![[Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AdobeStock_51865118.jpg?w=534&h=462&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?")
![At Sun ‘n Fun 2026, Viking Aircraft Engines surprised the crowd with its first complete kit — the V-42, a high-wing twin powered by two Honda-based engines. Here’s an early look. [Credit: Andrew Robinson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1020293.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Viking V-42 Twin")
![A STOL CH 750 [Credit: Mike Davenport]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/STOL-CH-750.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Why Are So Many Airplanes Yellow?")
![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=265&h=198&crop=1 "Zenith STOL CH 701 at 40: The Iconic ‘Sky Jeep’ Design Audit"){kind=tracking}
Commander Klutz and the Lost Planet Airmen
It’s a fair assumption most KITPLANES® readers were not big on essay writing in school, which at least left me with a job (I’m...
A Dream Becomes Reality
Like a lot of kids, I dreamed of flying. I used to ask for a flying car for Christmas every year. As an adult,...
Sporty’s Latest PJ2+
With more power, a better display and a noise limiter, Sporty’s improves a good design.
The Inside Corner on Reducing Stress
It is common practice for builders to cut openings in aluminum aircraft structures. Popular examples include creating inspection or access panels in the wings...
Design Process: Slipstream Effects
In preliminary design and for performance calculations, we treat the engine, propeller and airframe as separate entities. The only engine effect we typically consider...
In Case You Missed It
Down to Earth
When it came to choosing a kit aircraft to build, columnist Amy Laboda and her husband opted for a metal design, in part because it would be resistant to destruction by lightning strike and also because fatigue is easier to detect in metal than it is in a composite plane. However, new nanotube technology, if integrated into composite construction material, could not only help identify wear problems, but also potentially heal them.
Wire You Surprised?
There are three basic methods of marking your wires so that 10 years from now you’ll be able to go back and track down trouble.
The Home Machinist
Home Machinist Bob Fritz had been looking for a way to compare the effectiveness of various screw extractors he had accumulated in his toolbox, and he found a willing test subject in a Cessna 170s 60-year-old gas tank.
Taking a Shine To 6061-T6 – Part 2
Cutting the initial shine with NuShine II F9 is key to a polished finish. Here's how to master the pad, pressure, speed, and polish for gleaming results.