![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")
Engine-run Requirements for the DAR Inspection
Do you need to run your engine for the DAR? How does using a certified engine and prop affect your Phase I test period? How about the gray areas regarding dual flight instruction? DAR Mel Asberry gives you the straight scoop.
News from Sun n Fun
Attendance may have been down a bit with the slumping economy, but that didn't stop innovators from introducing new products for homebuilt aviation. A Staff Report.
Letters
Sawtooth MythIn his article All About Avionics: EFIS Dreams Stein Bruch complains about the sawtooth altitude display on MGLs color EFIS. What he fails...
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook takes a moment to put lifes challenges in perspective as Senior Editor Bob Fritz enters the fight of his life with his characteristic positive attitude.
What’s New
CubCrafters ships CarbonCub kits; Forward Visions EVS-100 system will be available in RotorWay Experimental/Amateur-Built helicopters; and MotoPOD will produce cargo pods to haul a street-legal motorcycle underneath the RV-10. Edited by Mary Bernard.
Report from Friedrichshafen
625 exhibitors in 11 exhibit halls? Amy Laboda was up for it at AERO Friedrichshafen, Germanys extravaganza of a trade show. Engines of all kinds were the order of the day.
Product Review: Wicks Adel Clamp Pliers
No hangar assistants or third hand to wrangle those tricky wiring or tubing installations using Adel clamps? Wicks has come up with the perfect kit to help. By Marc Cook.
SPOT, Checked
Navigation expert Langley R. Muir, Ph.D.s in-depth study of the SPOT Personal Tracker reveals its capabilities…and what you need to know to use it most effectively.
In Case You Missed It
One Week Wonder
They Did It! Over 2,500 people help build a Zenith CH 750 Cruzer in just seven days.
Around the Patch
Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook looks at the potential impact on GA of Lycomings new IE2 engine that features electronic engine management.