and cashflow realities.”
The new position will allow Schaible to focus on developing new products.
“Freed from the burdens of day-to-day administration, Mark now turns his full attention to what he does best—designing the aircraft our customers love, refining the kits they build, and supporting the pilots who fly them,” the company said. “The drafting table has its master back full time.”
The company said it also has the support of Sonex founder John T. Monnett Jr.
“Stephen’s team has the capital, the conviction, and the love of flight to take Sonex further than it has ever been,” Monnett said in a statement included in the news release. “I’m proud to support this team going forward.”