![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=534&h=462&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")
![[Credit: AdobeStock]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/AdobeStock_125628775.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Roll Recovery, Part 2")
Ask the DAR
DAR Mel Asberry clarifies what notification the FAA expects when a prop has been changed. His advice? Treat it like a major mod.
Light Stuff
The Texas Sport Cub is the latest in a line of planes with the venerable Cub lineage. Dave Martin flies one and discusses the various licensing options available.
Letters
Digital Edition I really love KITPLANES, as it is one of the few aero publications that does not consider its readers to be...
Clinks, Clunks, Tinks & Turns
Marc Cook explodes the not-invented-here myth, and explores what makes our panel equipment ergonomically sound—or not.
25th Anniversary: Engine Monitoring Comes of Age
Whats happening behind that firewall? Marc Cook traces the lineage of engine monitors over the past 25 years.
Fly on One…Youll Understand.
Matt Hlavacs open-air Breezy is a simple, fun way to fly … and, oh, the view!
Builder Profile: Fred & Pam’s Great Big Airplane Adventure
Fred Darnell's Murphy Super Rebel Moose is a real heavy hauler, and a pussycat to fly.
Build a Bear: Taking Stock
The big truck bringing Dave Prizio’s Texas Sport Cub arrives, and the inventory and painting processes begin.
The Home Machinist
All tapped out? Bob Fritz lets you in on his secrets for retrieving broken, over-torqued and stripped screw heads.
In Case You Missed It
Family Legend
Starting as a Texas Sport kit, a little Cub with the unlikely name of Scrappy grew, with a host of custom touches and multigenerational effort, into a cherished family heirloom.
Unusual Attitude
On his way home from an unexceptional summer jaunt, author Bill Repucci got a most exceptional call from the tower.