The most difficult compromises live in the middle of the performance envelope, while the easiest decisions are found at each end of the spectrum. This VW installation emphasizes economy over performance, so a prop gearbox would be an obvious complication.

Compromises

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Never one to revel in the practical, recently I found myself expounding to a colleague on why the general aviation world moves at 2700 rpm.

Parts Is Parts

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A major part of any Experimental kit will be hundreds of products that the kit supplier didn’t manufacture or fabricate but simply sourced from the open market to supply with their custom kit components.

Target Fixation Taught by Trees

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I was chopping firewood under a dead ash tree, whiffing deep, ax-head-shaped divots into my lawn, when I remembered the time, once upon a takeoff, that a living oak tree nearly got the best of me.

The Most Dangerous Thing in the Cockpit

1
Forget about all those sharp corners, the quantity of fuel aboard and the fire extinguisher you threw in the baggage compartment without tying it down. It is always important to at least consider the fact that the most dangerous thing to have in the cockpit when things go wrong is the owner of the airplane.

It’s Toy Season!

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Because few new products get announced at Sun ’n Fun, there’s often a dead zone between April and the big intros at AirVenture in July. But that doesn’t mean it’s total dullsville. A couple of new bits have caught my eye recently.

Flight Review: Falken Avionics iPad-based EFIS

4
By now, the Apple iPad has established itself as a strong utility player in many aircraft, most often running as a so-called electronic flight bag (EFB) to display moving maps, charts, weather and traffic. But Falken Avionics’ Flight View system has a different take on putting Apple’s tablet to use—as a primary instrument. 

Drilling Holes for Fasteners

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Plunge into drilling accurate holes for fasteners in mating parts.

Design Innovation

6
A designer must make a large number of decisions in the process of designing an airplane. These range from top-level decisions, like the overall...

Life With the SubSonex

5
Four years and 200 hours with the “cute” jet.

Nose Job

2
How to set up your spinner to run perfectly true.

In Case You Missed It

Traveling Machine

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Van's two-seat RV-12 LSA proves itself as a surprisingly travel-friendly cross-country airplane. By Marc Cook.

Vacuuming Connectors

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Vacuum electrical connectors before installation to avoid difficult troubleshooting later.
warehouse forklift

Demand and Supply

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We’re all tired of talking about the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m certain, but there’s no...

The Dawn Patrol

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Was he packin heat?