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.
Something Different
No, it's not experimental - but it is a little different. It's not often I find a J-3 Cub with a 100 horse C-85...
2017 Homebuilt Aircraft Directory
Pick a plane, any plane-an overview of kit and plansbuilt fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft. Introduction Directory compiled by Omar Filipovic.
Discretion… and all that
Sometimes discretion really is the better part of valor. I'm sitting here in my home on the east side of the Sierra, just down...
Lathing Away
It's always pleasant to spend a little time in the workshop making chips (or curlicues) out of 4130 Steel rod stock - especially when you have a use for the parts you are making. Such was my afternoon today - turning raw stock into squeezer die extensions to help set the rivets on our Xenos spar project.
A Modern Turn Coordinator
The "little device" is the new digital, solid state turn coordinator from Belite - the makers of small, light airplane kits and gadgets for their panels. Their latest offering is something that will make folks looking for discrete gauges sit up and take notice.
Easy Updates
One of the great things about experimental avionics has always been the ease of doing software updates--and the fact that most software updates bring us enhanced features well beyond what we might have been possible a few years ago.
Battery Check!
Remember the old days? Back when batteries had caps you took off to check their fluid level? They had vent lines, and we worried about hydrogen venting and stuff like that – and really worried about having a battery that wouldn’t spill during aerobatics.
Up to Date?
If you own a Lycoming Engine, you probably think of it as a piece of tired and true technology that has been around for so long there is not much anyone can discover that is new. And... you'd be wrong!
In Case You Missed It
Ask the DAR
Major changes to your homebuilt aircraft require sign off by the FAA. Mel Asberry explains how to keep it legal.
Seeing the Dream Through
Having earned a number of homebuilding trophies for his work constructing airplanes, Paul Muhle decides to share his experience with those who aim to win awards-or just look like they could.
Buzzwords
Pilots compensate all the time for aerodynamic effects such as ground effect, often without being conscious of it. By Ed Kolano.