![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=534&h=462&crop=1 "Choosing the Right Cockpit Fire Extinguisher for Your Aircraft"){kind=tracking}
![[Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/IMG_2791.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "The Safety Triangle: Balancing Skill, Knowledge, and Judgment in Flying")
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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...
Caught in the Act
We’ve been working on the development story of the Van’s RV-15 for many months. Paul Dye and I had what I would call exceptional...
How They Build Them in South Africa
During my recent visit to Sling Aircraft in Johannesburg, South Africa, to fly the new High Wing on this month’s cover, I was given...
Second Time Charm
There’s no other way but to admit that I found dozens of reasons to put this project off. By finally tackling it, though, I...
Plug In Power
Years ago a friend of mine was faced with commuting for his airline job from his home in St. George, Utah, to his new...
Can We Talk? (Boy, Can We!)
One of my favorite AirVenture activities is eavesdropping as people tell their buddy about the Sonex product line. They confidently say that Sonex took...
In Case You Missed It
Flight Testing
You've planned; you've prepared. Now we look at how to conduct your first flight in a homebuilt aircraft.
Of Novices, Needles and Numbers
I was at 6000 feet agl when I pulled the stick back with consternation,...
Wind Tunnel
Once designers had addressed every other drag-producing aspect of the biplane, they decided to get rid of the struts and wires bracing the wings—and the switch to the monoplane was made.