![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?")
The Repairman Certificate
Those of us who have built or are building Experimental/Amateur-Built aircraft know that one of the rewards besides the airworthiness certificate is another document...
Dispassionate Pursuits
At the very moment I was on final for Oshkosh’s Runway 9 in pursuit of a tailwheel endorsement, my flight instructor’s son was rising...
Plastic Tubing No-No
The symptom was a static system that leaked like a sieve when tested. Further investigation discovered this AN fitting being used with plastic tubing.
AN...
Two Years On
Habitual readers of this column know I’m not a fan of ADS-B, if only because I see such tracking technology as primarily the apparatus...
Archive: August 1985
The amazing Rutan Voyager was on the cover of our August 1985 issue. If you know your dates, you appreciate that ours was a...
Blast From the Past
Chris Hill’s Dr.I replica is as close as you can get to an actual 1917 Fokker Dreidecker.
Firewall Forward Video Series Introduction
A new video series about the major firewall-forward tasks a new airplane builder needs to know.
In Case You Missed It
La Zoom!
Jeff LaVelle ushers out the first 25 years of Sport class racing and the Reno era at 400 mph.
Dawn Patrol
When a casually tossed length of two-by-four and a pristine fabric-covered airplane meet, the result isn't pretty. Author Dick Starks describes his wifes initiation to the art of fabric repair.
Built to Suit
Considering the kit as raw material let John Spratt build an S-20 Raven optimized for his high-country travels.