What You Should Know About Screwdrivers
Screwdrivers come in many shapes and sizes. Wikipedia lists some 42 different types of screwdriver tips—from the common to the almost unheard-of. Here we...
iPad Chiller
Just about every pilot I know uses an iPad or Android tablet with ForeFlight, Garmin Pilot or WingX software. In most cases it’s their...
Show Your Sleeves: Silver or Copper?
Nearly every aircraft utilizes metal cables to operate control surfaces like elevators, rudders and ailerons. As a builder, you may be required to fabricate...
Bad Indication or a Real Problem?
How many of us have seen an unusual engine temp/parameter indication and wondered if it was really the engine or a faulty reading? The...
Metal Magic: Cutting and Shaping Angle Aluminum
In another segment of KITPLANES' Metal Magic series, editor at large Paul Dye shows you how to accurately cut and artfully shape even large...
Metal Magic: Laying Out Lines of Rivets
In this episode Paul Dye explains how to lay out lines of rivets on a workpiece—a simple task you'll be doing many times throughout...
Disintegrated Drive Coupling
Ever wonder why the standby alternator or vacuum pump isn’t working? There is a drive coupling that is designed to break if something becomes...
Potpourri
Potpourri (pronounced “poh’purree”), taken literally from the French origin, is translated “rotten pot.” In English, though, it means a collection of small things; in...
Solving a Calibration Conundrum
Of all things, I never dreamed that out of the 40+ screwdrivers and dozens of driver bits that I own, one day I’d need...
In Case You Missed it
Lancair Evolution
Lancair Aircraft is revolutionizing its already successful turboprop line of kits with the new Evolution, a 750-horsepower, Pratt & Whitney-PT6A-powered, carbon-fiber composite, 380-mph four-seater to be available later this year.
Experimotive
Ben Haass STOL Zenith 801, featuring a Ford V-8 auto conversion, made quite a first impression at AirVenture 09. This month, he tells Rick Lindstrom what makes it all work.
Down to Earth
Amy Laboda discovers that a newly installed EFIS, six-weeks away from her RV-10 and an acute caffeine deficiency challenge her inner student.