![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")
What’s New
The 6000th RV flies, there's a new quick reference checklist for Garmin portable units, and a new engine mount for Rotax engines is available. Edited by Mary Bernard.
AirCam Adventure
When a former editor of KITPLANES gets an invitation to fly with a group of AirCam pilots to the Bahamas, resistance is futile.
25th Anniversary: Builder Assistance
Builder-assistance programs continue to grow and change to accommodate both builders needs and FAA regulations. By Mary Bernard.
Ask the DAR
This month our DAR answers questions about the size and placement requirements for N numbers on Experimental aircraft.
Anywhere Map Travel Companion
Bob Fritz takes Anywhere Maps new PDA Travel Companion for a test ride, and discusses what features are winners and what comes up short.
Meet the Grizzly
AeroTek Aviations Beaver-size amphibious kit airplane, the Grizzly, showcases the company's 550-shaft-horsepower Pratt & Whitney PT6A engine conversion, which has also flown in the Murphy Moose. By Ed Wischmeyer.
Shockwave
There's a new anti-icing option for high-end Experimental/Amateur-Builts. Its called Therm-X. By Jack Cowell.
Air Power
The art of porting cylinder heads, whether by hand or by CNC machine, is a valuable part of blueprinting detailed engine builds or overhauls, and surprisingly subtle changes can determine how efficiently the engine will breathe.
The Home Machinist
If you need to send a part out to be built by a professional shop, a good drawing, well identified, is essential. The KISS principle applies, and be sure you don't request closer tolerances or more exotic materials than you really need, or it will cost you.
To Launch a Light Sport
This month builder Bob Fritz searches for a better alternative to last-century circuit technology for his panel and finds it in a Polyfuse.
In Case You Missed It
Roll Camera!
Leave it to Dick Starks to get his foot in the door of a movie set by supplying WW-I replica aircraft. Once there, leave it to Dick to find trouble, even when hes not looking for it. No worries, though. Alls well that ends well, and the whole experience makes for a story thatll have you laughing out loud.
Cover Story: Designing Men
In this first installment of the upholstery series, the author looks at the basics: sewing machines, scissors, needles and thread, and more.