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Weight and Flutter

Andrew Robinson - 0
Aircraft control surface designs may include counterweights to offset and eliminate flutter. The counterweights should not be eliminated to save weight. [Credit: Kitplanes Archive]
There are places where weight is needed and should not be deleted.

A 30-Year Love Affair With My Stinson

Mike Davenport - 6
The author flying his Sinson 108-2 Voyager in the skies above British Columbia, Canada. [Credit: Mike Davenport]
The story of a caretaker of a versatile classic, the Stinson 108 Voyager.

Eyes Forward

Randall Brink - 0
The discomfort of wearing prescription- or sunglasses under an ANR headset is eliminated with Flying Eyes. [Credit: Flying Eyes]
Flying eyes optics solves the headset-sunglasses problem.

Second Chance Six

Tenley Ong - 0
Left to right, shiny new bulkheads, wooden form blocks, and old bulkheads. [Credit Tinley Ong]
Going down rabbit holes.

Paint It Yourself Or Pay A Pro?

Mike Davenport - 1
The painter sprays the door planels of a Glasair Sportsman 2+2. [Credit: Mike Davenport]
How to decide and how to get it done.

Firecrown’s Aviation Group Charts Course for 2026; Ryan Ewing Named Group...

Kitplanes - 1
Aircraft in flight [Credit: Jim Barrett]
Brand refreshes, new digital platforms, and expanded editorial investments follow a transitional year for the company’s aviation portfolio.

AOPA Air Safety Institute Celebrates 75 Years

Randall Brink - 0
AOPA Logo Primary Primary Logo
Seventy-five years ago, on November 10, 1950, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s Air Safety Institute (ASI) began life as the AOPA Foundation. Over...

WAI Announces the 2026 Pioneer Hall of Fame Inductees

Randall Brink - 0
no image thumb logo 150
  Ceremony and Celebration in Dallas on Friday, March 20, 2026 Women in Aviation International (WAI) has selected the 2026 inductees for its international Pioneer Hall...

The Aeromarine Merlin

Randall Brink - 6
[Courtesy: Aeromarine]
Personal Sport Aviation Comes of Age.

Aircraft Builders Reap Benefit from MOSAIC Rules

Randall Brink - 0
mosaic faa thm 2
New FAA regulations unlock additional utility for popular kit designs The homebuilt aviation community welcomed a significant milestone on October 22 when the FAA's MOSAIC...

Trig Avionics Launches TT23 Transponder Line

Randall Brink - 0
Transponder ADS-B Out
Smaller, Lighter, GPS, ADS-B Out, Certified. New unit offers optional integrated GPS, providing a simple, certified solution for global ADS-B compliance. Trig Avionics announced the debut...

Sandpoint, Idaho HS Students Achieve FAA Airworthiness Certification for Kit Aircraft

Randall Brink - 2
no image thumb logo 150
North Idaho Student Kit Plane Gets FAA Approval The North Idaho High School Aerospace Program (ACES) reached a significant goal on October 4, 2025, when...

Video Series

Magazine

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Magazine

A 30-Year Love Affair With My Stinson

Mike Davenport -
6
Vintage Airplanes

Vintage Homebuilts: The Big Three

Randall Brink -
1
Fly' N Eat

Flying To Lunch Just Got Easier

Kitplanes -
2
Feature

Eyes Forward

Randall Brink -
0
Checkpoints

Homebuilder’s Insurance

Kitplanes -
2
Magazine

Van’s Aircraft Turnaround In Full Flight

Randall Brink -
1
Out Of The Blue

Logging Time

LeRoy Cook -
2
Editor's Log

The Rites of Spring

Randall Brink -
0
Last Bits

Fuel Follies

Lisa Turner -
1
Winging It

Weight In The Balance

Andrew Robinson -
1
Exploring

Better Half VW

Randall Brink -
3
Out Of The Blue

Big Prop Boosts Scalewings SW-51 Mustang

Kitplanes -
0
Exploring

Aerotrek

Randall Brink -
0
Builder Spotlight

Epic Is Back

Jon Humberd -
4
Exploring

Zenith Building Momentum With Workshops, New Options and Mosaic Opportunity

Randall Brink -
0

Flight Reviews

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Creating the RV-15

Paul Dye -
Flying Van’s high wing during its multiyear journey to kit production.

Flying the Groppo Trail

Luca Perazzoli -
How to say ‘mountain flying’ in Italian.

Home-Rolled XCub

Paul Dye -
Traditional or nosewheel, the XCubs are now available as kits.

Risen — The Master of Efficiency

Marc Cook -
It is crazy fast for the horsepower!

