Who says you need a hangar to park a jet plane? Not Sonex Aircraft, who’s busy building the SubSonex, a small, single-passenger DIY jet (yes, a real jet) that can fit in your garage.
The company, which has been making kits for aircraft hobbyists since 1998, is looking at a $60,000 end-consumer price tag for this latest product, which should make it an exciting alternative to picking up another sportscar (seriously, car versus jet sounds like a no-contest). If that pushes through, it will make the SubSonex the cheapest jet in existence, apart from being able to sit side-by-side with your car inside your home.
According to Sonex, a small jet has always been on the drawing boards for the company, although producing one has proven to be a more challenging matter. The SubSonex, however, appears to be the flying machine that will finally do it for them and the pieces are slowly coming together.
At the moment, they’ve already settled on an engine, the Czech-made PBS-TJ100, which is a favorite among tinkerers who have been plugging it into small airplanes. Testing has been relegated to strictly ground operation for now (pending Federal Aviation Administration approval for in-air testing), but they expect it to cruise at over 240 mph and climb at around 2,000 feet per minute.
Obviously, there’s still a lot of work to be done before the SubSonex will be ready to show off its neighborhood-friendly wares. Sonex is targeting the AirVenture aviation show in July to unveil it, with commercial availability by Christmas.
[Sonex Aircraft via Wired]