Magazine

Although Van’s has been a top-selling kit manufacturer for years, the company’s foray into the SLSA (factory-built Light Sport Aircraft) market with the RV-12 has proven to be challenging—and the airplane may not ever be sold ready-to-fly. By Dave Martin.

   Steve EllsAnd so we welcome another one from the “dark side” of general aviation, Steve Ells. Formerly a West Coast staffer at AOPA’s Pilot...

Is Your Engine Missing? I read every issue with extreme interest, but this year’s edition of the engine buyer’s guide did not contain any...

Drawing on experience; by cartoonist Robrucha.

Let’s take it to the edge. Where is the edge? If, up to now, all you’ve done is scribe a target and eyeball the position of the drill bit, this is for you. By Bob Fritz.

As homebuilders, we are accustomed to doing a lot of preliminary and/or tooling work to build a couple of pieces for our aircraft. Tom Kuffel created an auxiliary fuel transfer pump controller for his GlaStar Sportsman for next to nothing, a real savings over the retail price of $300, and he describes how he did it.

Bob Fritz finds that in the midst of making progress, the build process has its own value. Here, he walks through the process of designing and installing an on-board fire extinguisher system for his Jabiru J250, and offers a few tips for locating holes and installing the wings.

Builders share their successes.

So far in Jim Weirs investigation of digital logic, hes explored small scale integration. This time, its time to ramp it up a bit and use some medium scale integration devices that will remember your settings.

Recently, there has been increasing interest in the efficiency of all vehicles, including airplanes. Designers are seeking to make airplanes that perform better and burn less fuel. Barnaby Wainfan takes a close look at the aerodynamics and mathematics behind this deceptively complex process.