I recently found a Subsonex flying in Connecticut. With a little work I tracked down the owner and we setup an air-to-air photo shoot. Unfortunately this little jet was too slippery for the pilot to comfortably slow down for the Bearhawk I did the Mooney M20J photos out of ( https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/air-to-air-mooney-m20j.105188/#post-2347435 ). So I rented a local C-172 (and CFI) and we removed the screw in the window hinge to allow the window to fully open. We took off 5 minutes earlier than the Subsonex and he quickly caught up to us. It's amazing what <300 lbs of thrust can do on a small lightweight aircraft. Once he caught up to us I popped the window open an started shooting. Side-note, make sure you don't have anything that can blow off if you try this. I moved my head a bit too close to the open window and the airstream caught my headset pulling both it and my sunglasses off my head. Luckily they just ended up in the back seat, but it's definitely something I'll remember for the next time.
Around $120K with all options/IFR. If his was a 2-place with a little luggage room would be a serious XC contender.
Really? The BD-5J first flew in 1971. It preceded the subsonex first flight in 2012 by 41 years. Far more revolutionary when Bede did it.
Don't get me wrong, I love the BD-5J. There's just not many flying. I think the Sub-Sonex has a better chance for continued production. That's what I was getting at.