ScaleBirds P-36 Hawk

Paul Dye -
ScaleBirds, a newcomer to the kit manufacturing scene, chose to start their line of replica fighters with one of the first all-metal U.S. military pursuit ships of WW-II—the P-36.

Kitfox Speedster 916

Marc Cook -
The feistiest Kitfox gets feistier yet.

Builder Spotlight

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Epic Is Back

Jon Humberd -
Jon Humberd's epic Zenith build series.

North Idaho High School Student ACES Fly the Aircraft They Built

Randall Brink -
New FAA Airworthiness Certificates for Van's RV-12 and Zenith CH 750.

Building Control Components for the Zenith 750SD Xtreme

Jon Humberd -
Part 18: Taking Control

Building the 750 SDXTREME: Part 17

Jon Humberd -
Custom mods to the 750 SDX main gear and nosegear bring serious weight savings and unique titanium parts to life—right down to the pedals and steering rods.

Forked-Tail Masterpiece

Jonathan & Julia Apfelbaum -
Jim O’Hara’s scratchbuilt P-38 is a multi-generational effort .

Eating the Elephant—Part 5

Paul Dye -
Perfection isn’t a goal—it’s a trap.

Second Chance Six

Tenley Ong -
As Oshkosh 2025 nears, Tenley rallies support and tackles critical inspection tasks to get RV-6 N2165U flying again.

The Hummingbird Airworthiness Inspection

Vic Syracuse -
A DAR walks through the paperwork and practical steps needed to get an Experimental helicopter inspected—and reflects on what it means to finally fly.

Shop Talk

Conquering the Magneto

Andrew Robinson -
Professor X and Kolchak would both be proud Part 1

Engine Analytics For Homebuilt Aircraft

Randall Brink -
A data-driven view of engine health.

Tie-Down Brackets

Andrew Robinson -
Finding an angle on staying grounded.

A D For Effort

Andrew Robinson -
LYCOMING O-290G REBUILD PART 1

Aircraft Welding Methods for Homebuilders

Randall Brink -
The choice of welding method for your homebuilt aircraft's steel tube fuselage represents one of the most critical decisions in your building journey. Each...

The “Rope A Dope” Trick To Avoid Replacing Cylinders

Ken Walsh -
It’s never a good sign when during your aircraft annual inspection the mechanic calls to report an issue. It’s sort of like getting a...

Exploring

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Instructional Inflexibility

LeRoy Cook -
Flight Instructors tend to be the least flexible of all pilots.

Forgotten Flops

LeRoy Cook -
Many proposed, prototype, and production airplanes died at birth in aviation's golden age.

Better Half VW

Randall Brink -
Leonard Milholland's VW two-cylinder lightplane engine.

Aerotrek

Randall Brink -
Thirty years of value and performance in the light sport market.

Zenith Building Momentum With Workshops, New Options and Mosaic Opportunity

Randall Brink -
Zenith greets new builders at home and takes its show on the road.

Cubcrafters

Randall Brink -
The Preeminent Force in Modern Backcountry Aviation.

Products

All Jacked Up

Tom Wilson -
Aircraft Jacking Solutions introduces ease and stability to lifting an airplane

Buzz Job – The Tosten Haptic Stick Grip

Tom Wilson -
Tosten’s prototype haptic stick grip buzzes to warn of stall, integrating touch-based feedback to angle-of-attack data.

iFly EFB X7 Aviation Tablet

Omar Filipovic -
The iFly EFB X7 is a 7″ Android aviation tablet featuring a 2,600-nit display, MIL-STD-810G ruggedness, IP68 sealing and a 7,000 mAh battery—pre-orders open July 18.

KitFlight Modernizes the Aircraft Builder’s Log (Updated)

Omar Filipovic -
KitFlight makes logging your Experimental aircraft build intuitive, flexible, and future-proof—with powerful features and no subscription required.

USB-Powered CO Monitor from Radiant

Paul Dye -
Radiant's new $29.95 USB CO monitor lights up red if danger's in the air—and might just beat those old stick-on cards for reliability.

Holy Micro’s Absolute AoA: Next-Level Angle of Attack Sensing for GA Pilots

Mark Timney -
Advanced new AoA system from Holy Micro debuts at Sun ’n Fun 2025 with radar and LiDAR altimeters in tow.

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Shop Memories

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What’s New

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Around the Patch

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Build It Better: Learning from History

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Everything we know about aviation comes from the experience of designers, builders and pilots who came before us. Understanding their successes and failures can help us fly and build more safely.
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A Pee-wee Herman

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You can DIY a small preheater for almost nothing.
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