Paul Dye
Paul Dye, KITPLANES® Editor at Large, retired as a Lead Flight Director for NASA’s Human Space Flight program, with 40 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.
Build it Better
Paul Dye has used his engineering discipline to jot down his thoughts on the many lessons learned as we gain experience as pilots and builders. His goal, and ours, is to leverage the tribal knowledge of longtime builders such as Dye to get you thinking about Experimental aircraft on a higher level. Not simply nuts and bolts, but larger concepts centering on safety and self-discipline. We hope you enjoy this series.
Winter Wind Blues
When I was a young pilot growing up in Minnesota, winter never stopped us from flying - at least not for long once we'd shoveled the snow out of the way of the hangar doors.
Propellers Suck
No, I'm not being nasty - I'm just finishing up studying the material for the FAA's A&P Powerplant knowledge exam, and finding out all sorts of interesting things that the FAA wants me to know about propellers.
Inexpensive Tools
We're all craftspeople, right? When building airplanes, we work to tolerances of a 64th of an inch, we don't accept dents or nick, and scratches are anathema - so naturally, we all like to have workshops that are spotless and tools that are organized - and of the highest quality.
Hunkered Down and Studying
Yes, I've been wrenching on airplanes for nigh on 45 years now, so you'd think I'd know all of this stuff - but as anyone who has ever taken an FAA knowledge exam (of any kind) knows that what you learn and use in the real world has no bearing on what you will find on the test.
Always Learning!
For the first time in many years, I find myself studying for some FAA written exams - sure, I've done license upgrades and type...
Ballast Box
One of the things we all have to do when fight testing an airplane is to fly it across the entire CG range - from full forward to full aft. In the case of a side-by-side two-seater, this generally isn’t too hard, because the CG range is actually fairly short. With a large four-seater (plus baggage), it can take a little more creativity to safely hold enough weight to get to the aft limit.
Getting a Grip
Cockpit ergonomics are a big deal to me - and they are a slippery problem. I spent much of a career helping designers refine designs for man-machine interfaces, and part of the problem we had is that everyone had different opinions of what was "good."
In Case You Missed It
What’s The Worst That Could Happen?
When you're tempted to take shortcuts during a build or repair without asking questions about the ramifications, it may be wise to contemplate the worst-case scenario.
