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VansAirForce.net caps and shirts sold out for awhile.

November 2012 Update: 
And cashflow is too tight to buy any more for awhile......

The VansAirForce.net charity caps and shirts are currently sold out.  I'm waiting until I get a little more cash before ordering some more.  I have to put up over $2000 to order a batch of (288) caps.  I just don't have the extra money at this time, so everything is on hold for now.  I'll get back to you.  Good spot to mention the donate page!  ;^) 

A. The VansAirForce.net Baseball Cap
(more on this cap)

LATEST SIGHTING

U.S. Senator James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) ...and Doug Reeves at LOE'12

Sen. Inhofe is one of only two pilot senators (standing between Sen. Inhofe's Rocket and his son's RV-8).

Gianni Caproni Aviation Museum in northern Italy ...Like Perazzolli in Trento, Italy (background on image)

Paris, France

Bahamas...photo taken by Scott and Deb Mills.  Donor cap by Scott Card.

Background info by Scott Card:
"Provided off the head of yours truly! Tanya says I even burnt my "shiny spot" in sacrifice of the effort <g>. I can't believe I was the only one within reach that had the required head gear. Scott and Deb worked on that one picture for almost half of that dive, it was pretty funny to watch. They had it all set up on the bow point of the wreck that we were diving and were having a heck of a time keeping all the characters in place long enough to get the picture. Tanya and I hung out watching the comedy for a few minutes once we saw what was going on. I just wanted to be sure my hat wasn't being accosted and that I would get it back. Which I did, it is almost dried out and ready for the flight home."

67,720 feet up in a U2...photos taken by Stu "Meat" Broce of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron. ...special thanks to Luke Lokowich (RV-8 Prattville, AL) for helping arrange this.  From Luke, "Underspeed bug is set at 105 kts & mach overspeed is at 117. Groundspeed of 428 kts ain't too bad for a jet that overspeeds at 160 KIAS!"

Forbidden City, Beijing China......sent in by D. Allan Stern

On the runway: Inspection Team out and safing the Orbiter 'Atlantis'...sent in by Doug Drewry
   "...here’s a couple from the STS-132 landing at KSC last week.  On the runway, inspection team out and safing the Orbiter.  Nice LONG runway!  VERY sorry to say its probably the last mission for this beautiful bird…"

North Pole...sent in by Kyle Schroeder
   I just wanted to send in a picture of a VAF cap sighting at the North Pole.  This is my good buddy and RV-8 builder Zach Reeder at the North Pole.  This picture was taken shortly before he participated in and completed the 2010 North Pole Marathon.  Zach lives in Mojave, CA.  Julia Tizard photo.

Mountaintop Outside of Kabul, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom
   Attached is a hat sighting on a mountain top outside of Kabul, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I may be on the other side of the world, but still thinking of my future RV.
FBI Special Agent Joe Walker

At the 2010 Masters...Jon Crain enjoying Tuesday practice rounds.

Over Baghdad in An EA-6B...Naval Aviator Zach Kirby

Cardiac Electrophysiology Lab...Chris Klugewicz
"Me, in the Cardiac Electrophysiology Lab at the hospital. Don't know why my staff was giving me funny looks as I gowned up for the procedure..."

Golf!
In the CBS Sports TV tower on the 17th hole at the 2009 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
Commentator David Feherty between two RV drivers.

   Ross Burgess (RV-6), David Feherty, Doug Reeves (RV-6).  Bob Wishnie photo

STS-125 One Day Before Launch ...courtesy Doug Drewry
   These were taken during the L-1 (Launch minus one day) walkdown for STS-125, approx 24hrs before liftoff to repair Hubble as part of the Final Inspection Team (FIT), this is basically the last inspection before rolling back the RSS and tanking begins.
Best Regards.
Doug Drewry
N770TX
  
   click to see the backdrop

Stonehenge!...Terry Lutz.

Leaning Tower of Pisa...Doug Crumrine.

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition SWA Jet...Stan.

The rest of the story...

Final Resting Place of 'The Red Baron'...Mike Elliott (RV-8A Fuse).
   "I snapped this off while visiting the resting place of the Red Baron in Wiesbaden, Germany."

Mayan City of Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico.  Pyramid of Kukulcan...Tom and Bonnie Lewis

The Valley of the Kings (Luxor, Egypt)...Henkjan van der Zouw (RV-10 40355).  (maps)

Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton)...Paul Gardetto
   "Just returned from a deployment to Hanoi Vietnam. I was humbled by my visit to the Hanoi Hilton (Hoa Lo Prison)."

