![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")
To Launch A Light Sport
Author Bob Fritz got the bad news that he would likely not pass his FAA medical and was faced with a choice: Finish the RV he was working on and resign himself to flying with a partner, or try to find a suitable Light Sport Aircraft that he could build and fly solo. In this first installment in the series, he details his search for the right design and reveals the decision he ultimately made.
The Home Machinist
This month Home Machinist Bob Fritz answers readers letters and passes along some of their better ideas.
Aero ‘lectrics
Columnist Jim Weir puts two, two, two LED lights in one hole, angled to ensure the maximum nav light visibility in any direction. He explains how to put the system together and explains why heat matters.
Wind Tunnel
The discussion of lateral/directional stability continues with an examination of dihedral effect and the effect of roll;
Arion Lightning
Test pilot Chuck Berthe flew the Arion Lightning not once but twice, in two different factory demonstrators.
Remember When: The BD-5 Micro
The BD-5's reputation precedes it: long in development, company bankruptcy, investor losses, challenging to fly, early accidents. With an introduction like that, who would think this micro plane would be such a positively straightforward blast to fly?
Around the Patch
Velocity Aircraft has been acquired by Rocket Racing Group, and Editor-in-Chief Marc Cook discusses the implications for the company specifically and the industry in general. Also, Dick Starks has a new book out that regales readers with tales of his wacky Dawn Patrol adventures.
What’s New
The first diesel-powered LSA debuts from IndUS Aviation, Stafford Manufacturing offers a variety of mounting collars, and AirGator improves its handheld electronic flight book (EFB).
Fire in the Hole
Were all used to the standard red canister fire extinguisher, often encased behind glass, that we've grown up with at school, work and at home. But the need to put out flames in racecars has brought about a new generation of extinguishers, suitable for aircraft, which offers effective protection in a small and attractive package.
In Case You Missed It
Metal Magic: Deburring
Holes are drilled so let's get them cleaned up and ready for fasteners. Paul...
Wind Tunnel
The author discusses the theory and effect of constant-speed propellers on piston-engine airplane performance, and compares fixed-pitch versus constant-speed props, effect on thrust HP and propulsion, the comprises involved in choosing a prop, how props perform in various conditions and phases of flight, how variable-pitch props work, and why a constant-speed prop is the best choice for high-performance aircraft.
The Dawn Patrol
Dick Starks reminisces about the aviation luminaries The Dawn Patrol has been privileged to meet at the annual Salute to Veterans Air Show.
