![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")
Drilling a Straight Hole in Aluminum.
One of the fundamental skills a builder needs to develop on just about any airplane project is drilling a clean, straight, well-centered hole in...
Nitrile Gloves
If you're like me, you work on lots of things other than airplanes, and it seems like all of them are dirty. From...
Chasing the Elusive Thread
Chasing a thread (B) on the lathe involves engaging the feed system to make several passes using the 60-degree thread-form tool (A) until...
In Case You Missed It
Reno: The Grit and the Glory
Few eras in aviation have changed with the clarity of the National Championship Air...
The Ultimate Upgrade
Martha and Wendell Solesbee begin the painstaking process of installing systems on their Lancair Evo kit-from engine and fuel, to electrical and landing gear.
A Sign of the Zodiac (Part 6)
As the project is completed and is readied for its flight home, the author reflects on the challenges he overcame and the lessons he learned during the build; by Rick Lindstrom.