Shop Talk

This month I’m taking a step back from doing the usual aircraft-related project to look at some “off the grid” projects that take advantage...

KITPLANES columnist Ari Rayment takes us on a tour of Pioneer Control Grips with new co-owner Skylar Thody. These handmade control grips are works...

I’ve done quite a few first flights for new builders. I lost count when the number went over 40. Most of them have been...

Nearly every homebuilt aircraft kit has at least a few solid rivets helping to hold it together. Some kit designs use thousands of these—others,...

When it comes time to remove and replace bearings or bushings that are press fit into tubes or deep recesses, don’t be that mechanic...

Just in this last few months (from June 2022), there has been a true revolution in the state of the art for power LEDs....

Here is a photo of a vertical stabilizer attach point on an RV-9A that is completely missing the four lower attach bolts shown in...

Every aircraft has tie-down points. Most of us never give them a second thought until a catastrophe strikes—like the big storm that threatened early...

Ah, the email call for April 15, 2022, just arrived. Michael Zwijacz wrote to me: “Hello Jim, I’ve been following you in KITPLANES® for many...

One day last summer, seconds after rolling from the hold short line to depart Las Vegas’ Henderson Airport, a freak wind gust caught David...