![[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")
Viewfinder
Burt Rutan’s 1980s Catbird was originally designed for the CAFE Foundation fuel-efficiency competition, but Marc Cook wonders whether it might make a fine homebuilt kit aircraft today.
Light and Capable
There are so many ways to try to keep the weight down in a homebuilt project, but some are better than others.
Down to Earth
After a reluctant transition from paper to pixels, Amy Laboda explores the options available in digital-charting apps and how she arrived at a decision.
Alternative Energies
Graphene “paper,” drag-racing electric motorcycles and hybrid aircraft were hot topics at the Electric Aircraft Symposium in Santa Rosa, California, and illustrated the progress being made in alternative energy sources. By Dean Sigler.
The Coming Revolution
Tremendous progress has been made in the Automatic Speech Recognition realm (think iPhone’s Siri), and this technology may be a boon to solo pilots sooner than you think. By James P. Hauser.
Letters
Push Me, Pull YouI read Marc Cook's article on the Zenith CH 650 B with great interest, but one part that was of...
The Ultimate Upgrade
Could a plane as large, expensive and complicated as the Lancair Evolution be completed by an experienced homebuilder? We have the answer to that intriguing question.
Homebuilding on the Edge
Out in the California desert, innovation in homebuilding is the rule, rather than the exception. By Marc Cook.
Firewall Forward: Installing the Firewall
Author Dave Prizio describes construction of the firewall itself, including the penetrations and the tools required.
In Case You Missed It
Archive: January 1993
Our January 1993 cover featured the provocative RANS S-11 Pursuit. Howard Levy’s story chronicled...
Measuring: Go To Lengths To Get It Right
Measure twice, cut once. That's sound advice, though no guarantee you won’t measure wrong...
Flight Review: The Wittman W10 Tailwind
The apparently simple lines and construction of the Wittman Tailwind belie a thoughtful sophistication that even todays aircraft designers can appreciate.