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Hanging up the (MCC) Headset

Ironflight

VAF Moderator / Line Boy
Mentor
I am sure that all the retired airline pilots here can appreciate the satisfied yet sad feelings I had as I signed off and released my flight control team (the "Iron Team") for the last time last Friday. I have had the great privilege and honor of leading human spaceflight activities from the pointy end of the stick as Flight Director in NASA’s Mission Control for close to two decades – and I was blessed to be a flight controller for more than a decade before that (starting with the first Shuttle mission). It has been a heck of a ride, and while I can’t say that every day has been a good day, I can honestly repeat what I have always told the folks who really enjoy real time operations – that the worst day in the control center is still better than the best day in the office.

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I’ll be retiring from NASA at the end of January – it will take me that long to clean out an office full of memories. I want to thank the many folks who have followed the program and encouraged us to great heights. The men and women I have worked with (and there are more of them here on the forums than many know) are dedicated to being the best, and it has been a pleasure to have served with them all in the grand adventure.

What’s next? We’ll see – aviation is a big world. For now there are a few airplanes with my name on them, and I can hear them calling….

Paul “Iron Flight” Dye
 
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Paul

You are just an inspiration. Congratulations on what must have been such a great career, and with such memories!!

We will keep seeing you around. Enjoy whatever you want to
 
Thanks for the thrills and inspiration you and the whole gang as NASA has given me since I was a kid. Best wishes to you and your family as you have more time to travel in your own planes! If you are ever in the Colorado part of this big country, I will trade you lodging for a few stories! Have fun.
 
Paul,
Never had the chance to meet you but thanks for all you did. Growing up in the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo era, I've watched NASA and thought "What if I'd tried harder in school". To late now but still watch with envy everytime you guys launched. A big thanks and hopefully we can meet someday.

Ross Scroggs
RV-4 #3911 Fuselage
Locust Grove, GA
 
Cat is finally out of the bag......

Hope you find as much enjoyment and fun in retirement as I have:D
 
Well I've certainly learned a lot from you Paul. Thank you for all you have done. Best wishes for the future. :)
 
Paul,
Thank you for your service in helping to make our country great and unique. Best wishes on your retirement & I do hope to meet you some day.
If you're ever up in ABI, give me a holler & I'll buy ya' a beer.
...And on a a side note...I retired last year & I highly recommend it. :)
 
Congrats

Haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting you but being an aerospace engineer myself, I've always identified with you and followed your writings here and in Kitplanes. Thank you for your service to our country and enjoy retirement.
 
Paul-
Thank you so much for your dedication to our space program. You were a big part of history, and the US space program was better because of you and others like you.
Enjoy retirement, you have earned it my friend!
Tom
 
Congratulations!

Don't expect retirement to translate into lot's of discretionary time. I have no idea how I found 60 hrs per week to "work". Enjoy your loved ones and throw away your scheduler of choice (except for the doctors appts of course..)
 
Congratulations and thanks!

Congratulations Paul for completing a distinguished NASA career. And thanks for the advice and information shared to me and flight enthusiasts all around the world. I'm hoping you maintain Houston connections for a long time, it's great to live just 5 minutes away from you and Louise - tasty homemade Christmas cookies every year! :)

Carl
 
Congrats Paul and thank you for your service. It was an honor to shake your hand at Osh last year! I grew up with the shuttle program so it will always have a special place in my heart!

That program is one of the major influences on who I am today as a person! In a way, you helped mold my childhood, education, my career and finally my love for all types of aviation!
 
Congratulations Pau l!

...on completing a distinguished NASA career! As others have said, you are an inspiration both at work and here on these forums.
You write very well and I would like you to know that I would read the story of Paul Dye. (include lots of RV buildin' stuff too) :D
Blue skies!
 
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Paul,

Thank you (and everyone else at NASA) for the many years of exploration of the Great Beyond. I've got a few friends who work at Ames, and I'm a big Trekkie. More than a few times as a kid I'd look up at the stars and wonder. I would really look forward to hearing some stories up at Oshkosh sometime.

Enjoy retirement and exploring the Almost Great Beyond of the sky in Tsam and Val, your personal space shuttles.
 
Congrats Paul, and well done!

Close one chapter and open another. You and Louise have a full life of love and memories that are yet to come!
 
Congrats on your Retirement

Paul,
Congratulations on your retirement. I grew up with the Shuttle program from the glider flights of the Enterprise through its ups and downs. Finally got to see STS-125 launch to the Hubble as I'd always hoped to be able to see. So glad I had that opportunity!

You've been a fantastic help in the RV world and I'm sure we'll see and hear more from you in this next phase of your life. Congrats again!

As an odd coincidence, I drove past Dayton Airpark this morning. I was visiting an RV friend in Carson City (in the car this time) and made my first drive down 95 back to Vegas. I'm sure you'll enjoy northern Nevada!
 
Bravo Zulu! Congratulations on completing an honorable career. Looking forward to learning more from your writings, and talking with you at Oshkosh.

Tailwinds...
 
Congratulations, Paul, on a wonderful career that has brought us so many advances in technology, one foot lateral GPS guidance for our ag airplanes as an example.

We have increased crop yields to better feed an ever-growing earth population, as a direct result of the space program and our GPS systems that you guys made possible.

See ya at a fly-in ....somewhere:)

Best,
 
That was a special "Day Job"

Mr. Dye:

Bottom Line Up Front: you set a great example.

Others have extolled your accomplishments as part of the NASA team, as well as your thoughtful, reasoned Experimental Aircraft leadership here and in other venues; for me, your simultaneous contributions to both, at such a high level, is a continuing example of what dedicated effort can accomplish.

