![[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")
Dakota Super 18
Unparalleled slow-speed handling characteristics set this Cub apart. By Bill Repucci.
Letters
Education and InspirationFor the past few years, I have been working on a one-of-a-kind Super Cub-ish type of aircraft. Guidance comes from various sources,...
Editor’s Log
With so many different types of Experimental/kit aircraft available, Paul Dye explains how KITPLANES tries to include something of interest for everyone.
What’s New: Garmin’s Bold Experimental Push
New equipment from Garmin’s Team X is tailored to the experimental builder’s budget.
Buzzwords: Human Factors—The Basics
Small design considerations can have a big impact on comfort, convenience and safety.
Alternative Energies
The Grand Unified Airplane: Is it possible to extract energy from the act of flight itself? By Dean Sigler.
In Case You Missed It
Around the Patch
With the endorsement of five major EFIS manufacturers, Vertical Powers new all-in-one-box VP-X controller is almost certainly assured to be a success. By Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook.
Aero ‘lectrics
Author Jim Weir explains his preparation for the installation of an energy-efficient power system for a hangar or building shed-all on a shoestring budget. He explains how to choose equipment, calculate power needs, the right light fixtures, power generation, equipment suppliers and prices, and the basic legality of such systems;