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.
Turbine Temptation: Final Integration and Testing
It looks almost finished, but there’s still much to do before the jet is ready to fly.
Back In the (jet) Saddle Again!
Loki got back in the air again today, the first time in just over two months. Back in the first week of November, an...
The Fellowship of the Wing
In the classic J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy Lord of the Rings, a small band of intrepid adventurers are sent on a near-impossible mission—to save the...
Land Where?!
A long time ago, in a city far, far away (OK, it’s St. Paul, Minnesota...), there was an Aviation Explorer Post that had rebuilt...
Turbine Temptation: Wiring, Avionics and Plumbing
The systems are simple but space is tight, so plan ahead.
Clean and Simple
There’s an old engineer’s quote that says “Perfection in design comes not when there is nothing left to add, but rather, when there is...
In the Details
I often talk about how complicated failures can be traced back to some tiny, seemingly insignificant detail - and here’s a recent example from...
Turbine Temptation: Power is Life!
The day the beautiful wooden box arrives from the Czech Republic is a day no SubSonex builder will ever forget. I tracked mine through...
Building Means Buying
With winter on the way and all of the current airplanes inspected, maintained, and generally in flying condition, we’re once again finding time to...
In Case You Missed It
Wanted: Engine Competition
Imagine a time not too long ago when pilots embarking on the delicious endeavor to build their own airplanes could consider multiple sources for just about any engine on the menu.
