Randall Brink
Randall Brink began flying before he was in his teens. His first airplane was an Aeronca 7AC. He discovered ultralights and kit planes when they became wildly popular. He has worked in aviation for fifty years and has held positions ranging from aviation gas boy and plane washer to Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. Along the way, he served as writer, contributing editor, and editor.
![Oshkosh is more popular than ever with three-quarters of a million people in attendance at AirVenture 2026. [Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_7321-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Wide World of Airplanes"){kind=tracking}
Wide World of Airplanes
Open this issue at the Builders Spotlight and you get a Zenith CH 701 built to a strict budget. Turn to the features and...
![[Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AdobeStock_51865118.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "FAA MOSAIC Rule Fully Implemented")
FAA MOSAIC Rule Fully Implemented
For twenty-one years, the homebuilding community has lived inside a set of numbers that never quite fit us. Thirteen hundred and twenty pounds. Two...
![A Zenith STOL CH701 on Zenair amphibious floats rests on a sandbar on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. [Credit: Zenith Aircraft]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/zenair-floats-STOL_CH_701a-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Zenith STOL CH 701 at 40: The Iconic ‘Sky Jeep’ Design Audit"){kind=tracking}
Zenith STOL CH 701 at 40: The Iconic ‘Sky Jeep’ Design...
In 1986, a Canadian aeronautical engineer named Chris Heintz pulled the first STOL CH 701 out of a shop with a 50-hp Rotax 503...
![A SubSonex personal jet in aerobatic flight. Thea design will expand with a two-place model kit in the months ahead. [Credit: Sonex Aircraft]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/SubSonex_Acro.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Sonex Reopens")
Sonex Reopens
On the last Friday in March, Mark Schaible sat down in front of a camera at the Sonex factory in Oshkosh and told the...
![A sleek Glasair II. [Credit: Glasair]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Glasair-II_2863.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Class of ’86: How 1986 Transformed the Modern Kit Building Industry")
Class of ’86: How 1986 Transformed the Modern Kit Building Industry
Forty years ago this year, Chris Heintz’s CH701 first flew. That alone would be reason enough for a celebration. The 701 is one of...
![[Credit: Van's Aircraft]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IMG_5238.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Part 22 Gets Real: Van’s Delivers the First MOSAIC-Certified Airplane")
Part 22 Gets Real: Van’s Delivers the First MOSAIC-Certified Airplane
The paperwork era of MOSAIC ended at Oshkosh this year. On the same week the FAA's new Part 22 certification framework took effect, Van's...
![[Credit: Flight Desgn GmbH]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/1_mosaic_flightdesign.jpg_preview.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "FAA Accepts ASTM Standards, Clearing the Last Hurdle for MOSAIC")
FAA Accepts ASTM Standards, Clearing the Last Hurdle for MOSAIC
The Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association arrived at Oshkosh this week with the news homebuilders and light-aircraft makers have waited a decade to hear. The...
![[Credit: Sonex]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/unnamed-6.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Sonex Renames High Wing the Phoenix")
Sonex Renames High Wing the Phoenix
The rejuvenated Sonex has given its two-seat high-wing a new name. The airplane that has carried the working title "Sonex Highwing" through three years...
![The Classic Wittman W-10 Tailwind [Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IMG_4633.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "The Midpoint Reset: Navigating the Rest of the 2026 Homebuilt Horizon")
The Midpoint Reset: Navigating the Rest of the 2026 Homebuilt Horizon
You’re home again, and the airplane cabin still smells faintly of Florida and sunscreen. The bugs on the leading edges are mostly gone, but...
![[Credit: McFarlane Alaska]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/McFarlane_tailwheel.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "McFarlane Alaska Absorbs Backcountry Favorite T3 Tailwheel")
McFarlane Alaska Absorbs Backcountry Favorite T3 Tailwheel
If you fly off gravel bars, ridge strips, or anything that only loosely qualifies as a runway, the odds are decent you have a...
In Case You Missed It
Future Fuels
Thanks to environmental regulations, court challenges and economic realities, an unleaded replacement for avgas is definitely on the horizon, but it’s still a distant horizon. Meanwhile, we still have 100LL, which remains widely available. By Paul Bertorelli.
The Home Machinist, Part 9
If parts that don't quite fit are grinding you down, author Bob Fritz has a solution: Use a lathe to create a smooth finish on a precisely proportioned piece. While hes at it, hell demonstrate two ways to use the machines calipers to measure necessary offsets.
