Paul Dye
Paul Dye, KITPLANES® Editor at Large, retired as a Lead Flight Director for NASA’s Human Space Flight program, with 50 years of aerospace experience on everything from Cubs to the Space Shuttle. An avid homebuilder, he began flying and working on airplanes as a teen and has experience with a wide range of construction techniques and materials. He flies an RV-8 and SubSonex jet that he built, an RV-3 that he built with his pilot wife, as well as a Dream Tundra and an electric Xenos motorglider they completed. Currently, they are building an F1 Rocket. A commercially licensed pilot, he has logged over 6000 hours in many different types of aircraft and is an A&P, FAA DAR, EAA Tech Counselor and Flight Advisor; he was formerly a member of the Homebuilder’s Council. He consults and collaborates in aerospace operations and flight-testing projects across the country.
Traditions!
Originally crated in 1971 to welcome people to the flight line at the “Oshkosh Fly-In” (long before the moniker of “AirVenture” was dreamed up),...
Rich’s Coffee Bar
There’s a new addition to the homebuilt camping Pavilion this year—a lean-to structure with plumbing and electricity that serves as a camp kitchen (but...
Miracle Machines
When I was young, homebuilders were those crazy guys at the end of the airport in a falling-down hangar that were attaching Cub wings...
Training, Teaching and Coaching
With a title like that, you might expect that I’d excuse anyone without an instructor certificate from reading this month’s column. But if the...
Hardware Musings
Two thoughts come from the shop today:
First—all you RV pilots out there, the nylon locknuts you need are MS21083N8. They are about a buck...
In Case You Missed It
Light Stuff
This month, Light Stuff columnist Dave Martin briefly reviews the history of single-seat ultralights and predicts their future as ELSAs. Assuming they are neither fat nor too fast, getting the required training may still be a stickler.
