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.
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...
In Case You Missed it
Designer Spotlight: John Thorp
John W. Thorp has had a profound influence on both homebuilding and on aviation in general. If you've flown Piper Cherokees or know of the all-flying tail, you're familiar with his design principles, and his T-18 is still a favorite worldwide.
The Home Machinist
Charlie Taylor, the Wright brothers trusted right-hand man and machinist, made their early powered flight experiments possible. And he built the engine using only a drill press, a lathe, a simple scale and more than a little ingenuity; by Bob Fritz.
