![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")
Safety Is No Accident: Fatality Rates for Homebuilt Aircraft
The accident fatality rate for homebuilt aircraft is higher than the GA rate, but why?
One Builder’s Headache is Another’s Project
Sometimes picking up a project that needs a little work is just the ticket for (re)building satisfaction.
Experimotive
Necessity is the mother of invention, and the Corvair engine for aircraft has inspired a host of innovative aftermarket solutions. By Rick Lindstrom.
Free Flight: Embracing New Ideas
Embracing new ideas in avionics and other areas of aviation will allow us to enjoy the benefits and move the industry forward.
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook comments on how recent software enhancements improve the performance of the Grand Rapids Technologies Horizon HX EFIS.
What’s New
ShareZen eases shared plane ownership, and marking wires is made easier by Bogerts tool. Edited by Mary Bernard.
Buzzwords
Pilots compensate all the time for aerodynamic effects such as ground effect, often without being conscious of it. By Ed Kolano.
Safety Is No Accident: Auto-Engine Conversions
Ron Wanttaja crunches the numbers to determine whether homebuilts powered by auto-engine conversions are inherently less safe than their traditional engine brethren.
The Dawn Patrol
Threatening weather at the annual Gathering of Eagles event in Gardner, Kansas, failed to subdue the antics of The Dawn Patrol, for better or worse.
Makes You Go Hmmm
Rotary-engine enthusiast Paul Lamar details the benefits and efficiencies of using rotary power for homebuilt aircraft.
In Case You Missed It
Maintenance Matters
In this new column, Steve Ells shares his background as an A&P mechanic and offers tips on keeping your homebuilt aircraft running smoothly.
Alternative Energies
Dean Sigler was on location at this year’s Green Flight Challenge in Santa Rosa, California, and he offers a report.
