![[Credit: Lisa Credit]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Experimental.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Have You Seen Your Oplims?")
![[Credit: Andrew Robinson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/737_VGs2.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Vortex Generators")
![[Credit: Van's Aircraft]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Vans_RV14A.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Something New On The Horizon")
![[Credit: Lisa Turner]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Chute-Topaz-Gigapixel-2x-scale.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Should You Consider A Whole Aircraft Parachute?"){kind=tracking}
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).
Inside KITPLANES: Flight Review Procedures
KITPLANES has a system for conducting flight reviews of airplanes, much like homebuilders may (or should) when they are considering which project to build. Editor-at-Large Marc Cook takes you through the evaluation process.
In Case You Missed It
Home Shop Heat Treating
Picking up from last month, the spline broaching tools have been machined. We need...
Aero ‘lectrics
Its time to revisit the DIY wind tee project-but with improvements fueled by experience.