Jim Weir
Jim Weir is the chief avioniker at RST Engineering. He answers avionics questions in the Internet newsgroup www.pilotsofamerica.com–Maintenance. His technical advisor, Cyndi Weir, got her Masters degree in English and Journalism and keeps Jim on the straight and narrow. Check out their web site at www.rst-engr.com/kitplanes for previous articles and supplements.
Terms of the Trade
I’ve been a teacher most of my life, but my first paid gig in 1967 was teaching avionics (aviation electronics) at a community college...
Solder It Up
We are almost to the end of our romp through the solder pads. We’ve learned about the solder itself, and now it is time...
A Soldering We Shall Go (Part 2)
When last we left our discussion of soldering, we touched briefly on each of the basic topics concerning joining electronic parts together using a...
Holler, Holler, Let’s All Solder (Part 1)
OK, I’ll admit it. Back in the fifth grade my parents gave me a wood-burning set for Christmas. Now, they pretty much knew they...
Ernie, Can You Hear Me?
Every now and again, you get to do something that just feels good inside. Especially as an engineer and electronic designer, those times come...
Lighting up the Tail Feathers
For a couple of months now, we’ve been laying the groundwork for an overhaul of how we might do night lighting on our homebuilts....
Prelude to NextGen LEDs
Just in this last few months (from June 2022), there has been a true revolution in the state of the art for power LEDs....
Fourier Strikes Again
Ah, the email call for April 15, 2022, just arrived. Michael Zwijacz wrote to me: “Hello Jim, I’ve been following you in KITPLANES® for many...
Shining a Light on History
Back in 2008, George W. Bush was president and 100LL was $2.50 a gallon. Production of 80/87 had stopped the previous year, and this...
Power, Scotty, I Gotta Have More Power
“I canna give ye more, Cap’n. The dilithium crystals are already overloaded.”
—Star Trek This month’s article is more of a simple tutorial instead of a...
In Case You Missed it
Light Stuff
Its two aircraft in one: The Jabiru J230 is being sold both as a kit and as a Special (factory-built) Light Sport Aircraft thats ready to fly. By Dave Martin.
Build It Better: Learning from History
Everything we know about aviation comes from the experience of designers, builders and pilots who came before us. Understanding their successes and failures can help us fly and build more safely.