![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")
Brake Tech for Builders
Marc Cook talks theory, practice, technology and maintenance with Matco Manufacturings George Happ and Grove Aircrafts Robbie Grove. Consider it a primer for all things brake-related.
To Launch a Light Sport
After being hauled on a trailer down a winding mountain road, the Jabiru J250 unintentionally has its first short flight (at the airport). By Bob Fritz.
Cover Story: Building a Custom Cushion
Learn how to measure, cut and assemble the foam pieces that constitute the seat cushion.
Aero ‘lectrics
Its time to revisit the DIY wind tee project-but with improvements fueled by experience.
Wind Tunnel
Stall flutter is the result of the elastic axis of a wings surface being aft of the aerodynamic center, resulting in instability. A vicious cycle of lift, twist, stall and lift may ensue.
It’s a Cub Thing
With a bigger engine and lighter airframe, CubCrafters’ Carbon Cub EX kit aircraft takes the Cub experience to a higher plane. By Marc Cook.
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.
What’s New
PS Engineering introduces a new audio panel, Zenair ships its first float kits, and Wicks offers a happy hour discount. Edited by Mary Bernard.
Three Years Before the Masts
There’s something about piloting a twin-engine, open-cockpit AirCam that gets under your skin, and it may become habit-forming. By Ed Wischmeyer.
In Case You Missed It
Aero ‘lectrics
Jim Weir responds to a reader request to find a way to make any cell phone turn on an electrical device.
Loose Intake Pipe
Sometimes the intake pipes on Lycoming engines can come loose. This will cause an...
Love the One You’re With
Once you finish building a project, it's tempting to second-guess whether you should have done something different, or perhaps waited for the next gen of a new technology to make an appearance. But flying two differently powered Sportsman aircraft gave Editor in Chief Marc Cook a new appreciation for his own airplane and its more than adequate capabilities.
