Builder Spotlight

This month’s chronicle of building a Jabiru J250 Light Sport airplane covers the assembly of the wings and tail, and discusses the value of surface preparation.

The fabric has been applied to the airplane structure, its been tightened properly, and now its time to apply the first chemical coat to seal it. Ron Alexander takes you through the process and also introduces the various ways of attaching the fabric.

Avionics wiz Stein Bruch discusses the pros and cons of the most popular ways of labeling your panel including placards, decals, rub-on labels, silkscreens and laser etching.

In the third part of this series on building a Jabiru J250 Light Sport airplane, author Bob Fritz installs the elevator, trim and aileron cables, paints some of the interior, installs the master break cylinder, and moves on to the rudder pedals and flaps.

Chuck Deiterichs description of a do-it-yourself wind indicator project includes tips, drawings, a parts listing, in-progress photos and a look at the finished product. His experimentation with the highly visible design takes the guesswork out of doing it right.

Oshkosh AirVenture gave Ed Wischmeyer the opportunity to look around at the newest ideas in aviation and to think about the larger implications of what he was seeing. He speculates about what works, what doesn't and how manufacturers and consumers alike could make the world of flying a better place.

Builders share their successes.

If you want sound and long-lasting fabric covering, proper shrinkage is essential. And an accurately calibrated iron is a means to that end. Ron Alexander details the process and offers tips on how to avoid damage to the underlying structure during tautening.

There are seemingly few more mundane tasks than making holes, but there are as many ways to do them, as there are different sizes and shapes of holes. This month, Stein Bruch describes how to cut holes in the panel yourself, using tools you may already have around the shop.

Once he decided on a kit, builder Bob Fritz went full-speed ahead on the project and has made remarkable progress in a short time. He’s nearly ready to start making airplane noises.