![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")
Engine Beat
Do kit aircraft owners have to comply with ADs? Steve Ells examines the dos and donts of this tricky question.
Understanding the Scope of Your Operating Limitations
DAR Mel Asberry clarifies the confusion: Is a homebuilt owner bound by someone elses operating limitations?
Unusual Attitude
Sleeping on her first flight? Its the sign of a good builder/pilot, and a trusting and relaxed wife.
Letters
No Guessing Dynon Avionics would like to clear up a few errors in the July 2009 article Freedom to See It Differently. The...
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.
What’s New
Lancair's Piston Evolution has flown, and MGL Avionics V10 com radio debuts. Edited by Mary Bernard.
You and the Tube
For some builders, the prospect of flaring hard-line tubing is daunting. Ishmael Fuentes demystifies the process, and shows you how to get good results every time.
Aero ‘lectrics
Jim Weir delves into the world of barrier strips, wire markers, resettable fuses, nylon connector usage, dyeing and inrush current limiters.
In Case You Missed It
Flight Testing
You've planned; you've prepared. Now we look at how to conduct your first flight in a homebuilt aircraft.
What’s New
An Aussie Outback SLSA debuts in the U.S., a floating battery eliminator works with the Lightspeed Zulu headset, and Trio Avionics introduces the Pro Pilot autopilot.
A Great Compromise
Building an airplane usually requires a long-term commitment, not entirely dissimilar to the one that is made when saying I do. Yet many builders lose sight of this when building, sometimes even forgetting that they have a spouse. The commitment to the project must be matched by the commitment to maintaining a spousal relationship, and a little forethought and planning can help both builder and spouse enjoy not only the process, but the end result.
Build Your Skills: Metal, Part 2
How to meld with metal and bash rivets without blood or tears; by Dan Checkoway.