![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")
Insurance Update: Experimentals and LSAs
Despite recent economic traumas, the aviation insurance industry has continued to support Experimental and LSA aircraft. The keys for the builder/pilot? Proficiency, training, and availability of parts and service for the airplane.
Aero ‘lectrics
Jim Weir shows you how to create and install LED lights and run them from ships power inexpensively and easily.
Wind Tunnel
Barnaby Wainfan explores the optimum size of a wing and the best ways to balance performance and efficiency.
Flight Testing: Finding TAS from GPS Data
Math works! Kevin Horton shows you how to use GPS data to calculate true airspeed.
Return of the Turbo-Compound
Everything old is new again. Paul Lamar looks at the turbo-compound engine, developed in the post-WW-II era. Thrown over for jet engines, it may yet hold promise today as we search for more energy efficient ways to get the most out of increasingly expensive fuel.
All About Avionics: Wiring Bundles
Anyone can make wiring look good. The bonus is that your installations maintenance and future upgrades will be much easier. Stein Bruch shows you how.
Kitfox Super Sport Series 7
Marc Cook flies the capable ready-to-fly Kitfox Super Sport Series 7 SLSA, and spotlights owners John and Debra McBean’s deft handling of the company in a crowded market and rocky economy.
The Little Bush Plane That Could
Amy Laboda takes a slow flight down Memory Lane. The rich history of the Kitfox over the last 25 years has had its challenges and happy endings.
Unusual Attitude
As Dick Starks rouses the Dawn Patrol, he recalls his aeronautically inspired familiarity with grain crops, and a nimble performance of the Nieuport Stomp.
In Case You Missed It
Adding an Auxiliary Fuel Tank to an RV-8
Circle track racing fuel cells can extend the range of your plane. By Glen Salmon.
Building for IFR: Do You Really Need It?
Thinking about building an IFR-capable homebuilt? Consider whether you’ll really use it—or just spend extra money.