![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=534&h=462&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")
![sideview shows the Better Half with the full VW case. [Credit: Legal Eagle Airplane]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Milholland-V-Twin_Side-View.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Better Half VW")
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...
AirVenture By RV?
Since my Van’s RV-10 first took flight in 2014, I’ve made it to Oshkosh five times. The first four were flying the airplane from...
Dreams Take Flight
“Grandpa Kerry, where do unwanted airplane projects come from?”
I choked on my ice cream. The grandpa moniker is still as startling to me as...
Overheard at AirVenture
AirVenture 2021 has just concluded as I scratch this out, making it a good time for a warble about the doings seen and heard...
Weight, For the Right One
Classified ads for flying homebuilts boast of the meticulous workmanship and maintenance. The engine upgrades and professional paint are noted. A string of characters,...
In Case You Missed It
Bearhawk LSA
Simple and light—very light: The Bearhawk LSA is the latest addition to the Bearhawk family, the culmination of decades of design experience.
Light Stuff
Roy Beisswenger takes a look at the maintenance requirements for the lighter side of aviation including ultralights and Light Sport Aircraft.
To (VHF) Nav or Nav Not
A KITPLANES Roundtable
Technologies develop, sometimes slowly over time, with the kind of sloth that...
