Pilot Space

NEWS

Website re-brand! Donald’s Garage Maker Space

When the maker space moved to Shiley Marcos, the name was changed to Donald’s Garage to honor Donald Shiley’s legacy. The website had not been re-branded yet, and now it is! Please bear with us as the site is updated, but don’t worry – the original link will always work.

2025 Spring Semester Updates

  • We now have over double the open hours with two new student workers.
  • Ryan Suave, our new electrical shop technician, will also hold open hours during the day.

2024 Fall Semester Updates

  • Hours for Fall Semester are Monday-Thursday 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
    • Hours will be expanded during the Spring semester
  • Power drops have been added to the tables
  • Policies are unchanged; see “Pilot Space Info” below
  • Hand tools are now properly available!
  • Exhaust fans are on the way to allow the use of our resin printers!

  • SEPTEMBER 2023: THIS SITE IS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT!
    by Skyler

    Hi everyone! We know that this site hasn’t been updated in a long time, and that has caused some people to get inaccurate information about the Pilot Space. We apologize for any difficulty that has caused, and are working hard to make some positive changes! Here’s our current status:

    Pilot Space Info:

    • Materials are free, within reason, for personal projects
    • You do not need to have any prior experience with the tools in the Pilot Space to come in and use them
    • You will need to sign a waiver when coming in – once you do, you won’t have to for the remainder of the year (if not longer)
    • We have 3D printers, a laser cutter, vinyl poster/sticker cutters, hand tools, and more!
    • Tools stay in the Pilot Space
    • Current schedule is accurate as of 9/27/2023 2/2/2024

    Exciting updates:

    • The Instagram will be coming back online soon! Give us a follow and keep an eye out for posts. This is where we’ll put more frequent updates about the events going on and any changes that are being made, as well as where we’ll highlight student projects and other activities in the Pilot Space.
    • We’ll be hosting workshops run by student workers (“about the team” page coming soon)
      • Are you a student, club or faculty member and want to host your own workshop or event? Please get in contact with us at pilotspace@up.edu if you’d like to set up an event.
    • We’re creating a new wiki/knowledge base for the Pilot Space so that all information about machines, materials, processes and more will be centralized and easy to access. This is a big task, but will be instrumental in getting our lesser-known machines available to those who’d like to use them!
    • The Pilot Space will be fully moved into Shiley Marcos (“New Shiley”) by early Spring 2023! We’re all moved in!

    Current main unknowns/issues:

    • No clear guidelines for projects that use large amounts of material
    • Much of this site is still under (re)construction. Hang tight while we get everything sorted out!
    • Pilot Space email does not yet work.
    • Marketing is low. We’ll be getting the message out to more people as soon as we can!

    – Skyler

    We have 3D printers (with dissolving support material), a Vacuum forming table, a printer/cutter for posters and stickers, embroidery sewing machine, and more hand tools and more materials!