Usually when we think of “Paul” and EAA, we think of EAA’s founder, the late Paul H. Poberezny (September 14, 1921 – August 22, 2013). But this time we are thinking of Minnesota-born and Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame 2024 inductee, Paul F. Dye, 66, of Bemidji, Minnesota, who was the featured speaker at EAA’s Wright Brothers Memorial Banquet, December 13, 2024, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Midwest and Minnesota aviation communities, Boy Scouts of America, the homebuilt aircraft movement, and the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) are all proud of Paul Dye and his accomplishments, and appreciative of his contributions to aviation and aerospace.
Growing up Paul was an Eagle Scout, and through discipline and perseverance, he achieved a great deal of success at NASA.
Paul began flying as a teenager and earned his Private Pilot Certificate at Anoka County Airport in 1975. After high school, he went on to earn a degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, specializing in aircraft design and flight testing, and his Commercial Pilot Certificate.
Paul moved to Houston to join NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Program in 1982, where he began working on Shuttle Orbiter systems. In 1990, he became the head of Mechanical and Crew Systems for Mission Operations, responsible for flight crew training on those systems. He became familiar with Russian systems working to integrate U.S. and Russian MIR Space Station systems. In 1993, he was selected as one of the Space Shuttle Flight Directors and served as the Flight Director for STS-63, the first shuttle to rendezvous with MIR in 1995, as well as STS-71, the first shuttle to dock with MIR the same year.
Paul continued to work as a NASA Flight Director for 39 Shuttle missions, the majority of which were to supply the International Space Station, including nine flights as Center Seat Flight Director, the central coordinator of all spacecraft activities on those launches. He was the Lead Director of the final Shuttle mission, STS-135. The Space Shuttle Program accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011.
Paul retired from NASA in 2013 after a 33-year career as the longest serving Flight Director in NASA history.
Between 2005 and 2019, Paul got involved with the homebuilding movement and built a Van’s Aircraft RV-3 and RV-6; the single-engine, high-wing, four-place monoplane, “Dream Tundra;” and a single-seat, amateur-built jet aircraft, “SubSonex.” He has owned several other aircraft and has flown over 130 different aircraft.
With his engineering background and flight experience, Paul has been called upon to test fly many homebuilt aircraft. He has contributed numerous articles to type-club newsletters and served as Editor-In-Chief of Kitplanes Magazine for six years. He also wrote a book, “My Life in the Center Seat of Mission Control.” Paul continues as a feature writer and speaker for various organizations.
While at the banquet, Paul took questions from the audience, and when asked what the best background was for someone to get a job at NASA, he said that NASA is looking for people with backgrounds in all disciplines.
When asked what he thought of the U.S. space program going to Mars, he said the first step is to establish a base station on the Moon, then venture to Mars, knowing that whoever goes there should plan on not returning to Earth, as the distance and logistics would make it difficult, if not impossible in the foreseeable future. The distance between Earth and Mars is 140 million miles!
When asked about the cost of the space program, and how it can be justified when there are so many other areas needing attention here on Earth, Paul said “not one dollar has ever been spent in space.”
After the question-and-answer session, Paul Dye immediately walked to the lobby of the EAA Museum for a book signing.