Magazine

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.

RV builder Kathleen Evans makes a case for airplane building as a true partnership between spouses based on mutual interest and respect.

Builders share their successes.

Columnist Jim Weir comes up with what he thinks is the optimal design for getting power from the 12-volt aircraft battery to the LED without wasting any.

Charlie Taylor, the Wright brothers trusted right-hand man and machinist, made their early powered flight experiments possible. And he built the engine using only a drill press, a lathe, a simple scale and more than a little ingenuity; by Bob Fritz.

This month columnist Barnaby Wainfan takes a look at how the airplane responds in roll when the pilot is maneuvering. Two key factors are roll acceleration and the steady-state roll rate.

In typical fashion, Van’s Aircraft refused to rest on its laurels after the RV-12’s prototype debut last year, and sought to improve on an already good design. The new production airplane has changed (beyond its color), with a castering nosewheel, toe brakes instead of a grip, reshaped control sticks for better clearance, ground-adjustable seats fore and aft as well as in tilt, and the list goes on. Best of all, this day/VFR machine is still a delight to fly; by Ed Kolano.

In typical fashion, Vans Aircraft refused to rest on its laurels after the RV-12s prototype debut last year, and sought to improve on an already good design. The new production airplane has changed (beyond its color), with a castering nosewheel, toe brakes instead of a grip, reshaped control sticks for better clearance, ground-adjustable seats fore and aft as well as in tilt, and the list goes on. Best of all, this day/VFR machine is still a delight to fly; by Ed Kolano.

Robert Simon had the distinction of building the first Lancair ES-P to fly. But the process wasn’t without its challenges. The ES-P employs the cabin design and structure of the pressurized, retractable Lancair IV-P, but has a larger wing and fixed gear. During the build, Simon also deviated from the base design with changes that required factory support to accomplish. Not only did he learn much, he ultimately got the plane he needed; by Dave Higdon.

Homebuilt aircraft manufacturers are sometimes reluctant to admit that they have created a less than perfect design, let alone offer a fix. Arion Aircrafts Nick Otterback is bucking that tide; by Marc Cook.