Kerry Fores
Kerry Fores was born and raised in Oshkosh, WI and was interested in homebuilding by age 12. Between 1998 and 2003 he scratchbuilt and polished a Sonex, which he named Metal Illness. Kerry logged nearly 500 hours in Metal Illness and was awarded Plans Built Champion at AirVenture 2006. Kerry is retired from a 21-year career at Sonex Aircraft, most of it dedicated to supporting builders. Kerry is on the web at thelifeofdanger.com.
Taxes and Shipping Additional
Most homebuilders—and just I’m spit-balling here—have waited a long time to justify the cost of building an airplane.
The Usual Suspect, Part 2: Missing Power
The dark interior of a hangar comes into focus as an announcer says, “Building Time Theater presents, ‘The Usual Suspect, Part Two: The Missing...
What You Don’t Need to Know Can Hurt You
Building an airplane should be mostly fun, sometimes challenging, and infinitely rewarding, but confidence killers lurk everywhere. For instance, peruse metal-forming websites and textbooks...
Odds and Observations
In a distant land, from which Vikings sailed and some of my forefathers sprang, three aircraft owners gathered and stared at a broken bolt...
Floating Nut Plates
The floating nut plate. It sounds like it should come with an allergy warning, but this is KITPLANES, not Pinterest, so we are discussing...
Take Your Time Taking Delivery
There are identifiable times when flying becomes more dangerous. One that plays out in the homebuilt community is a new owner taking possession of...
In Case You Missed It
Wind Tunnel
This month columnist Barnaby Wainfan takes a look at how the airplane responds in roll when the pilot is maneuvering. Two key factors are roll acceleration and the steady-state roll rate.
So Long, Lead
As the prospect of leaded aviation fuels fades into the sunset, the search is on for a replacement, and you may not like where things are headed. By Marc Cook.
Metal Magic: Removing Bad Rivets
How to properly remove bad or damaged rivets. You'll probably do this a lot over the course of an airplane project!