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.
Tundra: Return to Flight!
The Monday after Christmas dawned clear, calm , and cold here in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains of Nevada - perfect for flight testing (assuming you have thermal underwear and gloves)! It was time to get our Dream Tundra back in the air after significant belly skin upgrades.
It’s Not That Bad…
I've written a couple of notes in the past few months about repairing the minor skin buckles in our Dream Tundra. It turns out that Dream has re-designed the belly skin, doubling the thickness, then adding another doubler over that. We asked them to double the skin thickness for the chin skin - and when all three part showed up, the number of holes to be matched, and the number of rivets that had to be drilled out and replaced was daunting.
Meeting your Heroes
Meeting your heroes can turn out to be a disappointment, a let down. But this is not always the case. And the news of John Glenn's passing reminded me that yes, indeed, there are heroes that live up to the name.
Drill, deburr… repeat!
After several months of waiting on new pre-punched parts to be made and delivered by Dream Aircraft for our Tundra, we finally received a big box of belly skins and repairs are underway!
Triple the Fun
Some days, aviation isn't about experimentals - it can be hard to pass up the opportunity to get a ride in a classic! Today was such a day - the EAA's Ford Tri-motor is in town (giving rides out of the Carson City, Nevada airport through the weekend.
The Sacrificial (Work)bench
Formica covered workbenches are wonderful, and I do admire the way they look when the shop is all cleaned up. They are great for maintenance jobs that require grease and oil once the airplane is flying. But for efficient construction of airplanes, give me a sacrificial workbench surface.
Complex Problem – Simple Tool
We're working to assemble the right spar of our Xenos motor glider, and one of the tough things I found on the left spar...
No Two Rivets Alike
It's a first-world problem—I admit it. With too many airplanes in our little fleet, there is always something to be worked on, or an...
In Case You Missed It
Letters
Tungsten
In Eric Stewart's article, "Titans of Tungsten" , he mentioned using tungsten as a...
Safety Is No Accident: Zenith
Ron Wanttaja examines the accident data for two of Zenith Aircrafts most popular designs, the CH 601 and CH 701.
Ask the DAR
RV-7A converted to RV-7, importing a Canadian ultralight to the U.S. and registering as an LSA.
All About Avionics: Wiring Bundles
Anyone can make wiring look good. The bonus is that your installations maintenance and future upgrades will be much easier. Stein Bruch shows you how.