![The best builders learn to combine both mindsets. They build like engineers but think like future mechanics. [Credit: Bill Wilson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IMG_0037.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "Building vs. Fixing")
![[Credit: Wikimedia Commons]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/F-117_Nighthawk_Front.jpg?w=265&h=198&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")
Risk Tolerance
There’s only so much we can do to eliminate risk, so it becomes more about risk tolerance, which is usually different for everyone.
Checklists: Live By Them
There isn’t a pilot alive who doesn’t know what a checklist is. There are, however, pilots no longer with us who failed to use one.
Four Decades Old, Look At Us Now
Publisher Dennis Shattuck took a flier on a growing segment of aviation back when magazines littered newsstands across the country and well before we...
Near Perfect, But Nothing Fancy
We visit Visalia and find California engine builder Ly-Con going strong.
Slap an Engine On It and Go Fly!
With a new Corvair engine, an old Stolp Starlet returns to the skies.
Building the 750SD XTREME: Part 11
Sure, you can buy intercoolers off the shelf but sometimes you have to DIY it. Here’s how.
Leaking Brakes
Leaking brake calipers will not only deplete the brake fluid, but the fluid will be absorbed by the brake pads and adversely affect braking...
In Case You Missed It
Wind Tunnel
The author discusses the theory and effect of constant-speed propellers on piston-engine airplane performance, and compares fixed-pitch versus constant-speed props, effect on thrust HP and propulsion, the comprises involved in choosing a prop, how props perform in various conditions and phases of flight, how variable-pitch props work, and why a constant-speed prop is the best choice for high-performance aircraft.
Garmin aera 796: Portable Syn Vision
Garmin builds on its portable product line with two new navigators: the aera 795 and 796. Paul Bertorelli reviews these synthetic-vision capable units.