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The Skinny on ¯¯VAF¯¯
The Big Lebowski: Are you employed, sir? The Dude: Employed?
The Big Lebowski: You don't go out looking for a job dressed like that? On a weekday? The Dude: Is this a... what day is this?
¯¯VAF¯¯ Mission Statement
------------------------------------------- Lead by example.
- No meetings.
- Loyalty up loyalty down.
- Foster a sense of community among current,
future and past owners of RV kitplanes.
- Be a part of something bigger than yourself.
- Respect and civility.
- No shoes, no shirt, no problem.
- Spend less than you make.
Circa 1970 (age 5). Flowered pants and a hat
that says 'MEXICO' on the front.
My Resume
primary role in world:
husband / fatherprofessional experience:
not importantpassions: things with motors,
things with guitar strings
VansAirForce.net has been my full time job since 1997 - I've bet my family's future on it. A 'Sea Change' if you will. I absolutely don't want to be the richest guy on the block - I simply want to feed and shelter my family, get our kids through college and save a little for retirement while maximizing family time. I want to take the kids to school...and then pick them up. My goal in life is to never attend another status meeting or use a 'business buzzword' of any kind.Born and raised deep in the heart of Texas - Wacow to be specific, where Dr. Pepper, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson came into existence. While I do own guns, boots, a cowboy hat and have owned two trucks (the Texas stereotype), I'm most comfortable in a baseball cap and sneakers driving a little sports car. Texas is a wonderful place to live and the people are first rate. The BBQ and Tex Mex are wonderful.
I've worked with computers in some capacity or fashion since 1981. In 1997 I started www.VansAirForce.net as a RV news site, combining stuff from various sources and presenting it daily, M-F. It's a way for people building and flying Van's RV kitplanes to socialize, network, get inspiration and receive help from others. I started, finished, and now fly a standard build Van's RV-6, and am now (very slowing) building an RV-3B as a dirt simple 2nd airplane. If I don't get upside down or fly formation at least once during each flight I get kinda twitchy - didn't feel that way going into the hobby....just kinda turned out that way.
"Woke up, got out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head."
-- A Day In The LifeChecking the inbox and forums first thing, I'm looking for RV items that surfaced while I slept - things that might help others still building, motivate someone into trying the hobby, or anything else that catches my eye in a RV way. I try to finish assembly of the next 'edition' before 0715 Dallas time and push it out, then the process starts anew. I work eight hours a day, only spread out over the whole 24 in little thirty minute bites.
Starting with the RV White Pages and some 3rd party message board software, the site found its online footing back in the mid 90's. Later, as the weaknesses in the message board app became apparent, I created several Yahoo groups - one for each model to give the community a little more flexibility. A couple of years later when the I.T. department (of my then day job) blocked access to all Yahoo stuff (like most companies were doing at the time), I couldn't approve messages fast enough for people's needs and still keep the spam out. Shortly thereafter I researched, purchased and installed the current forum software (and deleted the Yahoo groups I had created). The newest incarnation of the site's forums hopefully make the hobby, in some small way, more personal. The rules for posting can be cliff-noted with 99.999% accuracy with a simple "Be Nice."
"You can stand out on a street corner handing out
$100 bills and someone will still call you an @sshole."
-- friend of Jim PappasThere has been a very conscious effort on my part to make everything on the site visible to everyone, without requiring any kind of registration or login. If I point you to a news article on RVs that I find, you won't have to register to see it. If I point you to some pictures somewhere that someone has uploaded, same thing. And, because it's a people oriented hobby, I usually only spotlight those stories where the person's real name is given (you won't see a construction status shot on the front page for user 'AcePilot78' unless his real name is listed in there somewhere).
You'll notice there is no 'Members Only' section. That's not an accident. While you do need to login to the forums to actually POST a message, a 'lurker' can see it all. Unlike AOPA's website, and EAA's, and Trade-A-Plane's, and KITPLANES and etc... I do it this way specifically to put a no-hassle spin on the experience and to quasi-reinforce to viewers that we represent something that is more family than club or clique.
"...there are plenty of worse ways to earn a living — nearly all of them, in fact."
-- Neil PeartIt is my belief that if you come to the site regularly, and consider yourself a regular viewer, you will adhere to the honor system that I've requested and will send in your yearly donation. I have enough usernames and passwords to remember - I'm sure you do, also.
I majored/minored in Entrepreneurship/Marketing at Baylorw University and currently live north of Dallasw, TXw with my jewelry making / yoga instructing wife, two children, Chihuahua 'Moon Dog' and RV 'Flash'.
Above all else I care about my wife, children, extended family and friends. Flying comes in around priority number twelve.
Delta Romeo, LLC is the company I now run. We primarily do this site, some occasional commercial photography and air-to-air photo work now and then.
The site is built on the assumption the reader has high speed internet access and at LEAST 1024x768 resolution (1280x1024 preferred). Our apologies if you don't.
Doug Reeves
Founder / Proprietor:
"...and the most amazing thing to me is: I get paid for doing this."
-- Steve Martin
