![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=534&h=462&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")
![[Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/AdobeStock_125628775.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Roll Recovery, Part 2")
Scratch Build a Kit?
I want to present a strategy and method to get a few more prospective airplane builders off the fence and into the workshop. This...
Driver Upgrade for Avionics Trays
Installing small screws into the tight confines of a deep avionics tray is a challenge that can be both annoying and frustrating.
Franklin vs. Edison et al. and Marconi
A word we use rather flippantly when perusing electronic circuitry—ground.
Variable Geometry Cooling System
The way to reduce or eliminate excess cooling drag in cruise is to use a variable-geometry cooling system that can change shape to control the amount of air flowing through the cowling.
The Turf War Around MOSAIC
You might think that a long-running proposal to streamline certification and greatly expand (and make far more usable) LSA and sport pilot rules would have the industry locking arm, raising voices in song and, therefore, on a clear path to success. You might, but you’d be wrong.
Special Light Sport Airplane Accidents
Some surprising results when compared to traditional Cessnas.
Archive: July 2006
On our July 2006 cover was the Aventura II, written about and photographed by our longtime favorite aviation writer Dave Higdon. “Egrets and herons...
In Case You Missed It
Design Process: End Plates and Winglets
A wing produces a pressure difference between its upper and lower surface. The pressure...
