![[Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/IMG_2791.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "The Safety Triangle: Balancing Skill, Knowledge, and Judgment in Flying")
![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=265&h=198&crop=1 "Sonex Reopens")
![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=265&h=198&crop=1 "Sun ‘n Fun 2026 Highlights: Electric RV-10, Modular Avionics, and MOSAIC")
![Ten hours of dual instruction in a tailwheel-equipped aircraft is usually required for proficiency. [Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/AdobeStock_354747155.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Learning How to Drag Your Tail")
![The alternative to bending down as the propeller is pulled through the compression stroke is to keep the back straight and bend the knees slightly, stepping away in a crouch. [Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_1519-scaled.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Manual Starting Methods")
Coming of Age at Reno
As I start this month’s column, it hasn’t fully sunk in that I won’t be going back to Reno, but I still feel a...
A Fine Specimen
There’s something you probably can guess about so-called factory airplanes—examples of Experimental aircraft built for design evaluation as well as press and customer exposure—but...
Inserting Bolts, Installing Nuts
I never set out to write a hardware trilogy, yet here we are. A little ditty on washer usage begat a column on bolt-length...
Staying Late
In magazine land—a parallel universe to the real world—I’m writing this between Oshkosh and Reno. The time between these two big events is a...
One Marvelous Community
This month’s column is inspired by the most recent AirVenture, which has left me reflecting on how it really isn’t the aircraft that draw...
Out of This World
I returned from AirVenture with a few story ideas and a horrible illness that prevented me from doing much of anything. “Might as well...
The Best Oshkosh Ever
I know many of you following the progress of my Hummingbird helicopter are probably thinking that flying it to the show is what made...
Following Footsteps
I was an airplane nut for as long as I can remember even though I had no family exposure to aviation. My father was...
Length Matters
Last month I wrote about AN washer usage. This month I’ll take on AN bolts—specifically, their grip length. Riveting stuff, huh? No? Somewhat captivating?...
Light Sport’s Next Steps
At AirVenture this year—just before it, actually—the FAA released the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking encompassing MOSAIC, short for Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certificates. The...
