![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")
Van’s RV-9: New Rotax Power
Lockwood Aero’s Rotax 916iS firewall-forward package pushes the RV-9 to 190 knots.
Where Do Airplane Parts Come From?
Building your own replacement kit parts, which is no different than scratch-building from plans, may save you money and time.
Building an Addiction
The greatest of a successful builder’s attributes is an unshakable belief in tomorrow.
Pie in the Sky
Now that the wedding is behind us and house projects have slowed, Brian and I have more time to focus on what matters most—airplanes.
The Iceman Cometh
Every pilot who has ever experienced icing conditions will remember their first time.
Master Caution
My original intent for this month’s treatise was to produce the first installment of my upcoming Kitfox build series, which I have been greatly looking forward to. However, as often happens in life, life itself got in the way.
In Case You Missed It
Fun With Emissions
Making the rounds on the canned news circuit recently was the EPA announcing it’s...
Sikorsky S-38 Project
Building a 55%-scale, amphibious twin-engine flying boat seems like an ambitious project, and it is. But this former WW-II B-25 commander with four homebuilt aircraft already under his belt tackled it anyway. By Rick Lindstrom.
