![SR-1 cowl being integrated with spinner and cooling ducts. The cowl is assembled to itself/to the fuse primarily with countersunk #8 screws. [All images credited to Eric Stewart]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/1KP.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "Custom Cowl Fabrication: Building the SR-1 Composite Cowl")
![Trimming composites gets the full PPE job. [Credit: Eric Stewart]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/7-2.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "A Few of My Favorite Tools")
![Lowell Farrand spent years serving as an FAA DAR and is in the EAA Hall of Fame. He offers sound advise to builders. [Credit: Bill Wilson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/unnamed-4.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Think Like a Builder")
![Author Bill Wilson takes a break from measuring and cutting the Lexan windshield during his Onex build. [All Images Credit to Bill Wilson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/image-2.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Think Like A Builder")
How to Run an Airline
Compressed air is one of the great, yet unheralded, conveniences of the modern workshop. It’s without a second thought that we blow chips off...
A Grid-Free Hangar
This may well be the most ambitious project I’ve tackled in the last 35 years of writing my KITPLANES® columns. I’m going to unplug...
Take the Glare Out of That Glareshield
Many popular aircraft kits utilize a sheet of aluminum to form the glareshield—that “shelf” located above the instrument panel and below the windshield. While...
Home Shop Machinist: Power Polishing Promise
Back in the February 2019 issue of KITPLANES®, I promised a column about polishing on the lathe. I’m finally able to make good on...
ADS-B, Eh?
In the December 2019 issue of Kitplanes®, Larry Anglisano took us on a scenic journey of what ADS-B is going to look like from...
Alternate Air Opening
This was discovered on an aircraft during a condition inspection. It really was a poor installation. Nonetheless, the aircraft had been operating on unfiltered...
Findlay Punch
Hole-making punches, also known as knockout punches, are a quick and easy way to make accurate holes in aluminum sheet. Punching works by shearing...
Engine Overhaul Part II – IRAN vs. Overhaul
Back in September 2019, we looked at the process of evaluating a troubled engine to determine just how much work it was going to...
Testing, Testing, Can You Hear Me Yet?
We’ve come a long way from the Narco Omnigator (vintage 1958 or so) to the latest glass gizmos that do everything except make the...
Missing ELT Batteries
Many aircraft owners don’t realize that some ELT control panels and audio alerters have their own separate batteries, which must be installed at installation...
In Case You Missed It
Soul of the Machine
Paul Dye argues that there is more between man and machine than just the hardware.
Avionics Special: Garmins G3X
Garmins latest entry to the EFIS market lives up to the company's reputation for providing value for the price. By Marc Cook.
