![[Credit: Lisa Credit]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Experimental.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Have You Seen Your Oplims?")
![[Credit: Andrew Robinson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/737_VGs2.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Vortex Generators")
![[Credit: Van's Aircraft]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Vans_RV14A.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Something New On The Horizon")
![[Credit: Lisa Turner]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Chute-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Should You Consider A Whole Aircraft Parachute?"){kind=tracking}
Helping Out
You may have noticed, but things have gotten sort of expensive lately. The daily stuff has a new bite to it and the once...
Get Bent
I harbor two writers within. A technical writer who favors brevity and a creative writer, an essayist, who wants to engage your senses and...
Buy, Buy, Buy
Time to talk about the “parts” portion of my column tagline. I’ve been a professional buyer for over seven years and while I still...
Countersinking for a Flush Fastener Fit
In last month’s column, we talked about the procedures needed for installing flush rivets and screws in our kit aircraft projects. As builders we...
“Glare” Shield
The body of this month’s column is part informational, part confessional and part Zen and the Art of Experimental Maintenance. One of the most...
Power and Heat
The cooling system is a major component of the airplane. It has a large impact on the performance and reliability of the machine. The...
In Case You Missed It
![Roscoe Turner, a pilot who defined flamboyance with his waxed mustache, a uniform that included jodhpurs, and a pet lion named Gilmore that flew with him. [Credit: Associated Press]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Colonel_Roscoe_Turner_and_Gilmore_1930.jpg?w=324&h=160&crop=1 "Colorful and Notable Characters in Aviation")
Colorful and Notable Characters in Aviation
Most of our dads were/are characters to varying degrees, everything between a genial 1950s...
Down to Earth
Is the mainstream medias portrayal of aviation incidents sensationalized or on target? Turns out they are right in some aspects, but lacking in others. Either way, the aviation accident rate illustrates that there's still room for improvement; by Amy Laboda.
