Image courtesy of and copyright Michael Pereckas.
Bob Carlton's Super Salto features the same engine that powers the SubSonex.
The bright yellow V-tailed jet took to the air from Runway 27 at Wittman Field for a 14-minute flight with Bob Carlton, yes the jet sailplane guy, at the helm. The flight test was mainly focused on low-speed handling, including a stall, and the engine was only run up to about 70% thrust. Following the milestone flight, the jet made a low approach and landed on Runway 36.
After nearly four years of research and development, the program was in dire need of some happy news. The most recent news out of the program had been an engine change and a design review, but both seem to have worked out for the best. The design review focused on the tandem landing gear with outriggers on each wing tip originally designed for the SubSonex. This configuration, unfortunately, caused some control issues in the transitional phases of takeoff and landing. After a June 2010 taxi incident, the company instituted a design review and the aircraft emerged sporting fixed tricycle landing gear. Prior to today’s flight test, a number of successful high-speed taxi tests were performed Monday, August 8th, including several through rotation.
The inner workings of the Onex folding wing are surprisingly simple.
According to an article by EAA’s Manager of Electronic Publications, Fareed Guyot, Monnett indicated at least the nose gear will eventually retract and the aircraft could eventually have a folding wing similar to the company’s single-seat Onex.
The engine change, in part, put Carlton at the controls for the test flight. The engine selected for the SubSonex is the same Czech-built PBS TJ-100 that powers Carlton’s Super Salto jet-powered glider. The engine, providing 240 pounds of thrust, was designed for use in drones or as an auxiliary power unit, but seems to have found a home atop a number of gliders and, it seems, light jets like the SubSonex.
The next steps in the testing program include expanding the airspeed envelope and possibly some new gear designs. The end goal is that the SubSonex will be released as a kit, but the company is currently focusing on completing other kits in development, the Onex specifically, before turning their focus on the jet. Currently the company projects that the SubSonex kit would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $60,000 dollars. That’s no $20,000 dollar Onex, but it’s still a far cry from anything jet-powered in the skies today.
A video of the flight accompanied the above referenced article:
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