![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]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/unnamed-2.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "Choosing Your Aircraft Construction Material")
![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]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Colonel_Roscoe_Turner_and_Gilmore_1930.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Colorful and Notable Characters in Aviation")
![The Spirit Engineering SE-1 gleaming in repose. [Credit: Andrew Robinson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_8605.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Spirit Engineering SE-1")
![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=265&h=198&crop=1 "Airplane Almost No One Knows, Part One"){kind=tracking}
![[Credit: CubCrafters]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/DSC04228.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "CubCrafters’ New Turboprop MOSAIC LSA")
![A compact H3R Halon 1211 extinguisher, sized for a two-seat cockpit and safe on energized electrical fires. [Credit: H3R Aviation]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/mfr_H3R_A344T_Halon_1p25lb.jpg_preview-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "Choosing the Right Cockpit Fire Extinguisher for Your Aircraft"){kind=tracking}
Choosing the Right Cockpit Fire Extinguisher for Your Aircraft
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]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_1726.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "Zenith CH 701: A Proof of Concept Homebuilt on a Budget")
Zenith CH 701: A Proof of Concept Homebuilt on a Budget
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]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_4521.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "AirVenture 2026 in Review")
AirVenture 2026 in Review
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]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Copy-of-build-38-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=324&h=235&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=235&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...
![Maintenance technician William Vergonet conducts an inspection on a Cub. [Credit: Lisa Turner]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_3535.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "Post-Flight Maintenance Debrief")
Post-Flight Maintenance Debrief
Meg Godlewski gave us a great set of reminders in FLYING Magazine — "The Art of the Debrief: Don’t Rush the Most Important Part...
![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=324&h=235&crop=1 "Life Lessons From Building an Airplane")
Life Lessons From Building an Airplane
People begin building aircraft for many reasons. Some dream of flight in an airplane they assembled with their own hands. Others are attracted by...
![[Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AdobeStock_51865118.jpg?w=324&h=235&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...
![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=324&h=235&crop=1 "What Is a Liaison Engineer?")
What Is a Liaison Engineer?
This column is geared more toward the younger crowd looking to enter aviation, so if you know anyone that might benefit from this, please...
![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=324&h=235&crop=1 "Viking V-42 Twin")
Viking V-42 Twin
Outside the exhibition hangers at Sun ‘n Fun, Viking Aircraft Engines had its usual location and as I walked up, I was greeted by,...
In Case You Missed It
Accessory Stacking To Mill an Arc
Securely holding small parts for machining is always a challenge. The solution may be...
Free Flight
Perfection is unattainable for most builders, yet it is what many strive for. Paul Dye posits that sometimes “good enough” may be just what you need to finally get out of the shop and into flying.
Here Come Hell’s Bells Again
We can use decibel calculations no matter if we are measuring in power or voltage; the calculations and outcome are identical.