![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")
Engine Beat
What are your options to get the annual condition inspection done when you're not the original builder of the aircraft? By Steve Ells.
Ask the DAR
Whats changed with the advent of the revised 51% rule? Fortunately, not as much as you might think.
Light Stuff
Having completed his Vans RV-12 ELSA, Dave Martin revisits a weekend Repairman Inspection course to prepare for his first annual condition inspection.
What’s New
A glare shield for Garmin GPS units; Sportair USAs certified pre-owned LSA program; quick reference for aera and AV8OR Ace; Better Half VW announces Legal Eagle XL. Edited by Mary Bernard.
Rendesvouz with Destiny
Dick Starks and The Dawn Patrol attend the biennial Rendezvous on hallowed ground: the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
Product Review: Garmin’s New aera
Paul Bertorelli reviews Garmin's latest offering, the aera. It's compact, powerful and versatile.
Little Bird the Kitfox
Amy Laboda's Kitfox 4, Little Bird, won't break any speed records. But it will tuck nicely into a short turf airstrip in time for a barbecue.
Ask the DAR
What do you need to do when you buy an Experimental/Amateur-Built aircraft? What should a builder/owner do when they're ramp checked?
Experimotive
Rick Lindstrom looks at Maxwell Propulsions upgraded FWF system, and peeks into the systems future.
Light Stuff
Dave Martins Spacewalker II makes room for his recently completed RV-12, and heads east to its new owner in Ohio.
In Case You Missed It
Ask the DAR
What's the difference between the FAAs SLSA (Special Light Sport Aircraft) and ELSA (Experimental Light Sport Aircraft) designation? DAR Mel Asberry clears it up.
Safety Is No Accident: Canards
The appeal of canard-type designs hasn't faded, and the design was heralded as inherently safer because of its resistance to stalling. Ron Wanttaja reveals the veracity of that claim given the accident numbers.
Archive: February 1999
Our February 1999 issue teased a summer’s worth of aeronautical splash-n-dash with a “Water-Flying...