![The Hatz Biplane, NX71VH, re-engineered to be powered by a 124 hp radial engine. [Credit: Hatz Biplane Association]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Hatz-Bantam-Radial-124hp_1000004521-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "Airplane Almost No One Knows, Part One"){kind=tracking}
![[Credit: CubCrafters]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/DSC04228.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "CubCrafters’ New Turboprop MOSAIC LSA")
![A compact H3R Halon 1211 extinguisher, sized for a two-seat cockpit and safe on energized electrical fires. [Credit: H3R Aviation]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/mfr_H3R_A344T_Halon_1p25lb.jpg_preview-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Choosing the Right Cockpit Fire Extinguisher for Your Aircraft"){kind=tracking}
![The Zenith CH701 outside the hangar at SMX, fresh from paint. The stars-and-stripes theme marks America’s 250th and the CH701’s 40th anniversary. [Credit: Carson Stilson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_1726.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Zenith CH 701: A Proof of Concept Homebuilt on a Budget")
![Low-level aerial view of AirVenture, looking down the main thoroughfare toward Boeing Plaza, with the flightline and runway 18/36 beyond. [Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_4521.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "AirVenture 2026 in Review")
Contributors
Julia DownieOnce a year we take the opportunity to publicly thank the hard-working Julia Downie for her tireless efforts in collecting and organizing our...
Letters
On a Lighter Note...Hopefully you can help me out with a solution to my problem. I have an electronic sign that used to mount...
A Sign of the Zodiac (Part 7)
It’s about the journey, not the destination, as Rick Lindstrom’s homebuilt Zodiac 601 XL is ferried by friends from Florida to its new home in Cloverdale, California.
Build Your Skills: Composites (Part 8)
Last months installment in the Composites series detailed how to do vacuum-bagging of parts at home. This month author Bob Fritz discusses how to inexpensively build one critical component in that process: the vacuum pump.
The Home Machinist, Part 9
If parts that don't quite fit are grinding you down, author Bob Fritz has a solution: Use a lathe to create a smooth finish on a precisely proportioned piece. While hes at it, hell demonstrate two ways to use the machines calipers to measure necessary offsets.
Aero ‘lectrics
Columnist Jim Weir offers his annual awards for the best products or services seen at Oshkosh/AirVenture 2007.
Barefoot Flying
A relative newcomer to the U.S. kit aircraft clan, the Sport Air Corsario import from Rio de Janeiro borrows characteristics from other amphibians while displaying a personality and pleasurable flying qualities uniquely its own; by Dave Higdon.
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook weighs the relative merits of perfectionism in building and maintaining homebuilts versus using the aircraft for its intended purpose: flying.
