KITPLANES

Roscoe Turner, a pilot who defined flamboyance with his waxed mustache, a uniform that included jodhpurs, and a pet lion named Gilmore that flew with him. [Credit: Associated Press] Most of our dads were/are characters to varying degrees, everything between a genial 1950s TV dad to Clark Griswold in Family Vacation. As I grew up and was around other guys’ dads, I came to realize that my Navy veteran dad was more colorful than average in his speech and a bit more of a character than usual.

The Spirit Engineering SE-1 gleaming in repose. [Credit: Andrew Robinson] I will admit to having a weak spot for polished aircraft, particularly vintage aircraft, whether it be a DC-3, an original Electra, a P-51, a P-38, you name it. Throw in some Art Deco styling, and I’m a goner. Also looking at you Globe/Temco Swifts, especially polished ones.

The Hatz Biplane, NX71VH, re-engineered to be powered by a 124 hp radial engine. [Credit: Hatz Biplane Association] Ask a hundred pilots to name a plans-built open-cockpit biplane and most will land on the Pitts, the Starduster, or the Skybolt.

[Credit: CubCrafters] 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, Washington company says it has built the first U.S.-manufactured turboprop aircraft eligible to be flown under MOSAIC regulations.

A compact H3R Halon 1211 extinguisher, sized for a two-seat cockpit and safe on energized electrical fires. [Credit: H3R Aviation] It’s easy to think of a fire extinguisher as a last-minute accessory: buy one, bolt it somewhere convenient, and move on. But in a homebuilt aircraft, the extinguisher’s agent, rating, mounting location, and bracket all affect whether it can be used quickly in an emergency. The choice can matter after the fire is out, too.

The Zenith CH701 outside the hangar at SMX, fresh from paint. The stars-and-stripes theme marks America’s 250th and the CH701’s 40th anniversary. [Credit: Carson Stilson] I remember driving home from the hangar in March when I got a call from my wife. She told me that a letter had arrived from the FAA and that she had to sign for it. Immediately, my heart dropped. I vividly remember her reading it to me.

Low-level aerial view of AirVenture, looking down the main thoroughfare toward Boeing Plaza, with the flightline and runway 18/36 beyond. [Credit: LeRoy Cook] For the e-ab community, the biggest stories at AirVenture 2026 were found in the places Oshkosh has always mattered most to builders: the homebuilt areas, the forums, the kit-company booths, and the growing body of aircraft now being shaped directly by MOSAIC.

Builder and pilot Mark Farver stands alongside his Continental IOX-340 powered RANS S-21. [Credit: Mark Farver] 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.

Oshkosh is more popular than ever with three-quarters of a million people in attendance at AirVenture 2026. [Credit: LeRoy Cook] 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 is dream-world variation on the quintessential light airplane.

Maintenance technician William Vergonet conducts an inspection on a Cub. [Credit: Lisa Turner] Meg Godlewski gave us a great set of reminders in FLYING Magazine — “The Art of the Debrief: Don’t Rush the Most Important Part of the Flight,” published in the FLYING, April, 2026 issue — about the importance of a good debrief by instructors after a flight. I began thinking about that and thought about the importance of applying the same principles to maintenance.