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Paul Dye

Paul Dye
903 POSTS 26 COMMENTS
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.

Fun With Part Numbers

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As I'm getting ready to re-assemble my wife’s O-360-A1A, I have spent a lot of time looking up part numbers. Not, as it turns...

Building and Flying an RV-8

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For pilots brought up with standard certified aircraft, the RV-8 will plaster a grin on their face that can’t be washed off and rarely fades.

Hate It When I Do That!

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First things first - this is in no way Aircraft Spruce’s fault! Nope, this is totally on me - they sent exactly what I...

Out with the Old

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Yes,  know that I have written numerous times over the years about being careful about “while I’m in there…” syndrome—starting out on a simple...

The Nut Under the Cam Gear

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Anyone that has disassembled and/or built a four-cylinder Lycoming is probably very familiar with a specific nut - the one hiding underneath the cam...

Funny Money

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When I was a kid, way back in the 1960s, one of the toughest decisions I had to make was whether to buy a...

Mounting On a Curve

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A long time ago, when homebuilders began installing Garmin 430s—the most popular IFR GPS/nav/com of the day—we were mostly left on our own to...

Nutsert Notes

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Let me say right up front that I hate nutserts. Also called rivet nuts, threaded inserts or rivnuts. (I’m sure there’s a formal product...

You’ve Done Your Duty

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Nothing lasts forever.

A Great Day to Burn Jet A

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About the only good thing that you can say about these times of angst and social distancing is that flying a single-seat airplane puts...

In Case You Missed It

Makin’ PC Boards

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Looking back at projects in prior issues of KITPLANES®, I realize I’ve given you...

Know Your (Operating) Limitations

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Experimental aircraft are issued "special" airworthiness certificates, and those come with specific operating limitations.

Weep No More

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When a fuel-tank repair means crafting your own rivets.

Metal Magic: Blind Rivet Techniques

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Paul Dye discusses blind or pull rivets—and why they're not just like hardware-store "pop" rivets.