![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?")
Ten Degrees of Presentation
The call came. At the other end was Kevin King, the owner of the resurrected Blue Mountain EFIS from last month’s Home Shop Machinist...
This Is an EXCELlent Idea
For a long time after I bought my first airplane (N2014V, the Cessna 120 heavy), the problem of keeping the aircraft data (weight and...
Metal Magic Special: Paul Dye Shop Tour
Join KITPLANES editor at large Paul Dye for a quick tour of his home shop. A multi-airplane builder, Paul has collected tools and techniques...
Design Process: Pitch Force Trim
For an airplane to maintain steady-state level flight it must be trimmed in pitch. The airplane is trimmed when the net pitching moment acting...
IRAN
It is sometimes easy to remember that we do annual condition inspections to find things that might be wrong with the airplane. I know...
Unfit for Flight
Our culture’s version of schadenfreude often distills down to something called the Darwin Award, where hapless individuals appear to be disproving Charles Darwin’s theory...
Firewall Forward: The Oil Change
Let's get started with the KITPLANES Firewall Forward video series, sponsored by the Tempest Aero Group. In this episode, our editor at large Paul...
In Case You Missed It
What’s New
TCW Technologies announces two new products, ChartFlier introduces a low-cost entry to the ADS-B market, and a veteran airshow performer pilots the SubSonex jet on its maiden flight.
