KITPLANES May/June 2025

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE has succeeded in one thing if nothing else: dominating the tech headlines. If what you want is a regurgitation of factual-sounding information not so much strained through critical review as aggregated from every source (accurate as well as questionable), then AI may suffice for basic information gathering. But it’s also amazingly dumb in that it can’t seem to differentiate the published works of an actual expert from late-night internet flatulence of a prolific crank. No, I’m not wearing a tinfoil hat at the moment but, yes, I do think that AI will come for flesh-and-blood writers like me. What I do—research from credible sources things I don’t know, combine that with what I do know and mix it up with an ability to look forward based on my…

I HAVE BEEN an instrument-rated pilot for close to 45 years now. I have flown lots of single-engine, single-pilot instrument hours and much of it was with steam gauges. I grew up reading Richard Collins in FLYING magazine, so I appreciated all the subtle ways in which an IFR flight could end in tragedy and always remembered the lessons of others so that I wouldn’t come to grief. At least not in the same way. I have always believed that getting an instrument rating makes you a better pilot—in the same way that getting a glider rating, a helicopter rating or a taildragger endorsement makes you a better pilot. It’s not about the specific skills for the rating—it’s the idea of continuously learning and building upon the skill you have…

AIRPLANE DESIGN EMBODIES a wide range of variables even before you consider how it is you’re going to build, sell, service and otherwise support the love child of your aeronautical genius. High on the list: You have to decide what it’s going to do, what is the main mission? To be a delightful handling device for pure aerial fun? To haul the whole family on trips? Most designers choose the little-bit-of-everything path and, when they’re good, they’re able to balance contradictory requirements exactly right. You can choose extreme stability at the cost of maneuverability. You can trade load hauling and cabin space for performance. You can get performance back with a lot of power only to trade away efficiency and payload. There’s no free meatball sandwich down at the deli.…

No one is ever surprised when an airplane designer gets established and then starts looking around for new opportunities. So it is with Alberto Porto, designer of the Risen, who saw Rotax’s turbocharged engines as a nice slip-in fit for the Risen, which began life with a comparatively conventional 912 iS. (That sound you hear is every firewall-forward specialist groaning at the thought of the turbo Rotaxes being just as easy to install as the 912.) More than just jamming the 916 turbo Rotax into the Risen’s sleek cowling to create the Risen SV (Super Veloce), Porto decided to make other substantive changes. In case you’re confused, Porto flew a 915-powered Risen first but is now fitting the 916. Well, who isn’t? For one, the SV is something of a…

ERNIE AND JEANNE LIETZAN’S Van’s RV-10 is anchored to their family’s Navy and aviation history. The family’s aviation leanings were introduced by Jeanne’s father, Len Spychalla. “I grew up with small airplanes,” said Jeanne. “My dad managed the Antigo, Wisconsin, airport for a while and was always an airplane enthusiast. He would frequently give me rides, very often to visit my cousins in Milwaukee.” Adds Ernie, “My father-in-law was EAA number 147. He was running the Antigo airport, in 1953, when Paul Poberezny came through and asked, ‘I’m doing this organization [EAA], do you want to be part of it?’ Len said, ‘Sure.’” Len introduced Ernie to homebuilding in 1978. “We talked often about building an airplane,” said Ernie. “We never started a project but one thing was sure, he…

Each side of Ernie and Jeanne’s RV-10 features two of the aircraft flown by their children, locked in a rolling scissors maneuver from the tail forward to the cowling. The pilot’s side has an EA-18G Growler and P-8 Poseidon. The copilot’s side has an E-2 Hawkeye and P-3C Orion. Each wing of the RV-10 features Navy wings of gold: Naval Flight Officer on the right wing, Naval Pilot on the left. Here are their son’s service histories, which earned each naval aircraft eternal flight on the Lietzan RV-10. Ernest Lietzan IV, Pilot, Grumman E-2 Hawkeye  A 2001 graduate of the Naval Academy, Ernest confessed, “I had no idea what I wanted to actually do [in the Navy], I just wanted to get that degree.” His decision came easy, however, the…