![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?")
Metallic Puce and Other Considerations
Airplane people tend to be drawn to all Machines That Move Us. Cars, motorcycles, boats. (Trains, too, but it’s cumbersome, as an individual, to...
Broken Control Cable
Here’s a throttle control cable that has separated from the housing. It is very likely that on a stiff throttle, the cable might bend...
Stardusted
Late. Always perpetually late. Some people are early as if by breathing, but for all my panting it never happens. Which is sort of...
Archive: April 2012
Formation flying was the subject of our April 2012 cover. RV builder Dave Klages took us through the prep and practice for formation work...
Metal Magic: Should You Bother Priming?
Paul Dye wraps up the KITPLANES Metal Magic series with a discussion of whether or not to primer-protect aluminum structures. There's a lot of...
In Case You Missed It
Safety Is No Accident: Glasair and GlaStar
Ron Wanttaja examines the accident data for the Glasair and GlaStar designs and finds structural support may play a key role.
The Independence Project: We Start the Finish Kit
The Independence Project presses on, this time tackling the multiple tasks that make up the finish kit on the RV-12. By Dave Martin.
Vortex Generators for Cooling
A simple fix reduced CHTs in a Velocity by 55 degrees. By David G. Ullman.