![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")
An Open Mind
Normalcy had evolved in a fair way. Overcast and cool in the morning, the afternoon had opened to a moderate haze punctuated by a...
Speed Is in the Air
Air racing at Reno is part iron-age anachronism but also leading-edge development of the airplanes flying today. Where else can you say “4360 cubic...
Color Country
When I was mired in some of the more frustrating and tedious parts of building a kit aircraft, I would often reenergize myself by...
Your Head, Your Heart, Your Hands and the Truth
Three chords and the truth. That’s how songwriter Harlan Howard, who, with Hank Cochran, penned “I Fall to Pieces,” described country music. I got...
Glasair Aviation to Restart With Kits, Not Two Weeks to Taxi
Glasair Aviation is planning to emphasize kit sales and production first and restart TWTT later.
Pack Your Spotted Cow and Go
I heard Jester’s coarse voice and felt the impact of each syllable, “You. Nev-er. Leave. Your wingman.” I’m foreshadowing the past, though, so let...
Old School Solution
It doesn’t seem that long ago, but maybe it was, that the essence of a sport airplane was a biplane.
An Icon Passes
Chris Heintz left behind a legacy of innovative, functional design and successful kit-company strategies that relied on keeping the designs simple and costs low.
In Case You Missed It
Homespun Router Table
I’m drawn to the simple, low-cost end of the airplane market. The first airplane...
Drilling a Straight Hole in Aluminum.
One of the fundamental skills a builder needs to develop on just about any...
The Home Machinist (Part 10)
You're not alone if you've been flummoxed or frustrated when trying to decode technical drawings or blueprints. They seem to use a language all their own, one that many of us are not privy to. Fear not. Author Bob Fritz will give you the tools you need to visualize the item being described, and hell make such documents intelligible to the uninitiated.