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.
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...
Perspective
Take a look at these beautiful pictures, taken over the town of Truckee (CA), just north of Lake Tahoe, at the northern edge of...
Favorite Tools
I was working on a part for our Xenos the other day - a fairly complicated bracket to hold an idler bell crank that...
Ultimate Instrument Proficiency Check
I fly a lot of new experimental aircraft, which means I do a lot of flying with the latest technology when it comes to...
Ahhh…Weather
There are a few fundamentals when it comes to aviation weather that many pilots never really get taught. These have nothing to do whatsoever...
In Case You Missed It
Designer Spotlight: John Thorp
John W. Thorp has had a profound influence on both homebuilding and on aviation in general. If you've flown Piper Cherokees or know of the all-flying tail, you're familiar with his design principles, and his T-18 is still a favorite worldwide.
What’s New
Illuminate your panel, a new EFIS, and a Subaru-based firewall-forwaard engine package; edited by Mary Bernard.
The Home Machinist (Part 10)
You're not alone if you've been flummoxed or frustrated when trying to decode technical drawings or blueprints. They seem to use a language all their own, one that many of us are not privy to. Fear not. Author Bob Fritz will give you the tools you need to visualize the item being described, and hell make such documents intelligible to the uninitiated.
Experimotive
Bud Warrens Geared Drives has entered the firewall-forward business with promising results thanks to a new PSRU. By Rick Lindstrom.