Photo by James Wynbrandt John Monnett presents Sonnex's entry into the world jet aviation with their proof of concept single place jet.

"We call it Sub-Sonex," said John Monnett, Sonex Aircraft founder, owner, and president. "The genre is entirely different from anything we've done so far. The idea is to have a kit jet that's well under $50,000."

The single-place jet weighs 330 pounds and has a 750 pound gross weight. The engine, a modified version of a turbine used to power RC (radio controlled) aircraft, will generate 170 to 200 pounds of thrust. The aircraft has the boxy look of the rest of the Sonex line, the small engine positioned atop the fuselage just forward of the V-tail empennage.

"How fast will it go?" someone from the crowd of 100-plus people on hand for the open house asked.

"How fast do you think?" Monnett fired back.

"Two-hundred," someone said.

"If it was only 200, why would I bother building a jet?" Monnett said, laughing in response.

The projected numbers, Monnett said, are for a cruise of about 250 mph and a VNE (never exceed speed) of 300 mph. The aircraft has not flown nor has the engine been fired up as of yet.

"It just needs programming on our ECU (Engine Control Unit) and completing all the ground engine tests," Monnett said, emphasizing that the Sub-Sonex is "not something you're going to be flying from here to California. It's just a sport airplane."

The concept aircraft features simple construction, and with a 32-gallon tank, has about one hour of endurance, and "enough fuel to have some fun," Monnett said.

The aircraft will be on display at the Sonex booth, No. 622, during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009.