![Oshkosh is more popular than ever with three-quarters of a million people in attendance at AirVenture 2026. [Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_7321-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "Wide World of Airplanes"){kind=tracking}
![Maintenance technician William Vergonet conducts an inspection on a Cub. [Credit: Lisa Turner]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_3535.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Post-Flight Maintenance Debrief")
![Pat McKiernan has found that he and his dad who built this beautiful RV-7 simply learned to enjoy the build. [Credit: Bill Wilson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Builder.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Life Lessons From Building an Airplane")
![[Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AdobeStock_51865118.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "FAA MOSAIC Rule Fully Implemented")
![My 36 year old clipboard from when I started at Boeing. Engineering ruler and fastener/fastener hole cheat sheets. [Credit: Andrew Robinson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Liaison_clipboard.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "What Is a Liaison Engineer?")
Mounting On a Curve
A long time ago, when homebuilders began installing Garmin 430s—the most popular IFR GPS/nav/com of the day—we were mostly left on our own to...
Nutsert Notes
Let me say right up front that I hate nutserts. Also called rivet nuts, threaded inserts or rivnuts. (I’m sure there’s a formal product...
Lightweight Stepladder
I affectionately refer to my Jabiru light-sport as being a “low high-wing” airplane. This is because, despite it being a high-wing configuration, you have...
Support Your Wings
Having constructed several high-wing aircraft kits, I can attest to the anxiety that comes from the exercise of mounting wings to the fuselage. This...
VHF Com–the Good, the Bad, the Ugly
With a panel full of glass and diodes turned into all the colors of the rainbow, the poor old VHF com sitting over in...
Design Process: Span and Aspect Ratio
At this point in the design process we have determined the wing area. The choice of high- versus low-wing and structural concept of the...
Torque Wrench Basics
Torque is a twisting or rotational force about an axis such as the length of a bolt. It is measured in foot-pounds, inch-pounds or...
Murphy’s Law, Occam’s Razor
Ed, an aerospace engineer, and Bill, a 14th Century philosopher, walk into your workshop…and if you’re smart you’ll let them stay and you’ll hear...
Missing Red Bull
Am I alone when saying the Red Bull Air Races were not my ideal of aviation pursuit? I surprise myself a little saying that,...
In Case You Missed It
Rapid Prototyping and Experimental Design
Sandwich panels, part 5-a simple, accurate method for molding flanged parts.
Editor’s Log
As Editor-in-Chief Mary Bernard steps down from her post at KITPLANES, she thanks the team that helps create the magazine each month and welcomes her successor, Paul Dye.