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.
Now… With Bikes!
I've done this before, last year when I flew the new Murphy Radical, so it wasn't completely an unknown feeling when I lifted off...
Always More to Learn
I love solving problems--it is just hard to find the time to work on the little ones. I have been wiring avionics for more...
Foolin’ Around with Design and Fabrication
It's a quiet week between Christmas and New Year's, since my outstanding magazine staff guys got ahead of the schedule and made it that...
The Tundra in Winter
Flying through the holiday season has its challenges - climatically, winter is blowing in and that means fast-moving systems with lots of cold. In...
Applied Research – the Search Process
I have always found that the success in a highly technical endeavor that encompasses a vast sea of knowledge is not about memorizing everything...
Hi-Tech Tech Counseling
I had a wonderful flight on a recent cool Saturday morning out into the middle of Nevada - Winnemucca, Nevada, to be precise. Cold...
It Takes a Village
...And every village needs an idiot. Or at least someone who doesn't know something. The best thing though - is the village can come...
In Case You Missed It
Aero ‘lectrics
Its time to revisit the DIY wind tee project-but with improvements fueled by experience.
Around the Patch
Homebuilt aircraft manufacturers are sometimes reluctant to admit that they have created a less than perfect design, let alone offer a fix. Arion Aircrafts Nick Otterback is bucking that tide; by Marc Cook.
Light Stuff
Although Van’s has been a top-selling kit manufacturer for years, the company’s foray into the SLSA (factory-built Light Sport Aircraft) market with the RV-12 has proven to be challenging—and the airplane may not ever be sold ready-to-fly. By Dave Martin.