The story
The company was founded by John Monnett in 1998.
The company opened a flight center and a 5,600 sq ft (520 m2) parts distribution warehouse in 2006. The following year, it displayed an electrically powered version of its Sonex aircraft.
In 2013, the FAA National Kit Evaluation Team (NKET) approved fast-build "51% rule" versions of the Sonex, Waiex, and Onex.
Sonex CEO, Jeremy Monnett, the son of founder John Monnett Jr. was killed in the crash of a Sonex SA in 2015.
In June 2018, John Monnett announced his plan to retire and sell the company. In January 2022, Sonex employee and general manager, Mark Schaible, purchased the assets of Sonex Aircraft LLC and Sonex Aerospace LLC, forming them into a new company, Sonex LLC. Schaible was the owner and president of the new company.
In December 2019 the John Monnett-designed Sonerai was acquired by Sonex Aircraft.
The company rolled out a prototype highwing aircraft in 2024.
In March 2026, bankruptcy of both Sonex LLC and Schaible were announced – with a last-minute offer to sell the company – citing rising costs, a severe downturn in sales, competition from their own used aircraft, cashflow issues, and bank pressure. However, by June the company had restarted production.
From Wikipedia’s article on Sonex Aircraft, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3