![[Credit: ChatGPT]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/What-did-you-miss-Topaz-Gigapixel-4x-scale.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "Last Bits"){kind=tracking}
![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=265&h=198&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")
Archive: June 2003
We’ve seldom shied away from indulging a builder’s whimsy on our pages, including the cover. So to find Rod Cowgill’s Mifyter on our June...
Parts of the Problem
Building airplanes involves a lot of stuff, as we all have noticed by now. There are the special materials and finished goods required by...
A New Sojourn
My aviation dream has not been much different than for thousands of other aviation lovers. Kid loves airplanes. Kid builds model airplanes. Kid flies...
Consider a Second Look
I would chance a guess that most aircraft kits are primarily built by one person. While some projects are constructed by groups or teams...
Firewall Forward: Compression Testing
Unlock the mysteries of the aircraft-engine leakdown test, otherwise known as the differential compression test. KITPLANES engine meister Paul Dye breaks down the process...
In Case You Missed It
Rotax Training for the 9 Series
Lockwood Aviation helps you get a full understanding of the four-stroke Rotax.
Extra Fuel–What Price Range?
What from our evolutionary past predisposed us to the need for more? Always more....
