Magazine

 Com Radio FeedbackDear Stein Bruch: Just read your article in the August 2007 KITPLANES . Nice work! A couple of quick comments: The Garmin...

Doug Rozendaal brings his considerable experience to a discussion of flight handling characteristics and his favorite aircraft. Among the factors designers consider are stability, control response, feel, personal preferences, FAA requirements, stick force, center of gravity, center of pressure, and the flight envelope. Every design is a compromise.

After checking with a variety of aluminum polishing aficionados, author Bob Fritz came up with a winning combination for maintaining the shine on metal airplanes. He details not only which products to use, but also how to use them for maximum effectiveness with minimal elbow grease.

As the project is completed and is readied for its flight home, the author reflects on the challenges he overcame and the lessons he learned during the build; by Rick Lindstrom.

Raconteur and avid WW-I-era airplane enthusiast Dick Starks regales us with tales of innovation and resourcefulness when he attempts to measure the pull of his and his compadres VW powerplants.

Author Bob Fritz explains how to set up a vacuum-bagging operation in your home shop, using readily available equipment and supplies, which will get you great results on small- to medium-size parts. The object is to mechanically squeeze out excess epoxy for a good-ratio part with maximum weight savings and strength.

Builders share their successes.

In his continuing series, author Bob Fritz discusses the ins and outs of threads including how to avoid seizing, types of threads, sizing, drilling holes, using a tap-drill chart, and matching fastener dimensions.

In an ongoing attempt to update his shop and make it more energy efficient, Jim Weir puts together a winning compressor-generator combo to run the lights and whatever else needs juice.

Its an age-old duality: stability versus maneuverability. Many factors go into developing and building any aircraft, and the designers choices will affect a pilots workload, for good or ill. Among the topics discussed are trim, pitch stability and yaw stability;