![Trimming composites gets the full PPE job. [Credit: Eric Stewart]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/7-2.jpg?w=534&h=462&crop=1 "A Few of My Favorite Tools")
![Lowell Farrand spent years serving as an FAA DAR and is in the EAA Hall of Fame. He offers sound advise to builders. [Credit: Bill Wilson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/unnamed-4.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Think Like a Builder")
![Author Bill Wilson takes a break from measuring and cutting the Lexan windshield during his Onex build. [All Images Credit to Bill Wilson]](https://www.kitplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/image-2.jpg?w=265&h=198&crop=1 "Think Like A Builder")
A Grid-Free Hangar
This may well be the most ambitious project I’ve tackled in the last 35 years of writing my KITPLANES® columns. I’m going to unplug...
Take the Glare Out of That Glareshield
Many popular aircraft kits utilize a sheet of aluminum to form the glareshield—that “shelf” located above the instrument panel and below the windshield. While...
Home Shop Machinist: Power Polishing Promise
Back in the February 2019 issue of KITPLANES®, I promised a column about polishing on the lathe. I’m finally able to make good on...
ADS-B, Eh?
In the December 2019 issue of Kitplanes®, Larry Anglisano took us on a scenic journey of what ADS-B is going to look like from...
Alternate Air Opening
This was discovered on an aircraft during a condition inspection. It really was a poor installation. Nonetheless, the aircraft had been operating on unfiltered...
Findlay Punch
Hole-making punches, also known as knockout punches, are a quick and easy way to make accurate holes in aluminum sheet. Punching works by shearing...
Engine Overhaul Part II – IRAN vs. Overhaul
Back in September 2019, we looked at the process of evaluating a troubled engine to determine just how much work it was going to...
Testing, Testing, Can You Hear Me Yet?
We’ve come a long way from the Narco Omnigator (vintage 1958 or so) to the latest glass gizmos that do everything except make the...
Missing ELT Batteries
Many aircraft owners don’t realize that some ELT control panels and audio alerters have their own separate batteries, which must be installed at installation...
Edging to the Rescue
Sometimes the aircraft kits we build can use a little extra help when it comes to the final fit and finish. As builders, we...
In Case You Missed It
Ask the DAR
Repairman certificate eligibility, who to list as the manufacturer, installing ADS-B equipment.
Home Shop Machinist: Power Polishing Promise
Back in the February 2019 issue of KITPLANES®, I promised a column about polishing...
Engine Beat
The Rotax 912 engine has become ubiquitous in homebuilt aviation, and now a company has found a way to improve its fuel efficiency. By Steve Ells.
