Flight Reports Kitfox Super Sport Series 7 Marc Cook flies the capable ready-to-fly Kitfox Super Sport Series 7 SLSA, and spotlights owners John and Debra McBean’s deft handling of the company in a crowded market and rocky economy. Builder Spotlight All About Avionics: Wiring Bundles Anyone can make wiring look good. The bonus is that your installation’s maintenance and future upgrades will be much easier. Stein Bruch shows you how. Flight Testing: Finding TAS from GPS Data Math works! Kevin Horton shows you how to use GPS data to calculate true airspeed. Hell on Wheels Despite losing the use of his legs to childhood polio, John Deneke has done what he’s always done: found a way to fly, and to build. By Bob Fritz. Return of the Turbo-Compound Everything old is new again. Paul Lamar looks at the turbo-compound engine, developed in the post-WW-II era. Thrown over for jet engines, it may yet hold promise today as we search for more energy efficient ways to get the most out of increasingly expensive fuel. Completions Builders share their successes. Shop Talk Aero’Lectrics Jim Weir shows you how to create and install LED lights and run them from ship’s power inexpensively and easily. Designer's Notebook Wind Tunnel Barnaby Wainfan explores the optimum size of a wing and the best ways to balance performance and efficiency. Exploring Around the Patch Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook takes note of the good, bad and the uncapitalized in public reactions to a recent aircraft accident. He encourages knowledgeable pilots, builders and enthusiasts to counter the public rantings of armchair crackpots with kindness and courage. Also, a tip of the buttonless cap to Omar Filipovic, KITPLANES.com’s new webmaster, for his savvy work to create a more lively and flexible web site. What’s New Lycoming offers zero-time, factory-rebuilt engines to pilots and owners for the cost of a factory overhaul, in exchange for a first-run core; RPX Technologies introduces the simple and straightforward DynaVibe prop and rotor balancer. Edited by Mary Bernard. 25th Anniversary: Rutan’s Take Burt Rutan’s elegant and efficient aircraft—and spacecraft—designs are in a league of their own. Amy Laboda looks at Rutan’s legacy, what he’s doing now, and why he may never retire. Insurance Update: Experimentals and LSAs Despite recent economic traumas, the aviation insurance industry has continued to support Experimental and LSA aircraft. The keys for the builder/pilot? Proficiency, training, and availability of parts and service for the airplane. Are All Battery Chargers Alike? Bob Fritz tests battery chargers and desulfation systems, and finds it’s easier to keep a battery in good shape than to raise it from the dead…and that a good charger is a better bet than a new battery. Fuel Injection 101 Steve Ells immerses himself in the art and science of fuel-injection systems during a weekend course at Airflow Performance headquarters. Ask the DAR What’s the difference between the FAA’s SLSA (Special Light Sport Aircraft) and ELSA (Experimental Light Sport Aircraft) designation? DAR Mel Asberry clears it up. Engine Beat What makes an excellent Experimental exhaust system? High quality 321 stainless tubes, neat welds and flex points. By Steve Ells. Light Stuff Dave Martin finds a Light Sport seaplane at the 2009 Sebring LSA Expo that made a real splash. Kit Bits Letters List of Advertisers Builders' Marketplace The Classified Builder Kit Stuff Drawing on experience; by cartoonist Robrucha. Download KITPLANES® in PDF Download the complete August 2009 issue of KITPLANES® in one PDF file.
Follow these links to visit the web sites of companies you read about in the August issue.
Flight Reports
