![[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")
Experimotive
The Dyna-Cam engine has a long history and an uncertain future. Despite its positive attributes, you still cant buy one.
Sim World
With X-Plane, you don't have to wait until the paint is dry to start test-flying your homebuilt project. A remarkable simulation will allow you to do that early on. By Chuck Bodeen.
Ask the DAR
Periodic inspections are a necessary part of homebuilt aircraft ownership. Mel Asberry explains which ones are needed and how they differ from the certificated aircraft variety.
Aero ‘lectrics
Break out your laptops, iPhones and iPads. There is a new batch of apps and other software that can help pilots chart their course when traveling cross-country.
Understanding and Avoiding Spins
A pilots ability to recover from a spin depends just as much on the design characteristics of the airplane as on stick-and-rudder skills.
Higher, Faster, Stronger
Glasair’s decision to turbocharge its Sportsman model opened up the door to additional design considerations and refinements. But getting to the desired performance has proved challenging. By Marc Cook.
The Dawn Patrol
Hummel UltraCruiser builder Dennis Brooks came to Liberty Landing looking for a place to store his airplane, and left with some new friends and a test flight courtesy of The Dawn Patrol.
Light Stuff
Roy Beisswenger discusses the impact of the FAAs LODA order allowing Light Sport instructors to resume training with their Experimental aircraft.
Letters
Searching for Bear Metal After an absence of many years, I'm starting to fly again and am looking to buy a homebuilt, already...
In Case You Missed It
STOL Brothers
A number of kit manufacturers have capitalized on the Cubs enduring appeal with Cub-alike designs, each of which has something unique to offer.
The Dawn Patrol
When the chainsaw starters they'd been using on their airplanes for years finally started to give out, Dawn Patrol members searched for a replacement. It turned up in a garden tractor.
Building a Tunable Carbon Fiber Induction Plenum
There’s always more to learn when increasing your engine’s horsepower output and optimizing volumetric efficiency.