![Careful planning and determination will get you to your goal of building and flying your own airplane. [Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Pulsar-Sunset.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "Last Bits")
![[Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AdobeStock_262642207_AGCuesta.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Winging It")
![Lowell Farrand spent years serving as an FAA DAR and is in the EAA Hall of Fame. He offers sound advise to builders. [Credit: Bill Wilson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/unnamed-4.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Think Like a Builder")
![The 160 hp turbocharged Rotax 916iS is a four-stroke piston engine with redundant electronic fuel injection and ignition. [Credit: BPR Rotax]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/PIC_916-iS_iSc-2.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "2026 Engine Buyer’s Guide")
![The alternative to bending down as the propeller is pulled through the compression stroke is to keep the back straight and bend the knees slightly, stepping away in a crouch. [Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_1519-scaled.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Manual Starting Methods")
Adding a Taillight to a Completed Rudder
A creative, low-impact solution for mounting a light without cutting up your rudder.
Cable Ties For Ballast
Cable ties will become brittle over time and can break. Having weights come loose during flight, especially near the control system, could really ruin your day.
Snapshots From the Whirlwind
Pilots demand ADS-B privacy, sport air racing shifts to weight-based rules and affordable Oshkosh and Roswell travel tips.
Assembling a Gyro Technic VX-2
A pilot chases his dream of building and flying a gyroplane with help from Gyro Technic in Minnesota.
Change Is a Constant
Marc Cook steps away again, passing KITPLANES’ reins as we invite fresh voices from the homebuilt aviation community.
Why Alternative Engines Rarely Save Money
You can try it, but don’t expect to come out ahead—or airborne—without a fight.
Aircraft Modification Choices
Aftermarket mods for amateur-built aircraft are booming, but not all upgrades deliver on performance, safety or practicality.
Building the 750 SDXTREME: Part 16
Tubeless tires, prototype gear, and cabin mods—follow the ongoing adventure of getting the highly modified 750 SDX on its feet.
In Case You Missed It
Manufacturing Automation at CubCrafters
On a recent visit to CubCrafters to help build a Carbon Cub UL, our...
Light Stuff
Dave Martin finds a Light Sport seaplane at the 2009 Sebring LSA Expo that made a real splash.
