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A b o u t
The Skinny
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Mission Statement
------------------------------------------Lead by example.
Focus on fun (it's a hobby after all).
Foster a sense of community among current,
future and past owners of RV kitplanes.
Leave the world better off than you found it.
Be a part of something bigger than yourself.
Respect and civility at all times.
Provide a good, helpful product.
No shoes, no shirt, no problem.
Never lie. Ever.
No meetings.
Give back.
Circa 1969. Pre-solo.
Around 5. Extra points for flowered pants.
Trivia: Hat said 'MEXICO' on the front.
Make: Doug Model: 2006
Sporting crooked sunglasses somewhere over Colorado.
The Resume
------------------------------------------primary role in world:
husband / fatherprofessional experience:
not importantpassions: flying photography music reading
Site: www.VansAirForce.net
Founder / Proprietor: Doug ReevesThe 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?- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
VansAirForce.net and its forums are my full time job and I've bet everything on it. No fooling. Having said that, I didn't do it primarily for money, but instead to get my life back. 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 have a friend or three that are successful in the business world - they rarely see their families and work around the clock. High stress and big paychecks. I'd prefer making 1/50th their salary while getting to drive my kids to school each day and eating dinner every night with my family. The number of kid events I've missed lately are in the single digits. I know the crossing guard's name.
I was born and raised deep in the heart of Texas - Wacow to be specific. It's 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, these days I deck out in a baseball cap, T-shirt and tennis shoes while driving a Vespa (or Miata). Texas is a wonderful place to live and the people are first rate. The BBQ is pretty good, too.
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. Think DRUDGE REPORT, but for RV kitplanes (I jokingly call it the DREEVES REPORT). 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. I'm approaching 1,000 hrs in it. I'm now building an RV-3B as a dirt simple 2nd airplane. If I don't get upside down or fly close formation at least once during each flight I get kinda down. 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 'ol 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' around 0715 Dallas time and push it out. Then the process starts anew. I'm hoping to do this until I'm much older and all gray, and I'm in it for the long haul. Trying to take the appropriate steps to live a long, healthy life.
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 %#@&%@!"
-- 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). It's a people hobby.
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 most Yahoo groups). 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. Notice how in the forums the focus is just on RV-related topics. Dozens of websites have broadened their scope to include many types of different aircraft, I have decided not to. I think by focusing solely on RVs, the value and quality of time spent networking here is increased.
The phrase 'VAF Karma' has been sprinkled around, and I like that. The words Van's Air Force represents more than just a web site domain to me - it represents a state of mind.
"...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.
Plain old honor system. Refreshing, huh?
I majored/minored in Entrepreneurship/Marketing at Baylorw University and currently live north of Dallasw, TXw with my jewelry-making wife, two children, Chihuahua 'Moon Dog' and RV 'Flash'.
Above all else I care about my wife, children, extended family and friends. Flying comes second.
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.
We don't have status meetings or performance reviews, and sometimes after lunch I turn on the Beverly Hillbillies and take a twenty minute nap. I'll take these perks over more money and a corner cube with a window any day. Simple pleasures, babe. I wish I'd done this 20 years earlier...
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 (and Susie)
"...and the most amazing thing to me is: I get paid for doing this."
-- Steve Martin
