![Careful planning and determination will get you to your goal of building and flying your own airplane. [Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Pulsar-Sunset.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "Last Bits")
![[Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AdobeStock_262642207_AGCuesta.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Winging It")
![Lowell Farrand spent years serving as an FAA DAR and is in the EAA Hall of Fame. He offers sound advise to builders. [Credit: Bill Wilson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/unnamed-4.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Think Like a Builder")
![The 160 hp turbocharged Rotax 916iS is a four-stroke piston engine with redundant electronic fuel injection and ignition. [Credit: BPR Rotax]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/PIC_916-iS_iSc-2.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "2026 Engine Buyer’s Guide")
![The alternative to bending down as the propeller is pulled through the compression stroke is to keep the back straight and bend the knees slightly, stepping away in a crouch. [Credit: LeRoy Cook]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_1519-scaled.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Manual Starting Methods")
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook looks at the potential impact on GA of Lycomings new IE2 engine that features electronic engine management.
The Home Machinist
Home Machinist Bob Fritz had been looking for a way to compare the effectiveness of various screw extractors he had accumulated in his toolbox, and he found a willing test subject in a Cessna 170s 60-year-old gas tank.
All About Avionics: EFIS Dreams 2010
In this years update of the options for EFIS buyers, we find that while some companies have folded or opted out of courting homebuilders, others are marching ahead with new products, features and cooperative arrangements. By Stein Bruch.
Wind Tunnel
Increasing the weight of an aircraft will affect its performance in all phases of flight.
Flight Review: Lancair Launches the Piston Evolution
Doug Rozendaal samples the new piston version of the Lancair Evolution and, as with the turbine Evo, finds much to admire.
Flight Review: M-Squared Breese 2
If you’re looking for an economical way to get in the air and your stick-and-rudder skills are sharp, the Breese 2 may be the way to go. By Ed Wischmeyer.
Down to Earth
Amy Laboda chronicles the challenges she encountered when trying to get the ECI B-type cylinders for her certified Lycoming IO-540 replaced.
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook sees progress and potential in developing electric motor and battery technology.
In Case You Missed It
Home Shop Heat Treating
Picking up from last month, the spline broaching tools have been machined. We need...
Error Chain: It’s What You Don’t Know That’ll Kill You
Or, how to be lucky and dumb–a hypothetical tale in three acts.