![[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")
Here Comes the Judge
How do aircraft judges at the big annual events evaluate a potential prizewinner? You might be surprised. By Bill Repucci.
Give Me a Brake
When his Zenith CH 701 wouldn't stay put during runup and tended to roll on an incline, builder Chuck Deiterich came up with a do-it-yourself solution.
Ask the DAR
DAR Mel Asberry continues his discussion of aircraft operating limitations by looking at why we do what we do during those important Phase I tests.
Aero ‘lectrics
Jim Weir takes a look at the performance of a DIY ground-plane antenna versus a factory-built rubber duckie on a handheld GPS receiver.
Wind Tunnel
Involved in the flight testing of a friends aircraft, Barnaby Wainfan contemplates the consequences (and wisdom) of designing an aircraft around an engine that may prove unsatisfactory or, worse, unavailable.
Prefab Choices
If you're contemplating buying a used homebuilt, consider the mission, find a mentor, review the logbooks and, most importantly, take your time. By Marc Cook.
Time to Vent
When it comes to fuel-tank vents, there is a wide variety of choices. We look at the basic types and consider their relative merits.
Flight Review: Mustang II
When Don Caskey recognized that a passel of his neighbors had built and were flying Mustang IIs, he got the bug and constructed a custom-made version of his own.
In Case You Missed It
Design Process: Pitch Force Trim
For an airplane to maintain steady-state level flight it must be trimmed in pitch....
