![[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")
A Spot of Bother
This title phrase can, like so much in our language, be used to convey the truth of the matter, as intended, “a little trouble”...
Pride and Progress
I was caught off guard by the sight of familiar aircraft in the Sonex Aircraft flight center. “How?” you wonder. I’ll explain. I’m often...
High Flight
All apologies to John Gillespie Magee Jr. for the title to this column, but I did fly a little higher than normal on my...
Working With Experience
Part of my job is surprisingly solitary, moving words and photos around from my home office and corresponding with my staff and regular contributors...
Under Pressure
No, this working title isn’t about sitting down close to my draft submission deadline staring at a blank screen. (But it could be.) This...
Electric Airplane Fundamentals
Hi, my name is Gabe and I’m an unabashed electric airplane nerd. I have built and flown two of my own electric aircraft, and...
Never Buy Meat From A Guy in a Parking Lot
A builder—I’ll call him D. Thomas—told me A Guy told him he needed to modify his fuel system or it wouldn’t work. The basic...
Tire Tantrums
There can’t be a single person engaged in the modern world who doesn’t have a tale to tell regarding tires. Most involve some variation...
Trouble With Numbers
For better or worse, pilots can be an analytical bunch. Not all of them, of course, since many are what you’d call seat-of-the-pants types...
The First Liar
Throughout the history of places where pilots gather—be it a hangar, lounge or friendly saloon—one thing has always held true: the old saying that...
In Case You Missed It
Builder Survey: Wilderness Calling
Lucky 13: RANS S-7 Coyote builders tell KITPLANES about their building, company support and flying experiences. By Mary Bernard.
Nuts. What to Do When Thrown a Curve
When fasteners crowd a radius or bend, radius washers, blocks, or spot facing can solve the problem—without compromising strength or workmanship.
