![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?")
Tempest AA470 Oil Filter Cutter
If you’re doing your own routine maintenance—and if you’re not, why not?—you’re going to need a means to open your canister oil filter after...
Diary of a Panel Upgrade Part 1
It usually takes about 8 flying hours to get from Oshkosh to my home airport. The year it took 10 days to get the...
Design Process: End Plates and Winglets
A wing produces a pressure difference between its upper and lower surface. The pressure on top of the wing is lower than the pressure...
Under Pressure
No, this working title isn’t about sitting down close to my draft submission deadline staring at a blank screen. (But it could be.) This...
Electric Airplane Fundamentals
Hi, my name is Gabe and I’m an unabashed electric airplane nerd. I have built and flown two of my own electric aircraft, and...
Never Buy Meat From A Guy in a Parking Lot
A builder—I’ll call him D. Thomas—told me A Guy told him he needed to modify his fuel system or it wouldn’t work. The basic...
Metal Magic: Cutting Round Instrument Holes
KITPLANES editor at large Paul Dye continues the Metal Magic series with a tutorial on how to cut round holes in aluminum, mainly for...
Worn Out Manifold Hose
Almost all rubber hoses have a shelf life. Most are around eight years. The symptoms were fluctuating manifold pressure readings, and the hose completely...
Tire Tantrums
There can’t be a single person engaged in the modern world who doesn’t have a tale to tell regarding tires. Most involve some variation...
Archive: April 2007
Faithful KITPLANES® readers who picked up our April 2007 issue might be forgiven for thinking we’d lost our minds and put a Piper Comanche...
In Case You Missed It
A Sign of the Zodiac (Part 7)
It’s about the journey, not the destination, as Rick Lindstrom’s homebuilt Zodiac 601 XL is ferried by friends from Florida to its new home in Cloverdale, California.
Design Process: Wingtips
In our study of wing design, we have progressed from the inner portion and...
The Home Machinist
If you need to send a part out to be built by a professional shop, a good drawing, well identified, is essential. The KISS principle applies, and be sure you don't request closer tolerances or more exotic materials than you really need, or it will cost you.