![Pat McKiernan has found that he and his dad who built this beautiful RV-7 simply learned to enjoy the build. [Credit: Bill Wilson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Builder.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "Life Lessons From Building an Airplane")
![[Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AdobeStock_51865118.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "FAA MOSAIC Rule Fully Implemented")
![My 36 year old clipboard from when I started at Boeing. Engineering ruler and fastener/fastener hole cheat sheets. [Credit: Andrew Robinson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Liaison_clipboard.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "What Is a Liaison Engineer?")
![At Sun ‘n Fun 2026, Viking Aircraft Engines surprised the crowd with its first complete kit — the V-42, a high-wing twin powered by two Honda-based engines. Here’s an early look. [Credit: Andrew Robinson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1020293.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Viking V-42 Twin")
![A STOL CH 750 [Credit: Mike Davenport]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/STOL-CH-750.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Why Are So Many Airplanes Yellow?")
![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=235&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...
![[Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/IMG_2791.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "The Safety Triangle: Balancing Skill, Knowledge, and Judgment in Flying")
The Safety Triangle: Balancing Skill, Knowledge, and Judgment in Flying
In the course of giving flying safety lectures before pilot groups, one of my key props has been an assembly of three lengths of...
![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=235&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 CubCrafter’s Carbon Cub headed to Sun ‘n Fun in the time-honored tradition. [Credit: CubCrafters]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Carbon-Cub-UL.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "Sun ‘n Fun 2026 Highlights: Electric RV-10, Modular Avionics, and MOSAIC")
Sun ‘n Fun 2026 Highlights: Electric RV-10, Modular Avionics, and MOSAIC
By the time the first twilight aerobatic act lit up the new “Composite Airshow” on Wednesday night, it was obvious that Sun ’n Fun...
![A CFI talks a pilot through the checklist — a step toward scraping off years of rust and getting back into the air. [Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/IMG_3254.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "Returning to Flying")
Returning to Flying
"I haven’t flown for quite a while," starts the conversation. “I was wondering if you could brush me up a bit and get me...
![[Credit: Mike Davenport]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Over-Stave-Lake-3.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "Glasair Sportsman 2+2 Build Part 3")
Glasair Sportsman 2+2 Build Part 3
In parts one and two of this builder’s story, I described Sean Walker’s progress to get from opening the first crate through to the...
![A sleek Glasair II. [Credit: Glasair]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Glasair-II_2863.jpg?w=324&h=235&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: ChatGPT]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/What-did-you-miss-Topaz-Gigapixel-4x-scale.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "Last Bits"){kind=tracking}
Last Bits
Becky stood back from the RV-7 and admired every inch of the newly constructed airplane. She’d made her first flight a month ago and...
![The best builders learn to combine both mindsets. They build like engineers but think like future mechanics. [Credit: Bill Wilson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IMG_0037.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "Building vs. Fixing")
Building vs. Fixing
Somewhere during every aircraft project, a builder faces a quiet moment of truth. It might happen while drilling a hole in a structural member,...
![[Credit: Wikimedia Commons]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/F-117_Nighthawk_Front.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "Odd and Unusual Aircraft")
Odd and Unusual Aircraft
If you look at the books in my library, and by that, I mean the ones on the shelves, not the ones next to......
In Case You Missed It
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook discusses the potential impact of changes to the FAAs 51% rule, which are the result of increasingly complex aircraft being constructed with the aid of builder-assistance programs.
Four Decades Old, Look At Us Now
Publisher Dennis Shattuck took a flier on a growing segment of aviation back when...
Wheeler Express—Yesteryear’s Homebuilts
The Wheeler Express dazzled with sleek performance and bold promises but ultimately struggled with stability issues and company misfortunes.
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook reflects on the past years celebration of KITPLANES first quarter century, and finds that predictions for the next 25 years don't come easily.