![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")
Tail First
“Where did you get this?” my mom demanded, shaking a thick brown envelope at me. One that had been hidden under my mattress. I...
Holler, Holler, Let’s All Solder (Part 1)
OK, I’ll admit it. Back in the fifth grade my parents gave me a wood-burning set for Christmas. Now, they pretty much knew they...
Do Diligence
About 25 years ago, my wife and I designed our home. We were intrigued by a new home heating and cooling technology called Triathlon....
Always Attack
As I settle into my new life in Oregon, where I know hardly anyone but hope to know more, I find myself in the...
Tipping Point
Sunrise on the Gulf Coast. No matter the time of year, the critical hour as the sun breaks the horizon is always interesting. In...
Do ADs Apply to Homebuilts? (Part 236)
Last month Kerry Fores’ provocatively titled column, “No One Is Watching” (Building Time, March 2023), resulted in comments from readers who latched onto one...
Archive: September 2013
Our cover featured a SeaRey amphibian chilling out on the water. Inside, Dave Forster took us along as he flew with another SeaRey from...
In Case You Missed It
Wind Tunnel
When is an airplane in trim? At least to the pilot, the airplane is trimmed when no stick force is required to maintain equilibrium. So how do we achieve this? Barnaby Wainfan explains any number of ways to go about it, including the use of trimtabs, spring systems, sparrow strainers and variable incidence tails.
Build It Better: Hope Is Not a Plan
There are always unknowns in any human endeavor, but in aviation, we must think about the ways we can minimize them.
