![[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")
Fed Stories
By just about every measure, the aeronautical industry in the United States—including the number of pilots, manufacturing and federal oversight—is by far the largest...
Time Machine
This month’s cover story, another in our Buying Used installments—this time covering the Pulsar homebuilt—took me back. It was, of course, my awakening into...
Firewall Forward: Oil Filter Cutting and Analysis
KITPLANES editor at large and experienced engine builder Paul Dye walks you through the process of cutting open the oil filter and examining the...
Power In a Box
Self-contained digital power distribution systems make for simplified installations and circuit health monitoring.
Overheating and Intermittent Electrical Problems
I find that overheating and intermittent electrical gremlins are some of the toughest problems to fix. Often, the data you are given to work...
The Best Multi-Tool for your Homebuilt
I am going to describe the best multi-tool you can own for your homebuilt aircraft—whether flying or building. In the “old” days, a multi-tool...
Grease Options
As supply-chain problems continue to make it hard to find the products you seek, it is worth noting that not all manufacturers have the...
Ten Degrees of Presentation
The call came. At the other end was Kevin King, the owner of the resurrected Blue Mountain EFIS from last month’s Home Shop Machinist...