(more pics)

Hoover Dam...David F. Jones
   "I had an opportunity to travel (via US Army Reserve) to the Vegas area this past weekend en-route to the National Training Center at Ft Irwin, CA. Had time to kill and visited the Hoover Dam. A nice lady offered to take this photo.  Dam…what a hat..er…Dam!

Chu Chi tunnels North of Saigon, Vietnam...D Allan Stern

Mission Over Baghdad...Terry Hester
   "Just received my Vans Air Force hat and t-shirt and thought I would send you a picture. It was taken 3 January at 2000Z (2300L time here in Iraq). I wore it on my mission tonight over Baghdad. (Is it the first VAF Hat to log combat time? It now has 4.3N) I am assigned here in Tikrit Iraq flying in support of Task Force Odin. You can Google "Task Force Odin" for a little more info. I don't have an RV yet, but once we settle down in one place for a while I will be starting one."
CW4 Terry Hester

Front Left Seat of the Spruce Goose......courtesy Mike Macon!

Trinity Site...courtesy Mannan Thomason (RV-9)
   "I'm at the Trinity Site near the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico where the first Atomic Bomb was detonated. It was an awesome experience. I've been to Japan and to Tinnian Island in the Pacific Ocean near Guam where they loaded the other Atomic Bombs onto the Enola Gay and Bock's Car for their trip to bomb Japan. This was the closing of the loop for me."

Yukon Territory (Alaska) VansAirForce.net Cap Sighting...courtesy Craig Young (-9A)
   "My wife and I took our trip of a lifetime when we spent 2 weeks traveling through Alaska and the Yukon Territory last month. We traveled by car, shuttle, van, bus, train, plane, boat, ATV and foot. This pix was taken (with cap) from the cruise ship as we visited Glacier Bay, Alaska. It was pretty chilly that morning even though it was mid August. I've never been anywhere that was more spectacular."

On The Statue Beside The F-14 At The National Museum of Naval Aviation P-Cola...courtesy Randy 'Monkey' Richmond
(sat image of where this plane is)

Venice...courtesy Jim Cone

At Phil and Angelica Campbell's Wedding!...Dallas Arboretum 5/31/08.  Phil is building a RV-8.

Undisclosed Location...sent in by KC
   "I don’t know if this is the first time the new shirt has made it to a combat zone but I thought I would let you know that it is serving me well. The new color goes with the uniform just a little better then my first “collectors” edition. Yes I too was saddened to notice that a C-17 snuck into the picture, always wants the attention…
Take care,
KC"

On Portage Lake, at the foot of Burns Glacier and Portage Glacier in Girdwood, Alaska.
Had some downtime during a recent Air Force trip to Elmendorf AFB, so a few of us hopped in a van and drove down the Seward Highway to see the Portage Glacier. Not quite what I expected, but still pretty cool. As you might imagine, it was quite cold on the (frozen) lake. The wind coming off the mountains was intense - I nearly lost my hat twice!
Ken (jarhead) Moeser

Yosemite National Park!...courtesy Bryan "Groucho" Duke

Red Square!...courtesy Scott Flandermeyer

Onstage at Carnegie Hall
...sent in by RV-7A builder Jeremy Constant

  "Q: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
   A: Wear a VAF Cap!

Yep, that’s the inside of Carnegie Hall as seen from the high stress seats. We had to sneak the shot from stage just after they finished the pre concert lecture. This was taken while on a tour we just returned from.  I had Avery Tools send it to the hotel, so I could get the shot just before the second concert.  Maybe you could have a caption contest for what the guy in the lower right corner is saying?!

Regards,
Jeremy Constant
RV7A just about to drill the holes for the wing incidence.

PS I’ve been trying to convince the marketing department that they should sell advertising space on the back of the conductor’s tails, because that’s what everyone is staring at for 2 hours. Maybe you could start offering VAF logo wear tails and tuxes?!"

Bahamas!
...sent in by Jay Pratt (complete with gag signature)

Summit of Big Mountain.!
...sent in by Brian Carroll (RV-7 Fuse)
  "RV owners...snowboarders of the sky...rebels....trouble makers.  Looks like there is no hope for me.  Snapped this while waiting for the grandkids at the Summit of Big Mountain. Glacier Park in the background."

