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.
![The Hatz Biplane, NX71VH, re-engineered to be powered by a 124 hp radial engine. [Credit: Hatz Biplane Association]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Hatz-Bantam-Radial-124hp_1000004521-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Airplane Almost No One Knows, Part One"){kind=tracking}
Airplane Almost No One Knows, Part One
Ask a hundred pilots to name a plans-built open-cockpit biplane and most will land on the Pitts, the Starduster, or the Skybolt. Very few...
![[Credit: CubCrafters]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/DSC04228.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "CubCrafters’ New Turboprop MOSAIC LSA")
CubCrafters’ New Turboprop MOSAIC LSA
There is a unique sound a turbine engine makes on start—a rising whistle, followed by a smooth, spooling hush. Until this summer you had...
![Builder and pilot Mark Farver stands alongside his Continental IOX-340 powered RANS S-21. [Credit: Mark Farver]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Copy-of-build-38-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Cross-Country in a Homebuilt RANS S-21 Outbound to Oshkosh"){kind=tracking}
Cross-Country in a Homebuilt RANS S-21 Outbound to Oshkosh
The call came a half mile out from FISK.
"High wing, half mile from Fisk, rock your wings."
Mark Farver rocked them.
"Good rock. Welcome to Oshkosh."
He...
![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...
In Case You Missed It
DIY Wind Indicator
Chuck Deiterichs description of a do-it-yourself wind indicator project includes tips, drawings, a parts listing, in-progress photos and a look at the finished product. His experimentation with the highly visible design takes the guesswork out of doing it right.
The Ultimate Upgrade
Could a plane as large, expensive and complicated as the Lancair Evolution be completed by an experienced homebuilder? We have the answer to that intriguing question.
Parts Is Parts
A major part of any Experimental kit will be hundreds of products that the kit supplier didn’t manufacture or fabricate but simply sourced from the open market to supply with their custom kit components.
![[Credit: Viking Aircraft Engines]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/engine.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Editor’s Log")
Editor’s Log
A wide-ranging look at the myriad engine choices facing today's homebuilt aircraft builders, designers, and pilots.