AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2015 - 53

A high-pitched whistle from the pylon-mounted TJ-100 engine
grows to an otherworldly shriek as the tiny airplane accelerates
down Runway 18 at New Mexico's windswept Moriarty Airport.
The engine's high thrust line pushes the nosewheel down as the
jet spits out its full 247 pounds of thrust. A nudge on the airplane's
sidestick controller lifts the SubSonex off the pavement at 90 miles
an hour-a number that feels even faster given the ground's intimately close proximity.
A smoothness settles over the airframe the instant the wheels
break ground, and the rate of acceleration increases. In a 10-degree
climb, the pilot must raise the landing gear without delay to avoid
blowing through the 130-mph gear speed. It takes six seconds for
the landing gear to fully retract, and when it does the SubSonex is
climbing at 150 mph IAS and about 1,800 fpm-despite the desert
airport's 6,200-foot elevation and 7,500-foot density altitude.
I pull the Lilliputian power lever between my thumb and index
finger back to the engine's maximum continuous setting of 92 percent rpm and let the SubSonex accelerate to 200 mph IAS in level
flight. Rising columns of warm desert air create light chop, but the
airplane's relatively high wing loading (15 pounds per square foot
on this flight) allows it to ride out the bumps with minimal disruption, and the Y-tail shows no Dutch-roll tendency.
The SubSonex is quite light in pitch, roll, and yaw, and I've got
to remind myself to lighten up on the sidestick and rudder pedals
to avoid overcontrolling. This is my first flight as pilot in command
of any jet-and it's exhilarating.
Airshow pilot Bob Carlton has developed an innovative weeklong transition course for the SubSonex, and actually flying the
single-seat jet is the culmination. There's a list of maneuvers that
I'll be required to demonstrate to an FAA examiner in two days,
but on this first flight, I'm not concerned about a checkride. I want
to explore this novel airplane's full, three-dimensional range. And
despite my newness to both jet engines and this airframe, the
SubSonex and its training program instill confidence. If I'm out of
my depth, it doesn't feel that way.
THREE PERSONALITIES

The SubSonex Personal Jet model JSX-2 was designed by John
Monnett, a kit manufacturer whose previous creations include
Sonerai racers, Monerai motorgliders, and Sonex sport airplanes.
The JSX-2 is the first production kit built at the Sonex factory in
Oshkosh. And as unconventional as the aerobatic sport jet looks, the
training program that prepares pilots to fly it is equally imaginative.
FAA regulations require pilots to obtain type ratings to fly turbojet aircraft. But how can you do that in a single-seat aircraft?
Carlton-also an inventor and founder of Desert Aerospace-has
created an FAA-approved transition course that allows pilots to
operate the TJ-100 jet engine and get familiar with the SubSonex
belly-on-the-runway sight picture by first flying a two-seat, jet-powered glider with an instructor.
The Czech-built TST-14 Bonus motor glider was originally
equipped with a Rotax 503 engine and propeller that could be
stowed in flight. Carlton replaced them with a 45-pound TJ-100
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2015