Kitplanes
Kitplanes Magazine: Your Homebuilt Aircraft Authority. We cover topics relevant to anyone who has ever dreamed of building or owning a homebuilt experimental aircraft.
Gero and Beatrix Dargel's Skyranger Swift
After a couple of more or less successful radio controlled models, the Skyranger is our first "full size" project. The main structure of the...
Philip Smith's Zenith CH 701
Started building in February of 1997 - finally signed off after three years, eight months and 20 days. Lost track of the hours...
Lory Ghertner's Glasair
After too many years of my wife's putting up with the odor of resin and thousands of parts, N494U is now a cross-country machine....
Bob Carson’s Sonex
Sonex N754TA took 2.5 years to complete, and it first flew in September 2009. This is my first build and the construction went smoothly...
Kurt Klewin’s Van’s RV-6A
N85KC was started in 1999 and completed in 2004. It is powered by an Aerosport Power O-360 and Sensenich prop. Built a bit prior...
Marin Streeter’s BushCaddy
I started my project on December 28, 2006, and N620MP received its ELSA airworthiness certificate on August 24, 2009, after 735 hours build time...
Wind Tunnel
Don your thinking caps, kids. Its time to learn about the value of nondimensionalized aerodynamic data.
What’s New
A new idle gear for the IO-540, Glasair sets Reno speed record, activate your engine pre-heater with a cell phone and more. Edited by Mary Bernard.
Letters
Watch the Shelf Life In your Ask the DAR feature in the November 2010 issue, Mel Asberry replies to a questioner that the...
In Case You Missed It
The Home Machinist
Home Machinist Bob Fritz had been looking for a way to compare the effectiveness of various screw extractors he had accumulated in his toolbox, and he found a willing test subject in a Cessna 170s 60-year-old gas tank.
Wind Tunnel
Yaw rarely occurs without rolling, and roll rarely occurs without yawing. This month Barnaby Wainfan discusses coupled motion, including adverse yaw, the spiral mode and Dutch roll.
All About Avionics, Part 6
Whether portable handheld or panel-mounted, GPSes are the wave of the future in avionics, and these units can store and display a remarkable amount of detailed information. With nifty docks, handhelds can perform much like the panel-mounts in the cockpit, yet be removed for use in other vehicles.
Cover Story: Seat Cover Conventions
Now that the foam is cut and glued, we’ll learn how to make the pattern, choose and cut the fabric, and sew the cover.