I'll never grumble about a "... pesky day job..." again.

Fair winds, sir, and following seas!
 
OK, you can retire from NASA

As long as you do not retire from VAF!

Paul, thanks for your contributions to our country! I know you will do many interesting things in your retirement. I look forward to reading about them.

We really appreciate you being part of our community.
 
Paul, thanks for your service, both to your country and here.

Now roll up your sleeves and get ready to another great ride. Retirement is one busy way to spend a day.

Congratulations!
 
Congrats Paul!

Enjoy your "retirement" - I'm sure you will be very occupied:) You are undoubtedly very fortunate to have had such an interesting career at NASA. All the best -
 
Big Time Congrats Paul

Enjoy retirement?. it's a great thing to get paid NOT to go to work!!

It was nice meeting you and Louise at Sun n Fun last year.

Thank you so much for your dedication to our space program. I hope that the current and future government officials can get back to doing the same in the future.

I watched from Ohio with anticipation of viewing a live shuttle launch and in the last few years, have had that opportunity after moving to Florida (3 live launches actually). Something very special, thanks to the folks like you and everyone else at NASA.

Thanks for your contributions to VAF and I look forward to your threads/magazine articles each month.
 
Iron Flight Retirement

Didn't know you were "that old"!

Enjoy doing what you want and wish to do.
 
NASA Retirement

Congratulations Paul

Thanks for your long service to NASA and good luck in your future endeavours.
 
Gee Paul; now that you are retiring maybe you will find time to make some posts here on VAF!

You and Louise should come back to Sun n Fun this year so we can have more discussions on anything and everything at the Homebuilt Campground.


Congrats;

John Morgan
 
Congrats Paul! What a ride you've had...so few people in the world will ever experience what you have.

Good on ya!:cool:
 
Paul: Have a great retirement and hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I'm sure you will. Thank you for your great run at NASA - you should be really proud of your career. What a rare opportunity to be on the cutting edge when the USA was at it's peak. Hope we return there someday in my lifetime. Hope to see you again next year at Oshkosh (was parked next to you in the yellow RV-8 last year). Maybe at Sun-N-Fun, if you can forget last years treatment by the jerks running the show last year. Will keep following you in Kitplanes and on the site.

Best of Luck

Gerry Kutner
 
Congrats Paul! Job well done. You've been an inspiration to us all...

Looking forward to having you and Louise out on the West Coast...
 
Congrats Iron! I'm sure it's been quite a ride. Best of luck with whatever comes next! As others have said, you've been an inspiration! Thanks for being a friend since LOE 2005.
 
Congratulations Paul! More time to fly, write, build... I'm sure we'll get to enjoy some of it with you, courtesy of Kitplanes and VAF! :D
 
RE:Fantastic

Congrats Paul and thanks for the vicarious fantastic ride both RV and NASA. You were one of the few that inspiried me back in 2004 to build an RV aircraft. Now go and enjoy!!!!!!!
 
Congratulations!!

I don't think you are going to have any trouble finding something to do
with your time. The release of major responsibility should be like a
breath of fresh air.
The great articles you write on safety, testing and everything else, if
followed, would lower the accident rate by a large margin.
Paul thanks for the time you have taken to answer my questions and
point me in the right direction as I embark on the RV mission.
Thank You!
 
You and Louise should come back to Sun n Fun this year so we can have more discussions on anything and everything at the Homebuilt Campground.

Just to be clear, Paul is retiring from NASA but I'm not retiring from anything. So, you will likely see Paul at SnF and moving around the country but someone in the family has to keep working to pay for the house and hangar out in Dayton.

The long "suffering" wife.... ;)

Louise Hose

(By the way, you all make me very proud of Paul when I read your comments. Thank you.)
 
Well done, Sir.

Thank you for your service, Paul. I'll speak for just three generations of my family--my father (now passed), myself, and my youngest son: the work of NASA has directly inspired many of the choices of our lives. You and your team make us proud.

Now . . .

about that "best practices" book . . .

:)

--
Stephen
 
Congratulations Paul! A big thank you for serving our country in the space program.

Now that you do not have a job to go to, you will not have enough time to do all the things you want. Make some time from all the "honey do's" and tasks that you have set to go fly one of the families three airplanes. (actually I mean to fly all three of them)

Good luck with the new hangar and home build. Make sure Louise gets some input into the house as women typically are a lot better home makers than us guys.
 
Congrats Paul, looking forward to the same thing in a few more years. I need Louise to do a little coaching with my wife and maybe I can get her working so I can go earlier.
 
Your real talent

Paul,

I have no idea whether you were any good in that government job, but one thing I know for certain, you are one great writer. I'm not talking about a good newsletter writer or blogger, I mean better than Gordon Baxter, Richard Bach and Ernie Gann.

A lot of people write about flying, but few can put a reader in a cockpit like you can. I find myself re-reading your descriptions of single pilot pleasure flights over the clouds and just how it feels when your wheels kiss the earth after such flights.

I love your forum posts, I am blown away by your magazine articles, but what I really live for is the thought that one day you will write the great American novel. I hope that in your well earned retirement you will find enough essence to give it to us.
 
Congratulations! You have left marks on the space program, now you deserve more time to enjoy your private aviation. Best wishes on your future endeavors, no matter it is flying, writing, traveling, etc. Tailwinds and blue skies!
 
retired by not grounded

Paul
congrats on your "graduation"
Maybe we will see you up here in Oregon a bit more often?
Lots going on here, including Friday coffee at 7S9.
Jim Frisbie
RV-9A
 
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