![[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")
It Pays To Heed Convention
Barnaby Wainfan looks at unconventional flight-control configurations in the cockpit and why they can throw even a seasoned pilot.
Building on a Budget
Building his VW-powered Zenith CH 701 taught Wayne Clagg a lot about the consequences of powerplant choices… and much more.
2011 Engine Buyer’s Guide
We take another look at the current offerings of traditional aircraft engines. Compiled by Marcie Moody with text by Marc Cook.
Flight Review: Return of the Ultralight
A few hours piloting the Belite may make you reconsider your preconceived notions about ultralight aircraft. By Ed Wischmeyer.
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook discusses his recent visit to a Zenith Aircraft factory workshop where he had the pleasure of flying some airplanes and pulling some rivets.
What’s New
New landing lights from AeroLEDs, a lightweight headset from MGL, the electric Waiex makes its first flight, and FatBoy offers throttle quadrants for Vans RV kit aircraft. Edited by Mary Bernard.
Safety Is No Accident: Fatality Rates for Homebuilt Aircraft
The accident fatality rate for homebuilt aircraft is higher than the GA rate, but why?
One Builder’s Headache is Another’s Project
Sometimes picking up a project that needs a little work is just the ticket for (re)building satisfaction.
Experimotive
Necessity is the mother of invention, and the Corvair engine for aircraft has inspired a host of innovative aftermarket solutions. By Rick Lindstrom.
Free Flight: Embracing New Ideas
Embracing new ideas in avionics and other areas of aviation will allow us to enjoy the benefits and move the industry forward.
In Case You Missed It
More Than You Bargained For
It doesn't take a fortune to get a homebuilt aircraft completed and flying, and we look at a few designs that prove the point. By Marc Cook and Mary Bernard.
Barriers to Entry
Sometimes, when using shorthand in our conversations about Experimental aviation, we use the term...
What’s New
Illuminate your panel, a new EFIS, and a Subaru-based firewall-forwaard engine package; edited by Mary Bernard.
Expansion Team
For RV-12 owners looking for an alternative engine option, Jabiru offers a worthy contender. By Marc Cook.