Monnett Sonerai II
These figures describe a typical build. Each aircraft of this design was built by its owner, and the one you are looking at may differ.
The Sonerai II is John Monnett's tandem two-seat Volkswagen-powered sport plane of the 1970s, a folding-wing aluminium-and-steel-tube design sold as plans, with Jane's figures of 500 lb empty, 1,150 lb gross, 120 knots on 65-70 hp and a 38-knot stall. The II-L put the wing low, the II-LT added tricycle gear and the II-LS and II-LTS stretched the fuselage.
A Sonerai is one of the cheapest ways into a 120-knot two-seater, and the trade is a tiny cockpit, a converted car engine and plans-built structure of widely varying standard: two Sonerai IIs can differ in wing fittings, engine conversion, canopy and even gear layout, so the type's figures say little about the one in front of you and its logbooks, its builder's experience and a careful inspection of the welded fuselage and wing attach fittings say nearly everything. The VW conversions (today mostly AeroVee or Great Plains) are light and inexpensive but run hot in climb and have no certified parts chain; budget for an owner who understands them. The useful load of 650 lb is Jane's figure at a 1,150 lb gross that many builders do not reach; check the weight-and-balance. The owner may maintain it and the annual condition inspection needs an A&P or the holder of the repairman certificate.
Variants of the Monnett Sonerai
- Sonerai I · 1971 · 13 active
- Sonerai II · 138 active · this page
Also consider
TAILFAX SCORE
Among 1–2 seat pistons (321 models)
Compare with…
Put Monnett Sonerai II side by side with up to three other models.
- Monnett Sonerai II
Open Monnett Sonerai II in Compare
Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tailwheel |
| Engines | — |
| Engine | Volkswagen 1700-2180 cc conversion (65-70 hp; AeroVee fitted) |
| Horsepower | 65 hp |
| Fuel | — |
| Certification basis | amateur-built |
| Production start | — |
| Production end | — |
| Endorsements required | — |
Performance
| Cruise (75 % power) | 120 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range (75 %, standard fuel, 30-min reserve) | 300 nm |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | 500 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 38 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 2 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 650 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | — |
| Max takeoff weight | 1,150 lb |
| Empty weight | 500 lb |
| Usable fuel | — |
| Fuel burn at cruise | — |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | — |
|---|---|
| Price, high | — |
| Prices as of | — |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | — |
| Overhaul cost, high | — |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 451 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 138 |
| Median year built | 1988 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 28.991 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 21.742 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 8 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 5.83 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 138 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 138 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 138 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 4.3 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 2.6 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 6.4 of 103 |
| Support | 7.1 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.3 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 20.7 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 36.69 · 321 models in class.
- Severity: class median 13.04.
- Access: class median 1,000.
- Support: class median 77.5.
- Liquidity: class median 20.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 8 · scores Sep 30