Randall Brink

Long ago a reader sent me a photograph of a workbench. On it sat a half-finished rudder, a coffee can of Clecos, and a copy of KITPLANES folded open to a builder article, the pages gone soft at the corners from being handled with shop hands. He wrote that one issue or another of the […]

Explore the history of the Hatz Biplane. Designed as a modern Waco on 85 horsepower, this classic aircraft is still beloved by a devoted community of builders.

There is a unique sound a turbine engine makes on start—a rising whistle, followed by a smooth, spooling hush. Until this summer you had to buy a very large, very expensive airplane to hear it from the left seat. CubCrafters is changing that. The new Carbon Cub ULT made its debut at Oshkosh.  The Yakima, […]

The call came a half mile out from FISK. “High wing, half mile from Fisk, rock your wings.” Mark Farver rocked them. “Good rock. Welcome to Oshkosh.” He had been waiting ten years to hear it, and two and a half of those years he had spent building the airplane that finally carried him there. […]

Open this issue at the Builders Spotlight and you get a Zenith CH 701 built to a strict budget. Turn to the features and you see a Carbon Cub with a turbine engine affixed to the nose. Those two airplanes are separated by an order of magnitude in cost. One was amateur built. The other […]

Explore the fully implemented FAA MOSAIC rule, expanding sport pilot limits to 250 knots and 4 seats while creating new LSA standards and maintenance rules.

Marking 40 years of the Zenith STOL CH 701. Examine the design features, fixed slats, flaperons, match-drilled kits, and MOSAIC impact on the Sky Jeep.

Sonex Aviation reopens in Oshkosh under ON Capital. Learn what the takeover means for High Wing kit deliveries, builder deposits, and the SubSonex JSX-2T jet.

Explore how the class of 1986—led by Chris Heintz's Zenith CH701—revolutionized kit aircraft building, mission-specific design, and homebuilt aviation.

The paperwork era of MOSAIC ended at Oshkosh this year. On the same week the FAA’s new Part 22 certification framework took effect, Van’s Aircraft handed over the first airplane in history to carry a light-sport airworthiness certificate issued under it — an RV-12iS in Cub Yellow, built for the flight line rather than the […]

The Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association arrived at Oshkosh this week with the news homebuilders and light-aircraft makers have waited a decade to hear. The FAA has published in the Federal Register its Notice of Availability accepting the key American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) consensus standards that support the new Part 22 light-sport category […]

The rejuvenated Sonex has given its two-seat high-wing a new name. The airplane that has carried the working title “Sonex Highwing” through three years of development is now the Sonex Phoenix, the company announced as it brought the design to AirVenture. The name is the news, but it arrives alongside real progress on the airframe. […]

You’re home again, and the airplane cabin still smells faintly of Florida and sunscreen. The bugs on the leading edges are mostly gone, but the rhythm of arrival and departure—of pitching tents under wings and watching the sun come up over the lakes—lingers a little longer each year after Sun ’n Fun and the first […]

If you fly off gravel bars, ridge strips, or anything that only loosely qualifies as a runway, the odds are decent you have a T3 tailwheel suspension hanging off the back of your airplane. And if you don’t, you have probably watched the pilot tied down next to you roll gently across a washboard while […]

By now you know the headline numbers. Stall speed up to 59 knots clean. Four seats. Night flying. A Sport Pilot license—or just a driver’s license—now unlocks most of the RV fleet and a long list of legacy airplanes that were off-limits a year ago. That half of the MOSAIC roll-out has been live since […]

If there is a corner of AirVenture that quietly rewards the homebuilder, it is the patch of grass just east of the Vintage Red Barn. That is where the Interview Circle sits, and that is where Vintage in Review will set up shop again this year from July 20 through 24, with EAA confirming the […]

If you’ve ever wanted to see where all those Zenith kit parts come from, June 20th is your chance to find out firsthand. Zenith Aircraft Company is hosting its annual “Fly-In to Summer” Open House at its factory on the Mexico Memorial Airport (KMYJ) in Mexico, Missouri, and the welcome mat is out for builders, […]

Editorial overview of the broad spectrum of engine options available to homebuilders, from traditional powerplants to modern alternatives.

Comprehensive 2026 buyer’s guide to avionics and lighting systems for homebuilt aircraft, covering key manufacturers and product options.

Editorial overview of the spring building and flying season, highlighting momentum across the homebuilt aircraft community and projects ahead.