![[Credit: ChatGPT]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/What-did-you-miss-Topaz-Gigapixel-4x-scale.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "Last Bits"){kind=tracking}
![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=265&h=198&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")
In Case You Missed It
The Home Machinist
If your hacksaw has been relegated to the bottom of your toolbox, chances are its because you don't know how to use it properly. Author Bob Fritz offers a primer on the subject that may make you think more highly of this underused tool. A discussion of cam construction and keyless chucks rounds out this installment.
Ten Things That Will Have an Impact on Insurance
In today’s market you might not be able to get insurance for the plane you want or the premium might be more than you want to spend.
To Launch A Light Sport
Author Bob Fritz got the bad news that he would likely not pass his FAA medical and was faced with a choice: Finish the RV he was working on and resign himself to flying with a partner, or try to find a suitable Light Sport Aircraft that he could build and fly solo. In this first installment in the series, he details his search for the right design and reveals the decision he ultimately made.