![[Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/IMG_2791.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "The Safety Triangle: Balancing Skill, Knowledge, and Judgment in Flying")
![A SubSonex personal jet in aerobatic flight. Thea design will expand with a two-place model kit in the months ahead. [Credit: Sonex Aircraft]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/SubSonex_Acro.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Sonex Reopens")
![A CubCrafter’s Carbon Cub headed to Sun ‘n Fun in the time-honored tradition. [Credit: CubCrafters]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Carbon-Cub-UL.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Sun ‘n Fun 2026 Highlights: Electric RV-10, Modular Avionics, and MOSAIC")
![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=265&h=198&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")
Engine-run Requirements for the DAR Inspection
Do you need to run your engine for the DAR? How does using a certified engine and prop affect your Phase I test period? How about the gray areas regarding dual flight instruction? DAR Mel Asberry gives you the straight scoop.
News from Sun n Fun
Attendance may have been down a bit with the slumping economy, but that didn't stop innovators from introducing new products for homebuilt aviation. A Staff Report.
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook takes a moment to put lifes challenges in perspective as Senior Editor Bob Fritz enters the fight of his life with his characteristic positive attitude.
What’s New
CubCrafters ships CarbonCub kits; Forward Visions EVS-100 system will be available in RotorWay Experimental/Amateur-Built helicopters; and MotoPOD will produce cargo pods to haul a street-legal motorcycle underneath the RV-10. Edited by Mary Bernard.
Report from Friedrichshafen
625 exhibitors in 11 exhibit halls? Amy Laboda was up for it at AERO Friedrichshafen, Germanys extravaganza of a trade show. Engines of all kinds were the order of the day.
Product Review: Wicks Adel Clamp Pliers
No hangar assistants or third hand to wrangle those tricky wiring or tubing installations using Adel clamps? Wicks has come up with the perfect kit to help. By Marc Cook.
SPOT, Checked
Navigation expert Langley R. Muir, Ph.D.s in-depth study of the SPOT Personal Tracker reveals its capabilities…and what you need to know to use it most effectively.
25th Anniversary: Rotax Run
The Rotax engines continual development over the years has led it to become the dominant engines among todays Light Sport Aircraft. Dave Martin details the engines evolution, and takes a look at what may be next.
Product Review: Garmin GMA 240
Garmins latest com offering is a streamlined audio panel/intercom that doesn't do everything, but what it does-nav/com, music, muting and pilot isolate-it does exceptionally well. By Marc Cook.
In Case You Missed It
![A Zenith STOL CH701 on Zenair amphibious floats rests on a sandbar on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. [Credit: Zenith Aircraft]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/zenair-floats-STOL_CH_701a-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Zenith STOL CH 701 at 40: The Iconic ‘Sky Jeep’ Design Audit"){kind=tracking}
Zenith STOL CH 701 at 40: The Iconic ‘Sky Jeep’ Design Audit
In 1986, a Canadian aeronautical engineer named Chris Heintz pulled the first STOL CH...
