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Paul Dye

Paul Dye
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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.

Smooooth!

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Even though I understand and am a big fan of dynamic power plant balancing, it never ceases to amaze how much difference it can...

Dissolving Foam

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With a winter storm howling outside and rattling the hangar doors, fooling around in the shop seemed far preferable than doing anything with one...

First Flights

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December 17 is, of course, a very important day in the annals of homebuilding. Well, all aviation, I suppose, but I really have to...

Taildragger!

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The RV-14 many have been waiting for.

Editor’s Log

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Whats he gonna do next?

Whirlwind Visit

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Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California is an interesting place for experimental aviators. With no signs to tell you what's in a row if...

Test Flying the TruTrak ECO Autopilot

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I just got back from a test flight with TruTrak Flight Systems' Andrew Barker in their company's RV-10. The purpose - to get a...

Tail Wheel Time

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In no way do I consider myself a tail wheel snob, but for some reason, all of the airplanes in my hangar (including the...

Thanksgiving!

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Thanksgiving weekend always seems to signal the start of real winter weather over the continental United States, and that means snow, ice, low ceilings...

Shaving Time With Occam’s Razor

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Troubleshooting is an art—an art based on experience, knowledge—and sometimes a little luck. I have been building and fixing things all my life, and...

In Case You Missed it

The Home Machinist (Part 8)

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In his continuing series, author Bob Fritz discusses the ins and outs of threads including how to avoid seizing, types of threads, sizing, drilling holes, using a tap-drill chart, and matching fastener dimensions.

Engine Swap Time

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Exploring the many different options.

Free Flight

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There are many reasons that building your own airplane takes awhile. Columnist Paul Dye details the pitfalls of completing one seemingly simple maintenance task, which brings into focus the bigger picture.

Viewfinder

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By getting an up-close look at the Sandberg reporting station in Southern California, Editor-at-Large Marc Cook finds out why the weather there is almost always worse than it is anywhere else in the L.A. basin.