Table of Contents
September 2009 Issue
Flight Reports
Marc Cook flies two GlaStar Sportsman 2+2s with two different engines, and a winner emerges. More power!
Flight Review: What’s Hummin’ at Hummel?
LeRoy Cook flies the fun and efficient H-5 Sport Cruiser, the little Hummel Bird’s grown-up sibling.
Builder Spotlight
Dick Starks and the Dawn Patrol get a front-row seat to the Bleriot XI replica’s very successful first flight. Next comes flying off the 40 in preparation for its English Channel flight.
Tom Needham, with the help of his son Daniel and numerous friends, completes a Sportsman 2+2 and will use the plane’s big hauling capacity and short-field performance to shuttle people and supplies between remote locations in Africa. By Dave Prizio.
Build a Bear: Third Time Charm
Repeat offender Dave Prizio goes for his third strike, ultimately deciding to build an Texas Sport Cub.
The Independence Project: Winging It
Dave Martin and EAA Chapter 292 take on the latest offering from Van’s Aircraft: the RV-12 LSA kit.
Builders share their successes.
Shop Talk
Need to seal your firewall, reduce carbon monoxide and allow components to move freely? Chuck Dieterich shows you how to make firewall boots.
For some builders, the prospect of flaring hard-line tubing is daunting. Ishmael Fuentes demystifies the process, and shows you how to get good results every time.
Jim Weir delves into the world of barrier strips, wire markers, resettable fuses, nylon connector usage, dyeing and inrush current limiters.
Designer's Notebook
Fixed gear or retractable gear? Barnaby Wainfan examines the physics behind this longstanding design question.
Exploring
Once you finish building a project, it’s tempting to second-guess whether you should have done something different, or perhaps waited for the next gen of a new technology to make an appearance. But flying two differently powered Sportsman aircraft gave Editor in Chief Marc Cook a new appreciation for his own airplane and its more than adequate capabilities.
Lancair's Piston Evolution has flown, and MGL Avionics’ V10 com radio debuts. Edited by Mary Bernard.
From scrounging engines to building Experimental powerplants: Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook looks at the last 25 years in engine choices for homebuilders.
Product Review: Garmin eLearning for the GPSMAP 696
Marc Cook tries out Garmin’s eLearning program for the GPSMAP 695/696.
Sleeping on her first flight? It’s the sign of a good builder/pilot, and a trusting and relaxed wife. By Bill Repucci.
Do kit aircraft owners have to comply with ADs? Steve Ells examines the dos and don’ts of this tricky question.
DAR Mel Asberry clarifies the confusion: Is a homebuilt owner bound by someone else’s operating limitations?
Dave Martin and company owner Randy Schlitter wring out the RANS S-6 LSA.
Kit Bits
Drawing on experience; by cartoonist Robrucha.
Download the complete September 2009 issue of KITPLANES® in one PDF file.
Web Links in this Issue
Follow these links to visit the web sites of companies you read about in the September issue.
What's New
Lancair Aviation International
MGL Avionics
Sportsman
Glasair Aviation
Hummel
Hummel Aviation
Needham Missionary
Wings as Eagles
Gospel Flight
Sportsman to Africa Blog
Garmin eLearning
Garmin
Build a Bear: Third Time Charm
Texas Sport Aviation
The Independence Project: Winging It
Van's Aircraft
Engine Beat
FAA Airworthiness Directives Database
Lycoming Service Information
Teledyne Continental Service Information
Light Stuff
RANS Aircraft
* * *
View Reader Links from previous months:
Table of Contents and Reader's Links from December 2006 to Present
Other Aviation Publications
Aviation Consumer
Aviation Safety
AvWeb
IFR Magazine
IFR Refresher
Light Plane Maintenance
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At AOPA Summit in Hartford, Garmin will unveil its latest portable, the touchscreen aera 796. Take a video tour of the navigator's features, which include synthetic vision, enhanced chart functions, and a new touchscreen interface.
KITPLANES talked to PS Engineering’s Mark Scheuer about the new PAR100EX Experimental-class audio panel with a communication radio.
KITPLANES talks with Zenith Aircraft’s Sebastien Heintz at Sun ‘n Fun 2011.
KITPLANES gets the scoop on Garmin’s developments and rebates for the G3X EFIS at Sun ‘n Fun 2011.
KITPLANES caught up with Dynon Avionics at Sun ‘n Fun to get a glimpse of the new DX15 handheld com radio.
KITPLANES tours the Whirlwind Propeller factory where the firm's fixed-pitch and ground-adjustable propellers are made, as well as the blades for Whirlwind constant-speed props.
