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.
Dissolving Foam
Last winter, with a storm howling and rattling the hangar doors, I decided to make an intake duct for our Tundra project. The male...
Weight Watchers
There is no doubt that the lighter the airplane, the better it performs and the better it generally seems to handle.
It Flies!
With a fresh airworthiness certificate in hand, pre-fight inspections complete, and gorgeous spring weather (cool with no winds) in the Smith Valley, there was...
Timeless Weather
In 1922, Then-Lieutenant James H. Doolittle flew a DH-4 from Jacksonville Florida to San Diego, California in less than 24 hours. He began his...
Into the Summer
As Sun 'n Fun 2016 draws to a close, I look back and realize that while the show was much like its many predecessors,...
Old School New Airplane
The Lo Camp is on display here at Sun'n Fun this week, and boy, is it a beauty in a nostalgic sort of way....
And Just Like That…
It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and you're looking at a homebuilt miniature Corsair powered by an O-320.
It's Not Always Sunny…
The bad news? It's raining this morning at Sun 'n Fun. The good news? The radar looks like we're on the very back side...
It's Here – But you'll have to wait…
It's Launch minus one day here at Sun 'n Fun, and vendors are busy unloading trailers and trucks with all the goodies homebuilders want...
Waitin' For Ya!
It's the day before the day before Sun 'n Fun, but things are happening all over Lakeland airport in Florida. Volunteers have already been...
In Case You Missed It
Design Process: Wingtips
In our study of wing design, we have progressed from the inner portion and...
H-tails and Triple Tails
The majority of airplanes use the conventional tail configuration with a single, centrally mounted...
You’ve Got to Start Somewhere
Many of those who attend the big airshows, Oshkosh AirVenture or Sun n Fun, for example, stroll right past the buildings where would-be builders are trying a building technique on for size. Not so our intrepid contributor Cory Emberson, who got a schedule, circled three sessions of interest, and not only completed each class but lived to write about the experience.
A Cautionary Tail
His Mong Sport was ready to fall apart, but there's no way Jeff Rose could have known it.