![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=534&h=462&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")
![The newly-restored F-24 enjoying the morning sun. [All Images Credited to Mike Davenport]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC_0001.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Golden Age Revival")
![[Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AdobeStock_176619176.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Instructional Inflexibility")
My Ten Favorite Tools for Building
A common question on the minds of potential builders is what kind of tools will they need to complete a kit-airplane project. A potential...
Lying to Baristas
The year is 2021. Fear surrounding the pandemic has subsided a bit and the National Championship Air Races (NCAR)—Reno, in short—are back on. Jeff...
Hand Tools: Modified, Made and Improvised
Merriam-Webster defines a tool as “A self-absorbed male prone to wearing a necklace”…wrong one…here it is: “A handheld device that aids in accomplishing a...
AirVenture Notes
Knowing that I’m mainly stealing from the upcoming Engine Buyer’s Guide, it still seems a good idea to fly by some of the big...
A Very Special Oshkosh
This year’s AirVenture set records for attendance, so says EAA. I learned this after the show, but I could have predicted the press release...
Over the Hump
For my wife and me, it was important to have our kids learn a musical instrument. We lost out to sports with our son,...
Fit and Trim
A first flight reveals truths that only air moving over an aircraft’s surfaces can reveal. Will the engine cool properly? Will the cockpit fill...
Gathering
Longtime readers may recall that before scribbling in aviation magazines I scribbled in automotive magazines. That seems like someone else’s life a long time...
Some Old Favorites
For those building a new airplane, chances are you’re getting more than familiar with certain tools at different stages of the build. For me,...
Keeping a Battery Current
“With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being...
In Case You Missed It
The Case for Strakes
These small additions to your aircraft can make a significant improvement in its pitch response and authority at high angles of attack. Barnaby Wainfan gives you the strake story.
