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Paul Dye

Paul Dye
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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.

The Final Steps

1
What you need to get your airplane’s experimental airworthiness certificate.

Fly-Ins Made Simple

1
One of aviation’s great pleasures is to meet up with a bunch of friends at some out-of-the-way airport and just watch airplanes, enjoy the...

Attach Instrument Boxes Without New Holes

6
Without screws or rivets, you’re looking at adhesive.

Ultimate Avionics Work Surface

2
Wiring a panel? How about upgrading to the ultimate avionics work surface?

Wire Supports

0
If you’re building/wiring an instrument panel, especially one with modern EFIS screens and avionics, you no doubt have dealt with the problem of how to secure wire bundles.

Take the Time—Build a Template

2
I’m sure we’ve all been there when building something—one hand holding a “thing,” one holding a measuring device, another a pen and… uh, oh…...

Not Bent, We Checked

1
The Whisper features a new and radical prop design from Craig Catto - one with a pretty interesting kink in the end of the blades.

Most Awesome Cleco Pliers

1
We walked up on probably the most complex and awesome set of cleco pliers we’ve ever seen.

An Old Friend Moves Towards Completion

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The Danni May started as a dream for Mel and Ann Asberry in 2004.

AirVenture 2024 In Perspective

7
Home for 24 hours, it’s time to look back and think about our eight-day sojourn in Wisconsin.

In Case You Missed It

The Most Reliable Engine

0
What is the most common cause of engine failure? It could be you!

Cooling: Internal Flow

3
Cooling the engine and its accessories requires a continuous flow of air to come...

The Scratch-Building Alternative

0
Mark Townsend’s scratch-building seminar allows builders to come away with the hands-on experience and the confidence they’ll need to start building a kit aircraft such as the Zenith STOL CH 701 from plans.

Cracks, Both Foreign and Domestic

0
Perhaps like me, you missed the big show this year. That is, they ran...