![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")
Reverse Engineering a Glasair Tailwheel
One day last summer, seconds after rolling from the hold short line to depart Las Vegas’ Henderson Airport, a freak wind gust caught David...
Taking Your Engine’s Temperature
Your aircraft’s engine requires monitoring of various temperatures for you to know that it will continue to purr along reliably for the entire flight....
Cracked Alternator Bracket
Look closely and you will see that the bracket is cracked on the left side of the slot.
Shining a Light on History
Back in 2008, George W. Bush was president and 100LL was $2.50 a gallon. Production of 80/87 had stopped the previous year, and this...
Design Process: V-Tails
A V-tail is a configuration where the horizontal stabilizer and vertical fin are replaced by a pair of surfaces mounted at a high dihedral...
A Very Special Oshkosh
This year’s AirVenture set records for attendance, so says EAA. I learned this after the show, but I could have predicted the press release...
Over the Hump
For my wife and me, it was important to have our kids learn a musical instrument. We lost out to sports with our son,...
Fit and Trim
A first flight reveals truths that only air moving over an aircraft’s surfaces can reveal. Will the engine cool properly? Will the cockpit fill...
Gathering
Longtime readers may recall that before scribbling in aviation magazines I scribbled in automotive magazines. That seems like someone else’s life a long time...
In Case You Missed It
Second Chance Six
Part 10: small, important projects— brake lines, fuel lines, baffling and fairings.
Archive: October 1997
A sleek Lancair IV-P was on our October 1997 cover along with the blurb promising an over-gulf trip from Florida to Mexico.