The Alps, Baby!
...sent in by Craig Ward

  "What do you do when new VAF hats arrive in the mail?  Show them off!   Susie and I were showing off the new VAF hats during a vacation in Switzerland. These photos are from near the top of the Jungfrau in the Alps. They leave the door unlocked at an observation point near the top for you to step outside if you want. The winds were from 60 to 80 MPH and the temp was in the low teens. The wind chill makes it a little chilly when you go outside. The strong winds also pick up small pieces of ice and you have the added experience of being pelted with small pea-sized ice chunks. Fun! The view is amazing though. Our GPS showed us at 11,592' when we took the photos outside. Susie was trying to take the photos quickly and I was trying to keep the flying ice off of my face. The photo of Susie inside is just below the Sphinx weather observation station, the highest point you can get to without breaking out the climbing gear. Thankfully, there is an elevator to take you up into the weather station. The stair climbing that you have to do in the sight-seeing areas makes you aware of the altitude and the rare air. Well worth the price of the train ticket and the 2-1/2 hour ride up from Interlaken on the cog railway."
-Craig Ward

The Ferrari Museum In Italy
...sent in by Alex DeDominics (taken shortly before his arrest I would imagine <g>).

PREVIOUS SIGHTINGS

The SAC Museum
...photo by C.Brenden (of his son

The Great Wall of China
...sent in by Paul Stratman
"Just wanted to send a pic of a VAF hat spotted in China. My wife and I spent a very enjoyable vacation traveling throughout China the last couple of weeks. Here, the VAF Hat was spotted along a section of the Great Wall north of Beijing.
Paul Stratman - Kansas City, MO
RV-6A - 800 hrs "Taylor Maid"
 

Epcot Center...Larry Gaudreau
 

The Met in NYC...Craig Ward
  "We went to the last performance at the Met that we had season tickets for this last Tuesday and I had my wife take a quick picture in the opera house just after the doors opened. No pictures allowed in here so we turned off the flash and steadied the camera on a seat back.
   The shutter speed was slow as it's dark in there and we sort of doctored up the photo in Photoshop to get it as good as it is (not saying that it's a good picture or anything). However, it's a Van's hat photo from the inside of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Everyone should take in a show here at some time in their lives. It's so much fun."
 

With Actress Betty White...during a photo shoot for a book cover
 
L-R: The yoga instructor, Betty White and me. (Franz Freibert photo)

Mount Vesuvius, Italy.  Rob Reece (RV-8 building)
  

Chianti Festival, Italy (map)
  

'Aluminum Overcast' Columbus, Ohio
My wife and I went for a flight on Aluminum Overcast this past weekend in Columbus Ohio. I totally forgot that I was wearing my VAF hat that day. Unfortunately I removed it during the flight as the top hatch of the aircraft was removed and I didn’t want the vacuum to pull it off my head and overboard. However, I was just going through the photos and spotted one that my wife captured while touring around the outside.
Ron Walker
N520TX

American Air Museum Duxford / 100th Bomber Group Air Base Thorpe Abbot / UTAH Beach Normandy
I recently had the opportunity to travel to England and tour some WWII bomber bases and attend The 70th Anniversary Spitfire Airshow at The Imperial War Museum Duxford. This was an advertised tour in Sport Aviation. A great time!!!
Photo 100 was taken in the American Air Museum Duxford
Photo 235 was taken on top of the control tower at the “Bloody” 100th Bomber Group Air Base in Thorpe Abbott.
Photo 605 was taken in France on UTAH beach in Normandy.
Saw one RV a 6A during the trip.

Jeff Vaughan

Spruce Goose / Titan II Missle
...courtesy Sam Evans

"I had a chance to travel to Oregon this summer.  Although I was in Van’s backyard, our schedule didn’t allow us to stop by their factory.  However, my wife Shellie & I made it over to McMinnville and the Evergreen Aviation Museum.  The museum is a “must see” for aviation enthusiasts as it is the home of the famous Spruce Goose and many other wonderful and rare aircraft.
Sam Evans
RV7-A Builder
Abilene, TX"

Korean DMZ and USS Blue Ridge
...courtesy Tony Johnson

The shirt was seen onboard the USS Blue Ridge in the Yellow Sea in one of these pics.  The two other pics were taken at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). I am standing on the South Korean side in the one labeled Korean dmz. You may be able to make out the North Korean sentry standing at attention on the upper steps of the building on the other side. You can probably not make out the Korean soldier with binoculars in the window to his left.   The third pic was taken actually inside North Korea. There is a building there with the border between the two countries running exactly through the middle of the building, therefore some one side of the building is in each country. I am standing in the North Korea side of the border in that pic, with a South Korean soldier standing guard.  The one on the USS Blue Ridge was taken by LCDR James Sweet, who is now considering building an RV.
Regards,
Tony Johnson

Old Faithful
...courtesy Laird Owens

Some of the SoCal folks went to Yellowstone over Labor Day Weekend, and Tom Prokop (flying RV-6, building RV-8a) was sited wearing a VAF shirt while taking in Old Faithful.

Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska
...courtesy James 'NOMAD' Lawrence

Various
1. Don Christiansen at Denali National Park (map), Alaska (waiting for a chance to see Mount McKinley (20,320')

2. "I was attendind a course, "somewhere" in New Mexico. It's the kind of sign you don't see everyday!
Jorge Fernandez
VAF # 578"

Various
1. Silverton, Colorado (Don Christiensen and Jay Pratt)
2. Tom Schad (Warbird Tower at OSH)
3. OSH (me taken by Rick Schwandt)
4. Bob Richie cleaning his RV-4
5. Leadville, CO (Craig Helm)

Roman Coliseum ...courtesy Jack and Audrey Wigmore

Brazilian Rain Forest

"...from the Brazilian Rain Forest. On a island called Ihla Bela. I was down there in March of this year."

James Raymond
N436JE RV-6A

Kauai and Maui

...courtesy Brad Oliver (aka RV7Factory)

kauai.jpg - Taken at 1500', in a Maule, while cruising over the Na Pali Coast on the North shore of Kauai.


maui.jpg - Taken at the summit (10,023') of Haleakala Crater on the island of Maui.

Regards,
Brad Oliver (aka RV7Factory)

Puerta Vallarta and Doha, Qatar
I have been busy this summer and taken my VAF cap with me to remind me of my project. The first picture of of my vacation three weeks ago in Puerta Vallarta. The second picture is from last week's trip to Doha, Qatar for work.
Eric Tandy
RV-7A Emp.
Keller, Texas
Renting out of 52F

St. Peter's Basilica at Vatican City (near Rome, Italy)
...Chris Pratt (RV-8 N898DK)

Wright Bros. Cycle Shop
...Dave Nellis (N410DN res.)
   "Just wanted to send a few pics of myself wearing my VAF hat. My wife and I spent a very pleasurable day walking through Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan. The enclosed pictures are of the the shop that built the first homebuilt powered aircraft ever built. The Wright Cycle Shop was moved to Greenfield Village by Henry Ford and is kept in immaculate shape year round. Wilbur's desk is still in the front show room. The original tools used to build the Wright Flyer are housed in the shop in the back as well as a 1/2 scale working model of the Wright Flyer engine.
   I cannot think of a better place to wear a VAF hat than where aviation was born, unless you can get a picture from the space shuttle with the earth in the background. If it sounds like a dare, well, it is.
   Pounding rivets and loving it.
Dave Nellis
N410DN Res."

New England Air Museum
(Mark Dews) "This is a picture from the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT.  B-25 with a P-47 in the background.  Great place to visit."

Somewhere Over Somewhere (mach .789 and 39,000')
Photographer, airline, aircraft and country anonymous - come to think of it, I have no recollection of who even sent me this.  I'd probably forget any others too...

At The Polo Club
"One more sighting, and it seems that improbable areas, such as Paul Rosales' are becoming favored. Here then is one taken right before a Polo match at the Tarahumara Polo Club in El Paso, Texas (sat image). The beautiful little chapel in the back is often used by players who pray for heavenly "advantage". I also do that, as well as occasionally throwing in a request for that perfect line of rivets at the shop.  The owner will be allowing me to land my RV-8 once it's finished, so the fishing pole tubes will serve double duty as polo mallet carriers."
Tom Navar
RV-8 QB
tail feathers finished
working on wings
  

Paul Rosales 60' USL (Under Sea Level) in the British Virgin Islands. Picture by Jim Baker.  Picture emailed by Laird Owens.
    

7-mile Bridge (Marathon, FL)
..sent in by Gary Kremers (RV-7A)
   "I thought you might like to see a few pictures of “where the Vans Air Force shirt been”. The first picture is standing on 7 mile bridge in Marathon, FL. My older son and I flew the RV-7A from Michigan down to Marathon for a few days while he was on spring break from college. The second one is on Cat Island in the Bahamas. The location is the Hermitage, located at the highest point in the Bahamas. My wife, younger son and I flew down for his spring break in our Rockwell Commander 114.
   I did get a few questions about the shirt at Hawks Nest on Cat Island; you wouldn’t believe how many people are building RV’s!!"
Gary Kremers
N715AB RV-7A
  

Ameriquest Field.  Arlington, TX (Scott Toornburg)
NEW (cell phone image)

B-17 Cockpit (Paul Dye)
 

Space Shuttle Procedural Trainer Cockpit (Houston, TX)
...hanging on the Commander side HUD.

Flight Director Console: Mission Control (Gemini/Apollo/STS programs)
...ever see the movie Apollo 13?  Think Ed Harris (Gene Kranz in real life).

Dan Checkoway Decked out on www.EAA.org