Jon Croke
As the founder of HomebuiltHELP.com, Jon Croke has produced instructional videos for Experimental aircraft builders for over 10 years. He has built (and helped others build) over a dozen kit aircraft of all makes and models. Jon is a private pilot and currently owns and flies a Zenith Cruzer.
Debunking Deburring
If you are building an aircraft kit that requires drilling holes into metal parts, there is no doubt that the subject of deburring will...
Learning To Identify Solid Rivets
Nearly every homebuilt aircraft kit has at least a few solid rivets helping to hold it together. Some kit designs use thousands of these—others,...
Which Fabric Are You Going To Use?
If you are building a fabric-covered aircraft, you have multiple fabrics to choose from: polyester, Dacron, Stits, Ceconite, Poly-Fiber, Superflite or Oratex. Which one...
Taking Your Engine’s Temperature
Your aircraft’s engine requires monitoring of various temperatures for you to know that it will continue to purr along reliably for the entire flight....
Badland Aircraft Speeds Up Production
Badland Aircraft, a manufacturer of Part 103 legal ultralights with folding wings, have been working through an order backlog that has customers waiting months...
Flight Sensor Pack
RADIANT Technology, headed by James Wiebe, has just announced a new pocket-sized artificial horizon instrument. Measuring less than 3” square, this extremely portable unit...
On the Level
A few months back in this very column, I suggested that pilots should keep a “retired” smart phone in their aircraft as an all-in-one...
That’s Shear Nuts
The aircraft bolts we use to build our projects will always be paired with an appropriate nut to complete the mission of holding components...
Consider a Second Look
I would chance a guess that most aircraft kits are primarily built by one person. While some projects are constructed by groups or teams...
The Best Multi-Tool for your Homebuilt
I am going to describe the best multi-tool you can own for your homebuilt aircraft—whether flying or building. In the “old” days, a multi-tool...
In Case You Missed it
Stainless Steel
Author Norm Ellis is not a particular fan of stainless-steel, even though he knows it has its place-even if that place is not in your airplane. After providing a brief history of this widely used material, he makes a case for choosing the right stock for the right project on the basis of utility rather than beauty-and he offers the stats to back up his assertions.