![[Credit: Wikimedia Commons]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/F-117_Nighthawk_Front.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "Odd and Unusual Aircraft")
![After nearly 75 years, the basic Tailwind design remains sound. [Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IMG_4636.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "The Wittman Tailwind")
![Trimming composites gets the full PPE job. [Credit: Eric Stewart]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/7-2.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "A Few of My Favorite Tools")
![[Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/AdobeStock_125628775.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Roll Recovery, Part 2")
![Ten hours of dual instruction in a tailwheel-equipped aircraft is usually required for proficiency. [Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/AdobeStock_354747155.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Learning How to Drag Your Tail")
Becoming a DAR
A designee is a private individual with the experience and skills necessary to do the work mandated for the FAA.
RAFE Celebrates Ten Rutan Designs
This year is the 50th anniversary of the VariEze but because the VariEze changed the landscape of homebuilt aircraft, this year is what Burt Rutan likes to call the “composite canard revolution”!
Kitfox Celebrates Forty, Too
To say that Kitfox has been successful since then is an understatement.
Second Chance Six
Part 9: With good company and a plan of action, things got rolling! Including
the wheels.
In Case You Missed It
A Wooden Kneeboard for Tablets
While I owned my Fisher FP-404 (“Restoring a Stored Homebuilt,” February 2017), I was...
Build Your Skills: Fabric
Fabric has been used to cover a wide variety of aircraft since the Wright brothers first started tinkering with flying machines. But fabric-covering processes have changed a lot in the last century, becoming more systematic in addition to being more reliable. Part 1 of this new series by Ron Alexander details the evolution of fabric covering and discusses some of the basics of getting started.
Design Process: Strakes and Ventral Fins
On some airplanes, the basic empennage does not provide acceptable flying qualities in all...
Design Process: T-Tails
A T-tail is a configuration where the horizontal tail is mounted on top of...