KITPLANES tours the Whirlwind Propeller factory where the firm’s fixed-pitch and ground-adjustable propellers are made, as well as the blades for Whirlwind constant-speed props.

Flying in my 1984 Avid Seaplane for 2600 hours, the first one on floats, I always loved the nostalgia of biplanes, especially biplanes on floats. Consequently, four years ago I talked with Gerald Olenik of GreenSky Adventures, Inc., about a Micro Mong and got his advice about building one on floats. His only problem was [...]

This is a Double Eagle designed by Leonard Milholland. We started the project thinking it would take about six months to complete. We got our DAR inspection 18 months later on September 25, 2009, and made the first flight four days later. Building a “plansbuilt” aircraft took longer than we expected. We made some cosmetic [...]

I just finished my Venture, which was started 20 years ago. There are marriages that have not lasted 20 years, there are careers that have not lasted 20 years, and there are whole lives that have not lasted 20 years, so how do you stay working on a project for 20 years? In this fast-paced [...]

Pilots living in the colder parts of the world have to decide whether to leave heating devices running constantly, or make the time to turn the preheat devices on well in advance of a flight. Now Aerotherm offers a third alternative, thanks to its new Remote Cellular Phone Switch. This device, which is designed to [...]

Engine builders looking for cost-effective components for newly constructed engines or overhauls have some additional options thanks to Engine Components, Inc. The San Antonio, Texas-based company has introduced a new idler gear assembly for the O-540 series engines, further expanding its catalog of items for the six-cylinder engines. This new gear, which carries an FAA-PMA [...]

On Friday, September 17, the Hobbs meter on the Vans Aircraft web site registered the 1000th RV8 aircraft to fly. That number represents an average of a new RV8 (or its sibling the tricycle gear RV8A) in the air every fifth day since the design was introduced in 1996. There are about 2000 RV8/8As under [...]

Dynon Avionics has introduced updates for its EFIS products with the Version 5.4 software. Designed for the EFIS-D10A, EFIS-D100 and FlightDEK-D180 units, the upgrade features enhanced autopilot pitch control. Included are new user-adjustable parameters to optimize autopilot performance for individual aircraft. “The autopilot now flies just as an experienced pilot would, with crisp, appropriate inputs [...]