KITPLANES March 2026

MARCH USHERS in that familiar quickening of the pulse for homebuilders and sport aviators. Temperatures rise, the days grow longer, and everywhere, builders turn their attention from winter workshops to spring flying weather. As we stand at the threshold of the major 2026 season, the homebuilt and kit aircraft community faces one of the most exciting years in memory, and not only because of the traditional packed fly-in calendar, but also in light of the transformative regulatory changes that began to reshape our world at the close of last year. As we’ve reported, the season opens early this year with hands-on opportunities for builders looking to advance their skills or start new projects. EAA’s sixth annual Homebuilders Week wrapped up in late January, offering 30 free online webinars covering everything from…

RECORDING FLIGHT TIME in a proper form is a time-honored ritual in aviation. Much stock is taken with presentation of one’s aeronautical experience, whether for meeting experience requirements for a new rating, hiring on with a new employer, or verifying the numbers on your application for insurance. And yet, aviation largely operates on the honor system; if you have it written down, it’s assumed you flew it. Naturally, modern technology has interfered with tradition; many pilots use a phone app or computer to log flight time, and these modern appurtenances allow for retrieval of more detailed information, like how much King Air time you have, or your retractable-gear experience. But none of this ethereal information can replace the heft of a hoary written ledger of one’s aerial deeds. Is there…

HEY GUYS, it’s been a minute. But we’re back in full swing, baby. And we’re not stopping or slowing down anytime soon. It’s time to get this bird in the sky. So, what’s been happening? We’re finishing the bulkhead, fixing the horizontal stabilizer, and working on the wiring. And, while Ben and Lee will be helping me with the bulkhead, tailwheel and horizontal stabilizer situation, I’ve taken it upon myself to figure out the wiring. Finishing the Bulkhead: Test #2 After accidentally destroying my aftmost bulkhead earlier this year, my friend, mentor, and talented craftsman, Ben Marsh, came to my rescue to help fix it. The bulkhead is made up of two F-612 parts sandwiched together. After venturing out to Eagles Nest (CA20), creating the custom parts, and fitting them…

THE FIRST TWO RV-15 wing kits left Van’s Aircraft’s Aurora, Oregon factory on December 23, 2025, bound for Reno air racer Kevin Eldredge and pilot Spanky Melton. The shipments were symbolic of Van’s aggressive post-bankruptcy restructuring and confidence in the company’s most ambitious new design in decades. Van’s is shipping wing kits now, and Van’s says sales are exceeding expectations. The $21,000 wing kits—featuring Van’s fastest-building wing to date, factory-built fuel tanks, and innovative vortex-generator-equipped flaps—arrive in stackable plastic boxes with each component identified by photo, part number, and QR code for easy reordering. For builders who weathered Van’s 2023-2024 financial crisis and the company’s May 2024 Chapter 11 emergence, the RV-15 production launch signals the dawn of Van’s second act. The past four months—October 2025 through February 2026—demonstrate a…

AIRCRAFT HOMEBUILDERS face a unique and evolving insurance landscape that spans multiple phases—from initial kit purchase through construction, flight testing, and eventual operation. Unlike certified production aircraft with standardized risk profiles, experimental amateur-built (E-AB) aircraft present insurance underwriters with challenges rooted in variable workmanship, diverse designs, and limited fleet safety data. This report examines the essential insurance policies homebuilders typically need across the aircraft lifecycle, the liability considerations for pilots, and the regulatory framework that shapes coverage requirements. The Three-Phase Insurance Framework Choosing insurance for Homebuilt aircraft follows a distinctly different path from certified aircraft, requiring builders to navigate three sequential coverage phases that align with FAA certification milestones and operational restrictions. Builder’s Risk Insurance: The Construction Phase Before an experimental aircraft ever leaves the ground, it faces material risks in…

YOU’VE LIKELY experienced the discomfort at about hour two of a long cross-country flight. Not the seat cushion or bladder pressure, but the aching sensation behind your ears where your sunglasses’ temples are being crushed into your skull by your headset. Every pilot who’s ever worn conventional sunglasses under a tight-fitting ANR headset knows this pain intimately. It’s the kind of thing you ignore for a while, then shift around trying to relieve, and eventually just resign yourself to enduring until you’re back on the ground. Dean Siracusa knew it too. A pilot with more than 2,200 hours in his logbook, most of them accumulated in his Meyers 200, Siracusa spent years cycling through various sunglasses brands trying to find a pair that wouldn’t turn a pleasant VFR flight into…