![[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")
Engine Update: New Life for Old Radials
Barrett Precision Engines has taken the nine-cylinder Vedeneyev M14P radial engine to a whole other level with a fuel-injection upgrade and new ignition system. By Marc Cook.
Build It Better: Show Me the Data!
Don’t believe everything you hear when making an important building or maintenance decision—do your homework.
Aero ‘lectrics
Jim Weir responds to a reader request to find a way to make any cell phone turn on an electrical device.
Wind Tunnel
While two-control airplanes were designed to make a pilot’s life simpler, they come with significant compromises.
Restoring the RV-1
The very first Van’s prototype flies again, thanks to months of volunteers’ hard work, and its designer climbs back into the cockpit, some five decades after he built it.
What’s New
MGL Avionics introduces a V6 com radio, and Grand Rapids Technologies offers a 10.4-inch HXr EFIS.
Viewfinder
Marc Cook considers the relevance of airworthiness directives for homebuilders and reflects on what he learned about the current homebuilt market at Sun ’n Fun.
Tools for Homebuilders, Part 1
Terry Edwards covers some of the less-often discussed aspects of homebuilding, from the decision-making processes, to the best sources for assistance to choosing a project director (and deciding if you need one).
In Case You Missed It
Contributors
Susan BrunnerSusan spent seven years with her husband building their Lancair IV-P. Her administrative...
