I flew a Challenger ll CWS for a number of years. If you are familiar with them then you know they have two vertical tubes behind the windshield. Many of us used to joke about having held on tight enough to the left side tube to bend grip marks in it.
Yes, the Sonex is much better but as you guessed it is a light plane and mid-day does require cinching up the belts and hanging on a bit. I went flying this morning as I made it a point to get airborne pretty early. It was near 80ºF but smooth as glass and the airplane performed flawlessly (I’m still doing a bit of testing after some ignition work - full story here: Sometimes bad isn’t bad - (ETA) Corvair EP/EPX Distributor Service - General - SonexPilots.org )
I see that Mr. Cotton has offered you a ride. Take him up on that offer. There is nothing better than one Sonex owner “setting the hook” for a future Sonex owner. These planes are a blast to fly …
Dale
3.0 Corvair/Taildragger