![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=534&h=462&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")
![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")
Eighty Percent to Go
That last 20% that feels like 80% is the time to slow down and pull out checklists, get other eyes on the project, call for a TC visit and sit in the airplane making noises.
Hawking That New Engine
After 20 years the long-gestating DeltaHawk diesel is suddenly hotter than Jeff LaVelle’s turbos on a 400-mph lap.
Repeat Offender
This time I want an airplane strictly built for the joy of flying. I want something simple and relatively cheap for that magical first and last half-hour of daylight, to be low and slow with no place in particular to go and sporting a massive grin.
Are You Shorthanding?
If you're not careful, your non-building friends will find a way to change the subject.
Crew Coordination, Working the Weather
Having a reliable and well-trained partner can help to evaluate not only a course of action—but the decision-making process that goes into that plan.
Becoming a DAR
A designee is a private individual with the experience and skills necessary to do the work mandated for the FAA.
Kitfox Celebrates Forty, Too
To say that Kitfox has been successful since then is an understatement.
In Case You Missed It
Fixing Axle Fooly
Flat tires seem to come in clusters. You can go years without getting one, then for some reason, “boom” (actually, more like “psssss”), more flats in a month than a year or years.
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook considers the current state of customer service and its implications for business success.