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Paul Dye

Paul Dye
936 POSTS 30 COMMENTS
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.

It Was a Simple Job…

2
I was just looking for one wire—one measly wire that I knew was excess, something I had installed years ago in order to test...
Subsonex paint

Turbine Temptation: Adding Some Color

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John Stahr performs airbrush magic on the jet.

Dear FAA: Model Aircraft Are Not Drones

8
Sometimes when you set out to fix one problem you create one (sometimes many) more. That’s what I think is happening now as the...

Socked In On a CAVU Day

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Lake Tahoe can be a funny place. Surrounded by gorgeous countryside, it salutes the forested western slope of the Sierra on its California side,...

Familiar Face

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A lighter, more powerful engine gives the Lightning better performance.

Turbine Temptation: Final Integration and Testing

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It looks almost finished, but there’s still much to do before the jet is ready to fly.

Back In the (jet) Saddle Again!

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Loki got back in the air again today, the first time in just over two months. Back in the first week of November, an...

The Fellowship of the Wing

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In the classic J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy Lord of the Rings, a small band of intrepid adventurers are sent on a near-impossible mission—to save the...

Land Where?!

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A long time ago, in a city far, far away (OK, it’s St. Paul, Minnesota...), there was an Aviation Explorer Post that had rebuilt...

Turbine Temptation: Wiring, Avionics and Plumbing

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The systems are simple but space is tight, so plan ahead.

In Case You Missed It

Pursuing Perfection

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What it takes to build an AirVenture Grand Champion.

Kit Stuff

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Drawing on experience; by cartoonist Robrucha.

The Creative Homebuilder

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Make your own yokes.

Evaluating Aircraft

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How to test-fly an airplane and decide if it’s right for you.