![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=534&h=462&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?")
![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?")
Always Learning
While I see lots of recurring maintenance problems every day, tough ones that require some additional thinking for the Diagnosis column don’t always happen...
Van’s–The Middle Ages
My involvement with Van’s Aircraft started in 1987—if my memory is right. The company had been going for 15 years when I got there,...
Caught in the Act
We’ve been working on the development story of the Van’s RV-15 for many months. Paul Dye and I had what I would call exceptional...
Van’s at 50
It might surprise many of our readers that I am a relative newcomer to the world of Van’s Aircraft and the RV. It’s not...
Patience, Kindness and Understanding
AirVenture! It’s finally here. How is it a year can pass so quickly yet take so long? For many, AirVenture is more than the...
Firewall Forward: Fuel Injection
Last time we talked about carburetors, so this episode of KITPLANES Firewall Forward looks at traditional aircraft fuel injection. Editor at large Paul Dye...
On the Level
A few months back in this very column, I suggested that pilots should keep a “retired” smart phone in their aircraft as an all-in-one...
In Case You Missed It
But Will It Fly the Plane?
Raconteur and avid WW-I-era airplane enthusiast Dick Starks regales us with tales of innovation and resourcefulness when he attempts to measure the pull of his and his compadres VW powerplants.
The Home Machinist (Part 10)
You're not alone if you've been flummoxed or frustrated when trying to decode technical drawings or blueprints. They seem to use a language all their own, one that many of us are not privy to. Fear not. Author Bob Fritz will give you the tools you need to visualize the item being described, and hell make such documents intelligible to the uninitiated.