![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")
Vintage Homebuilts
Where are they now? While that question has been asked many times, this time it relates to amateur-built aircraft. A look through my bookcase...
Aircraft Welding Methods for Homebuilders
The choice of welding method for your homebuilt aircraft's steel tube fuselage represents one of the most critical decisions in your building journey. Each...
The “Rope A Dope” Trick To Avoid Replacing Cylinders
It’s never a good sign when during your aircraft annual inspection the mechanic calls to report an issue. It’s sort of like getting a...
Measuring: Go To Lengths To Get It Right
Measure twice, cut once. That's sound advice, though no guarantee you won’t measure wrong twice. Some measuring errors occur before the ruler is in...
Starlink In The Air
How to Buy, Install, and Use Starlink in Your Aircraft
The long cross-country got quiet somewhere over Nebraska when the last cell tower faded below...
Homebuilding Is Getting Expensive-Or Is It?
The question comes up regularly at fly-ins and EAA chapter meetings, usually voiced by someone shopping around the homebuilding community for an affordable project:...
A Note From The New Editor
The primary focus of a new editor at a magazine like Kitplanes is where the work happens—not in an office, but in a garage,...
In Case You Missed It
Flight Review: Falken Avionics iPad-based EFIS
By now, the Apple iPad has established itself as a strong utility player in many aircraft, most often running as a so-called electronic flight bag (EFB) to display moving maps, charts, weather and traffic. But Falken Avionics’ Flight View system has a different take on putting Apple’s tablet to use—as a primary instrument.
Light Stuff
Columnist Dave Martin had the good fortune to be able to tour the new Rotax engine factory in Gunskirchen, Austria, and he offers a report on the trip including a side trip to Salzburgs Hangar-7.