Magazine Archives - KITPLANES

R.T. Searfoss shows off his magnificent workmanship in the Pietenpol Air Camper he built over the span of 12 years. There is much to love in classic tube and fabric aircraft which harken back to an earlier time of aircraft construction. Masterful craftsmanship is everywhere you look in R.T.’s work. [Credit: Bill Wilson]

Choosing Your Aircraft Construction Material

Bill Wilson - September 28, 2026 1

Walk through the rows of aircraft at any fly-in, and you’ll quickly notice that homebuilt airplanes are as different as the people who created...

Roscoe Turner, a pilot who defined flamboyance with his waxed mustache, a uniform that included jodhpurs, and a pet lion named Gilmore that flew with him. [Credit: Associated Press]

Colorful and Notable Characters in Aviation

Andrew Robinson - September 25, 2026 1

Most of our dads were/are characters to varying degrees, everything between a genial 1950s TV dad to Clark Griswold in Family Vacation. As I...

Spirit Engineering SE-1

Andrew Robinson - September 23, 2026 1

I will admit to having a weak spot for polished aircraft, particularly vintage aircraft, whether it be a DC-3, an original Electra, a P-51,...

The Hatz Biplane, NX71VH, re-engineered to be powered by a 124 hp radial engine. [Credit: Hatz Biplane Association]

Airplane Almost No One Knows, Part One

Randall Brink - September 21, 2026 2

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...

CubCrafters’ New Turboprop MOSAIC LSA

Randall Brink - September 18, 2026 0

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...

A compact H3R Halon 1211 extinguisher, sized for a two-seat cockpit and safe on energized electrical fires. [Credit: H3R Aviation]

Choosing the Right Cockpit Fire Extinguisher for Your Aircraft

Laurence MacNaughton - September 16, 2026 6

It’s easy to think of a fire extinguisher as a last-minute accessory: buy one, bolt it somewhere convenient, and move on. But in a...

The Zenith CH701 outside the hangar at SMX, fresh from paint. The stars-and-stripes theme marks America’s 250th and the CH701’s 40th anniversary. [Credit: Carson Stilson]

Zenith CH 701: A Proof of Concept Homebuilt on a Budget

Carson Stilson - September 14, 2026 5

I remember driving home from the hangar in March when I got a call from my wife. She told me that a letter had...

Low-level aerial view of AirVenture, looking down the main thoroughfare toward Boeing Plaza, with the flightline and runway 18/36 beyond. [Credit: LeRoy Cook]

AirVenture 2026 in Review

Kitplanes - September 11, 2026 2

For the e-ab community, the biggest stories at AirVenture 2026 were found in the places Oshkosh has always mattered most to builders: the homebuilt...

Builder and pilot Mark Farver stands alongside his Continental IOX-340 powered RANS S-21. [Credit: Mark Farver]

Cross-Country in a Homebuilt RANS S-21 Outbound to Oshkosh

Randall Brink - September 9, 2026 1

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]

Wide World of Airplanes

Randall Brink - September 4, 2026 0

Open this issue at the Builders Spotlight and you get a Zenith CH 701 built to a strict budget. Turn to the features and...

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In Case You Missed It

Staying Late

Tom Wilson - October 7, 2023 1

In magazine land—a parallel universe to the real world—I’m writing this between Oshkosh and...

Marc Cook reviews the new twin-turbo Velocity TXL from Velocity Aircraft. Among the benefits of the new configuration, which includes two Garrett turbochargers on the Continental engine, is power that keeps performance consistent well into higher altitudes-to the tune of 250 knots at FL250.

All About Avionics

Stein Bruch - January 17, 2012 0

Stein Bruch explains how bringing smart phones and tablets, with a bevy of aviation apps, into the cockpit have helped him become a better—and safer—pilot.

Alternative Energies

Dean Sigler - July 19, 2014 0

Motor controllers—making DC into AC. By Dean Sigler.

Magazine

Have You Seen Your Oplims?

Vortex Generators

Something New On The Horizon

Should You Consider A Whole Aircraft Parachute?

Custom Cowl Fabrication: Building the SR-1 Composite Cowl