![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")
Design Process: Vertical Tail Spin Considerations
Not every airplane is designed to perform intentional spins, but that doesn’t mean the designer can safely ignore the effect of the vertical tail...
Keeping a Battery Current
“With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being...
Archive: March 2013
On the cover of our March 2013 issue was the last fully new airplane introduced by Van’s Aircraft, the RV-14. As Paul Dye wrote...
Always Learning
While I see lots of recurring maintenance problems every day, tough ones that require some additional thinking for the Diagnosis column don’t always happen...
Van’s–The Middle Ages
My involvement with Van’s Aircraft started in 1987—if my memory is right. The company had been going for 15 years when I got there,...
In Case You Missed It
Product Review: Spidertracks S3 Aviator
The next-gen Spidertracks Aviator satellite tracker offers more features at a better price. What’s not to like? By Marc Cook.
Wind Tunnel
While two-control airplanes were designed to make a pilot’s life simpler, they come with significant compromises.
