![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")
![[Credit: FAA]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/FAA-Mosaic-1.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "MOSAIC Malaise")
The History of Homebuilt Gyrocopters
The AutoGyro has come a long way in more than a century of flight.
![Aircraft in flight [Credit: Jim Barrett]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/httpswww.flyingmag.comsitesflyin-6.jpg?w=324&h=235&crop=1 "Firecrown’s Aviation Group Charts Course for 2026; Ryan Ewing Named Group President")
Firecrown’s Aviation Group Charts Course for 2026; Ryan Ewing Named Group...
Brand refreshes, new digital platforms, and expanded editorial investments follow a transitional year for the company’s aviation portfolio.
Here Mosaic Meets the Edge of The Envelope
"Life’s Always Bursts the Boundaries of Formulas" — Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Hidden Surprises
Rick and Dave sat down at the airport veranda bench with lunch. “I have exciting news. I just located and bought a Christen Eagle,”...
In Case You Missed It
Build Your Own Hangar Doors
Not finding any commercial doors to his like or budget, the author built his own. By Nolan Bradbury.
Wind Tunnel
One effect of a rotating propellor: It acts as a gyroscope. What does this mean for the pilot?
Light Stuff
Columnist Dave Martin flies one of the best-selling Special Light Sport Aircraft (factory-built), the Flight Design CTSW. Although he encounters a few surprises, transition training for pilots new to the design would likely alleviate such things.