Paul Dye
Paul Dye has been the Editor-in-Chief and Editor at Large. He 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.
Fun With Part Numbers
As I'm getting ready to re-assemble my wife’s O-360-A1A, I have spent a lot of time looking up part numbers. Not, as it turns...
Building and Flying an RV-8
For pilots brought up with standard certified aircraft, the RV-8 will plaster a grin on their face that can’t be washed off and rarely fades.
Hate It When I Do That!
First things first - this is in no way Aircraft Spruce’s fault! Nope, this is totally on me - they sent exactly what I...
Out with the Old
Yes, know that I have written numerous times over the years about being careful about “while I’m in there…” syndrome—starting out on a simple...
The Nut Under the Cam Gear
Anyone that has disassembled and/or built a four-cylinder Lycoming is probably very familiar with a specific nut - the one hiding underneath the cam...
Funny Money
When I was a kid, way back in the 1960s, one of the toughest decisions I had to make was whether to buy a...
Mounting On a Curve
A long time ago, when homebuilders began installing Garmin 430s—the most popular IFR GPS/nav/com of the day—we were mostly left on our own to...
Nutsert Notes
Let me say right up front that I hate nutserts. Also called rivet nuts, threaded inserts or rivnuts. (I’m sure there’s a formal product...
In Case You Missed It
Big Brother is My Copilot
Hangar chat prompts pilot to remove alternator and fly battery-only, sidestepping ADS-B tracking and compliance costs.
Aircraft Handling: What’s It Mean To You?
Two seasoned test pilots, Chuck Berthe and Ed Wischmeyer, discuss their favorite aircraft and the traits that make the aircraft endearing. They also offer a brief history of aircraft design, and discuss the payoffs and compromises inherent in any design effort. Some of their selections are surprising. a Staff Report.
The Dawn Patrol
Dick Starks recounts the tall tales and travails that The Dawn Patrol encountered at this years Salute to Veterans Airshow.
Target Fixation Taught by Trees
I was chopping firewood under a dead ash tree, whiffing deep, ax-head-shaped divots into my lawn, when I remembered the time, once upon a takeoff, that a living oak tree nearly got the best of me.