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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.

Now–In Living Color!

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Work continued on the jet's paint job on Tuesday--and a long day it was. The detailed layout was completed the day before, so it...

Ready for Paint!

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With the first engine start and initial taxi testing out of the way (see and hear it below), the little jet is cocooned in...

Graduation Day

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OK, so you've driven the last rivet, and hung the last hinge. The airplane is ready for inspection, and all you have to do...

Making Chips for a Purpose!

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It's nice to have a milling machine, and even nicer to have a specific task for which it is well suited! The flaps in the...

Dotting the I's, Crossing the T's…

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I worked for the Federal Government for 34 years, and back in my college days, I spent two summers as a clerk in our...

How Many…How Much?

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When you reach the end of a project (an airplane is never really finished, so we just say "the end of a project"), you...

Sling TSi

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Four seats. Full fuel. Lets go!

A Notable Retirement

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Chuck Preston is the longest serving employee at KITPLANES.

How Complete?

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Back about 50 years ago, if you bought a kit for an aircraft, what you received was a set of crude plans, some notes...

Hey Ridley…

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Nope, it's not just for pilots - sometimes, a mechanic or builder just needs to stick a nut on the end of a screwdriver...

In Case You Missed It

Completions

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Builders share their successes.

The Meredith Effect-Fact or Fiction?

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Can a properly ducted radiator offset all internal cooling drag and produce thrust?

Welding

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If you're going to get a welder for aircraft work, it should be a TIG machine.

Homebuilt Accidents: Reassurance

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Don’t let the statistics get you down.