![[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")
Engine Beat
The first step to stopping an oil leak is determining where its coming from, and thats not as easy as you might think. By Steve Ells.
Building the RV-3 Aileron Trim
Shocked by the price of servos, Paul Dye decided to fabricate an aileron trim for his RV using compact linear actuators intended for use in radio-controlled models and robotics.
Ask the DAR
We begin a short series that looks at the particulars of a homebuilt aircrafts operating limitations. Have you read yours?
SkyView to the Rescue
When Stan Peternels Blue Mountain EFIS proved unreliable, he decided to bite the bullet and invest in a Dynon SkyView system. Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook discusses the numerous challenges of the retrofit.
Flight Review: Buena Venterra
What kind of performance can you get from a turbocharged Rotax 914 engine on the nose of a RANS S-19 airframe? Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook finds out.
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook reflects on the joy offered by low-and-slow flying machines and discusses the state of the kit aircraft market.
What’s New
Beyerdnamic offers a new headset, two new Cub kits are approved by FAA, and the portable AvMap is updated.
Experimotive
You know those engine vendors you usually see at the big annual air shows? Where do they go when they disappear? Detective Rick Lindstrom is on the case.
The Dawn Patrol
The Dawn Patrol gets to know more about General John J. Pershing when they display their WW-I replica aircraft at the annual Pershing Days Festival in Missouri.
In Case You Missed It
Super Legend Cub
American Legends new Super Legend is almost a clone of the ever-popular Super Cub-the company even used Pipers original drawings for some of the Legends parts. The result: a well-balanced, easy-to-fly airplane, with a kit version to be released in 2013. By Paul Bertorelli.
Around the Patch
Starting with the known and moving methodically toward a goal is the best strategy for achieving success in the aircraft engine business.
The Home Machinist
Phillips? Flat head? Double blade? Bob Fritz clears up questions you didn't even know you had about screwdrivers. When you're building a plane, the right tool for the right job (and right space) really does matter.
Firewall Forward: Cowls, Baffles and Intake Air
How to keep your engine’s carburetor or fuel-injection system breathing right.