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Van's Air Force

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joe gremlin

Well Known Member
I've had a hankering to build some kind of RV ever since I started working on my private cert back in the late 90's. Never had the means or the time or the space to really consider it.

Going to be turning 50 next month and I'm finally to the point where I've got the time and the space. The money? Well we'll figure that out as we go. Wife has about a year of school to go on 2nd masters so not planning to start anything until next summer.

I've already booked us a room in Appleton for OSH next year so we can see all the Vans stuff as well as the competitors. But today we just booked a trip to Portland for my birthday next month. The plan is the to do a factory tour. At the very least we want to see how we fit in the 9 vs the 14 vs the 10 while we're there and take a demo ride if able.

Planning to go see the Spruce Goose while we're there and then spend a couple days seeing the Mt St Helens area.

Is there anything I should make sure I see/do while at Vans and is there anything else we should try to see or do in the area while we're there?
 
Suggest you contact Van's now to see if their demo planes will be there on the day you plan to visit. Also suggest you make a reservation for the demo flight for that date.

When I did my visit there several years ago, I was glad I made the demo flight reservation. There was another family who dropped in about the same time I did for the tour and demo flight, without a reservation. The result was I got my demo flight but they didn't.
 
Aurora trip

I highly recommend time to visit the WAAAM museum in Hood River. Visited 8 museums on a trip to Seattle several years ago and WAAAM was the best. Western antique automobile and aircraft museum. It would be easy to spend a day there. At that time they had a fly day once a month and if you could make that I suspect it would be worth an extra day.
 
I highly recommend time to visit the WAAAM museum in Hood River. Visited 8 museums on a trip to Seattle several years ago and WAAAM was the best. Western antique automobile and aircraft museum. It would be easy to spend a day there. At that time they had a fly day once a month and if you could make that I suspect it would be worth an extra day.

An event every weekend on my calendar; 4S2 WAAAM yearly event is Sept 8-9, the next weekend is a fly-in at 56S Seaside, then JSY Joseph OR Airshow, then last weekend is HIO Hillsboro Airshow.
 
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Drive over to the coast one day. It's about a 1.5 hr drive from Portland. Visit the state parks along the shore. Tour the Tillamook Creamery. Get lunch at the Blue Heron or any of the many fish joints. Visit Multnomah Falls and hike the trail.
 
If you tour the Columbia River basin, in addition to Multnomah Falls don't miss the excellent tours of the Bonneville dam and the fish hatchery, just upriver a short drive. In many ways Bonneville was a bigger challenge to construct than the Hoover dam, though for different reasons.
 
Vans is a great place with great people. I live super close so I see them a lot and it's great to see out of towners come and enjoy the tour!

Flying in the valley is such a great visual experience as well.

Have fun! Blue skies!
 
Portland

Absolutely visit the Evergeen Air Museum, this is one of the best. And Powell’s book store, Pittock Mansion and since you are in Portland YOU HAVE TO GO TO Deschutes brewery downtown. Good food, good beer & knowledgeable staff. Or if you prefer- go to Killer Burger for, wait for it, a Peanut Butter Burger. Sounds weird but this is an amazing combination. My niece insists on grilled ‘Goober Burgers’ whenever she visits. Technically it’s Mayo on one side & peanut butter on the other. Yeah I know, again this sounds weird too but it is delicious.

Oh yeah, and go to Vans too. Can you tell where my priorities are? Let’s see- beer/food and by the way, airplanes- but only RVs. Everything else is a Spam Can, trash hauler or chicken snacks (fighter guys will know what I mean). No offense to any Pilot group but I do do respect the Buff drivers and love the tanker guys- they always save our *** when we’re Winchester and have no gas. Hey Fitz, you listening?
 
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Portland visit

My wife and I planned a similar trip to the Portland area several years ago...to visit a cousin I had not met...and to visit Van's Aircraft. Check with Van’s before you plan your schedule because we showed up on Friday and learned the factory folks were on a 4-day (Mon-Thur) schedule. We did get a tour but it would have been SO much better if we had only known.

My now deceased cousin questioned me as to why we were planning to go see what’s left of a mountain. From Portland it takes most of your day just driving to and from Mt St Helens. He suggested Portland’s International Rose Test Garden. No kidding, beautiful, enjoyable and historic. We were glad we changed our itinerary.

In our four day weekend we saw Mt Hood area, Van’s (the Mother ship), Astor and nearby Pacific Ocean beaches, the International Rose Test Garden, some really nice Portland restaurants and of course we had two visits with my cousin. It’s real easy to plan more than you have time to do in the Portland area.

But it’s a beautiful area of our country. Have fun, and tell us about it when you return. And Happy Birthday!
 
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Independence,or eaa get to gether this weekend

Check the eaa weeked outing at independence,or. Vans rep will be there with thr RV12IS
 
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