![[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")
Cogswell’s Molds
Some of the many cool details of Steve Cogswell’s RV project from last month’s column were the fiberglass parts made to conceal various lightening...
Can You Hear Me Now?
For those of you in aircraft with magnificent audio systems—stereo music and multi-input switching panels that have push-button selection of your half-dozen headphone inputs—this...
No Backshell and No Screw
I hate seeing D-sub connectors not supported or fastened correctly, as the wires will eventually break. In this case, two broken wires on the...
Design Process: Vertical Tail Functions–Yaw Stability and Damping
The vertical tail performs multiple tasks to stabilize and control the airplane. This month we will explore what the vertical tail contributes to the...
Firewall Forward: Spark Plug Maintenance
KITPLANES editor at large Paul Dye goes into detail on how to inspect and maintain conventional aircraft spark plugs in the latest installment of...
Dispatches from Florida
There was a time when we had multiple airshows and events in a year that had at their center (or near to it) Experimental...
Light Up
When I first started construction on my RV-10 in 2007, old-school incandescent lights were making their way out of the market and LEDs were...
Terms and Conditions
“Customers are always right except in matters of money.” Those stark-but-telling words were emblazoned on a sign in the break area of a fast-food...
Archive: July 2012
A decade ago, we had the RANS S-7S on our cover. Although current editor in chief Marc Cook had moved out of la sedia...
In Case You Missed It
Firewall Forward: New, Used, Something Else?
For some builders, new aircraft engines may just be out of reach. Dave Prizio explains what to look for in a used Lycoming or Lycoming-type engine along with what you need to consider before buying.
Home Machinist
Let’s take it to the edge. Where is the edge? If, up to now, all you’ve done is scribe a target and eyeball the position of the drill bit, this is for you. By Bob Fritz.
