Ranting About All Those &%#@$! Screws
It’s condition inspection time again for the ol’ box kite, hence my grumbling mood. It’s like this every year. I curse the zillion little...
Forever Learning
Way back when I was working for NASA, I used to get mail addressed to “Dr.” Paul Dye, which always amused this college graduate...
AN960 Washers, the Penny and My Thoughts
Not a week (sometimes a day) went by during my Sonex career that I wasn’t asked about washer usage on threaded fasteners. Often, a...
Get the Lead Out
We’ve all been there. The airplane is pulled out and baking on the hot ramp. Preflight complete. Passengers and bags are loaded and ready...
Experience for Experience Sake
I’ll admit it, I like merit badges. I like certificates of achievement. I like the recognition that comes with doing something new and different....
Challenge Yourself
It’s human nature to learn a new skill, work hard to “perfect” it and then settle into a peaceable existence just inside your comfort...
Helping Out
You may have noticed, but things have gotten sort of expensive lately. The daily stuff has a new bite to it and the once...
Buy, Buy, Buy
Time to talk about the “parts” portion of my column tagline. I’ve been a professional buyer for over seven years and while I still...
“Glare” Shield
The body of this month’s column is part informational, part confessional and part Zen and the Art of Experimental Maintenance. One of the most...
Ripples
I wrote this in April to meet a May deadline for this September issue of KITPLANES®, which came out before AirVenture in July. I...
In Case You Missed It
Fuelventure 400
Last years Copperstate Fly-In was the occasion for a race where speed was only one of the factors in winning. By Patrick Panzera.
Two Years to Solo
Ken Pollock did not come by his interest in flying in the usual way. His father was the first to want to learn, but then when he changed his mind, his son took up where Dad left off. All this despite the fact that Ken had broken his neck in a car accident, and had no use of his legs, and little use of his arms and hands.
Editor’s Log
Editor Mary Bernard makes the case for presenting the annual Aircraft Buyer's Guides data in a new, more useful form.