Sonex Brings Homebuilding to China

July 25, 2016 - Sonex Aircraft will announce Tuesday, July 26, that it has struck a deal with Chinese company Uniworld LLC and Beijing Aviation Technology Company Limited (BAT) to bring general aviation and homebuilding to China.

BAT has created a new Aviation Education Center in Beijing with the goal of introducing the Chinese community to aviation, whether as part of the general public or government.

“The facility is able to handle everything from a group of kids playing around in the simulator and watching a couple of videos to hands-on projects to building a Sonex airplane ... so there’s a lot of things we can do with it based on who they’re hosting at the time,” Mark Schaible, Sonex general manager, said.

Following U.S. regulations, Sonex and Uniworld/BAT plan on continually working with the Chinese CAAC aviation authority to certify Sonex kit aircraft and building on the growing number of recreational aviation freedoms in China.

Sonex is also positioning its Sport Trainer for primary trainer use for general aviation training.

“For the enthusiast, for the true general public that wants to fly, it’s there, they have the freedom to do it,” Schaible said. “The big thing is educating the skills they need to build the airplane competently and, of course, to fly.”