No One Is Watching
For better or worse, kit manufacturers are under no FAA oversight. There are no independent engineering reviews. No mandatory wing loading or landing-gear drop...
What’s Ahead?
As we close out 2022 (as I am writing this) and reflect on a year that showed both immense promise—people continue to build and...
Economics Buffet the Engine Market
Few disagree that the Experimental/Amateur-Built world revolves around gas-burning piston engines. Of course, the legacy engines have had a significant head start but Rotax...
Bingo Fuel
Having more gas on board than needed for a given flight seems easy enough to comprehend, yet every year an alarming number of flights...
A Cautionary Tail
One Monday morning I opened an email from the second owner of a Onex. It was sent at 8:12 p.m. on Saturday. An attached...
My Home Airport
Recently I walked into Van’s Aircraft and kissed the cutest engineer I could find. He didn’t seem that thrilled. I suppose that’s what happens...
Nothing New
Apparently having done something evil in a former life, I’ve been consigned to toil on this magazine’s Engine Buyer’s Guide in this life. I...
Executing the Execution
Airplanes are born of time and tedium. Mostly tedium. A harsh statement, yet a true one. There’s just no way around deburring the thousands...
How I Cross-Country
Way back in the previous century—closer to the middle of the century than the end—I learned that the secret to cross-country navigation was a...
In Case You Missed it
Cooling Inlets
The cooling air inlet serves two functions: First, and most important, the inlet must...
The $30,000 RV-9A
Two builders helped each other build RV-9As, each employing significantly different outlays of cash. The results are impressive in both cases, but for different reasons. They help us ponder the question as we build: What is something worth? By Marc Cook.
Repetition
Repetition is a big part of building an airplane. Fortunately, for many builders, it is also good for the soul.
Some Old Favorites
For those building a new airplane, chances are you’re getting more than familiar with...