![[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")
Gross Weights and “Destroyed” Airplanes
Where you you find the gross weight of an aircraft? And can you re-register an airplane that the FAA has deemed "destroyed?"
Wind Tunnel
Builders are often in a rush to prove the airworthiness of their homebuilt projects, but thorough flight-testing is essential.
Virus Motorglider
Ed Wischmeyer samples the Pipistrel Virus, a versatile Slovenian composite motorglider that can be built or bought ready-to-fly.
2012 Alternative Engine Buyer’s Guide
If you’re in the market for an auto-conversion engine for your homebuilt aircraft, here’s a definitive guide to the options. By Patrick Panzera.
Firewall Forward: New, Used, Something Else?
For some builders, new aircraft engines may just be out of reach. Dave Prizio explains what to look for in a used Lycoming or Lycoming-type engine along with what you need to consider before buying.
Building With a Partner
Building an aircraft with a partner can be a rewarding experience. Dave Prizio discusses his relationship with longtime building partner Ed Zaleski, and how to go about forging your own successful building partnership.
What’s New
Garmin offers a GTN 750 training app for iPads; Dynon Avionics and Pocket FMS announce availability of worldwide AeroData for SkyView EFIS;
Viewfinder
By getting an up-close look at the Sandberg reporting station in Southern California, Editor-at-Large Marc Cook finds out why the weather there is almost always worse than it is anywhere else in the L.A. basin.
Wingtip To Wingtip
Formation flying offers challenges beyond those you’d encounter on a $100 hamburger run. Dave Klages spends a day with the West Coast Ravens as they put their RVs through their paces.
In Case You Missed It
A Newbie’s View
Can the Zenith CH 750 Cruzer be the gateway airplane to Experimentals? We attempt to find out.
What’s New
The new Lancair Evolution flies, and the Aircraft Electronics Association speaks out on ADS-B implementation. The Arlington Fly-In and EAA sign new agreement, and Garmin introduces the GPSMAP 495. Aircrafters LLC is the distributor for a new overhead lighting console.
Homebuilt or Store-Bought?
Raising the bar for RV-10 interiors to an entirely different level. By Bruce Eicher.