![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")
Hiring Help With Avionics
Larry Anglisano makes the case for homebuilders getting professional assistance with complex avionics installations.
Vacuum Bagging for Homebuilders
Pleats, punctures and vacuum loss, oh my! Patrick Thomson addresses all of these potential problems and more in the last installment of his series on vacuum bagging at home.
The Home Machinist
Bob Fritz is back from a long hiatus with a discussion about the difference between screws and bolts and what all of those ASME numbers mean.
Aero ‘lectrics
Jim Weir describes how he built the airframe structure of his new-and-improved wind tee.
Wind Tunnel
Sometimes adding accoutrements, paint, interior embellishments and other must-haves can result in a weight penalty that is difficult to overcome.
Velocity, Increased
The Velocity TXL-5 turbo combines style, sophistication and high performance eminently suited to cross-country sojourns at flight levels.
Engine Beat
Those who understand the aviation marketplace will be in a position to make the most of opportunities-and Tempest gets it. By Steve Ells.
Experimotive
Jess Meyers of Belted Air Power continues to refine auto-engine conversion firewall-forward packages for homebuilt aircraft. By Rick Lindstrom.
