![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")
Caught in the Act
We’ve been working on the development story of the Van’s RV-15 for many months. Paul Dye and I had what I would call exceptional...
Van’s at 50
It might surprise many of our readers that I am a relative newcomer to the world of Van’s Aircraft and the RV. It’s not...
Patience, Kindness and Understanding
AirVenture! It’s finally here. How is it a year can pass so quickly yet take so long? For many, AirVenture is more than the...
Firewall Forward: Fuel Injection
Last time we talked about carburetors, so this episode of KITPLANES Firewall Forward looks at traditional aircraft fuel injection. Editor at large Paul Dye...
On the Level
A few months back in this very column, I suggested that pilots should keep a “retired” smart phone in their aircraft as an all-in-one...
Slow Leak From a Quick Drain
Solving the mystery of dirty oil leaking from an engine full of clean oil.
Low Fuel, Idiot, Light
In the year 2019 BC (before COVID), I made a number of cross-country trips between 300 and 500 miles. While these distances were well...
In Case You Missed It
Unusual Attitude
As Dick Starks rouses the Dawn Patrol, he recalls his aeronautically inspired familiarity with grain crops, and a nimble performance of the Nieuport Stomp.
The Case of No Rotor RPM Indication
I am now in the flight-testing stage with my Hummingbird helicopter. Personally, I’ve always...
Ask the DAR
Mel Asberry answers readers’ questions on one-off engineering data requirements, how to fill out an AC 20-27G form, and how to test-fly an aircraft in the U.S. Virgin Islands.