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.
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...
Screws Care, So Should You
A drill bit is not an heirloom. But if you have your grandpa's cigar box of drill bits, treat them as such and don't...
Emotions, Expectations, and Execution.
"Strange business this is; what works well for one does not work well for someone else!" I'm not sure the builder who wrote that...
Narrowed Focus
A seemingly complicated part layout can be simplified by narrowing your focus from the part as a whole, to a single hole in...
In Case You Missed It
Ask the DAR
Recertifying a Homebuilt after major changes. Changing the gross weight when putting a Rans S6S on floats.
Alternative Energies
Rapid strides are being made in the development of ultralight electric motorgliders. Dean Sigler talks to a few of the manufacturers at the forefront of this field.
Wind Tunnel
Builders are often in a rush to prove the airworthiness of their homebuilt projects, but thorough flight-testing is essential.