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VansAirforce's massive contribution to the 10,000 milestone

C

Captain Avgas

Well Known Member
OK, I'll come straight to the point. Without VansAirforce I don't believe that Vans Aircraft would be celebrating their 10,000 flying aircraft milestone at this time...or at any time in the near future for that matter.

When I bought my RV7A empennage and started building in 2004 my choice of kit was influenced by a number of factors. However the single most influential factor in that decision was the level of user group internet technical support for the RV.

At the time I was teetering on the edge between a Glasair Sportsman and the RV7A. In the end it was the level of internet technical support that tipped me over to the RV.

And when I say user group internet support I really mean VansAirforce.net. I began monitoring VansAirforce in about the year 2000 (it was part of Yahoo Groups in those days) and by 2004 it was apparent to me that technical user support for the RV through VansAirforce was vastly superior to the user group support for the Glasair products.

In other words the success of VansAirforce produced a sale for Vans Aircraft.

And my best guess is that I am not alone in this matter. I'd be pretty confident that the phenomenon that is VansAirforce has been instrumental in some degree in the sale of literally thousands of RVs.

In fact VansAirforce became such an amazing source and repository of RV technical knowledge that in 2011 Vans Aircraft decided to ditch its traditional RVator publication. This technical publication was replaced by a Facebook page that now largely consists of first flight notifications and social chitchat.

In December 2012, Flying Magazine called VansAirforce.net "the most vibrant and engaged online community arguably in all of aviation". That's a big call, but I would not dispute it. I believe that VansAirforce has now become the big bright shop-front window for Vans Aircraft. And for Vans Aircraft it is probably a very low cost shop window indeed.

Today it is obvious that many RV builders look to VansAirforce as a first stop for many technical support issues rather than contacting Vans Aircraft for support as they may have done in the past. This will have undoubtedly reduced the pressure on Vans Support despite a growing market thus reducing their overheads.

I'm only guessing but I imagine that VansAirforce might have 40-50 thousand regular viewers. It is truly a phenomenon and it is an enormous ongoing asset for Vans Aircraft for reasons expressed above.

One might argue that the success of Vans Aircraft has brought success to VansAirforce...that VansAirforce has simply been carried forward in the slipstream. I don't hold that view. I believe they have both been integral to each other's success.

So in conclusion, I say congratulations to Vans Aircraft for getting 10,000 aircraft into the air....and congratulations to VansAirforce for its undeniably enormous contribution to that milestone. :)
 
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Couldn't agree more. Best supported kit plane [by its builders] available anywhere. Congratulations, Doug!

Van owes you a Christmas Card at the very least!


Lee...
 
Big Help When Buying a Flying RV too!

When I decided to buy a flying RV, did lots of research. Reading through the threads here helped with my choice.

When I finally found one, asking about a pre-buy inspection, found the right person to help with that as well.

Lots of great info here.

After reading some of the build threads, and completions, has me thinking trying that building one might be the next step.

Thank you all!

Best regards,
Mike Bauer
 
Cash!

I agree that VAF is an outstanding resource, and nothing says "thanks" like cold, hard, cash! :D

Here's what I did to put my (wife's) money where my mouth is:

PaypalPayments.png
 
Now if we could just find a permanent home for all the lost visual content.

We're talking builder support here, not cat videos.
 
In regards to the OP; A poll would be very interesting to see how much influence VAF had on either a prospective builder or buyer.

+1 for me having VAF as the tipping point for an RV.
 
Like Mickey, I send a monthly contribution. Actually, I consider it an investment. During KELLI GIRL?s build, I learned early on that as good as the Mothership?s tech support is, through VAF I could find way more complete answers through the knowledge and experiences of those who had built before me. When build momentum stalled, VAF provided new motivation through other RVer?s exploits (thanks Vlad, Turbo, Cards x 2, and so many others).

Well done, Doug, thank you.
 
VAF

VAF was one very important factor in my decision to build the 8. VAF was/is an often referred to resource while building and while flying. As friend Mike remarked recently, we all seem to run into the same problem - and VAF often shows the way to solving each "challenge ". I agree, no 10,000 yet w/o VAF. Rock on Vans - rock on VAF.
 
Agree

I can fully and truthfully say that without VAF I would not have met Mitch, test flown the 14a, and bought the 14a kit.

Not much else to add to this sentiment.

Wing skins riveting begins in about a week.

Tail Winds to all!!
 
This website, strike that, this community was not only a factor in deciding which plane to build IT WAS the reason I decided to build a Van's aircraft. I remember just over a year ago researching three different planes and I kept coming back to Van's simply because I knew there were going to be questions that needed asked and this website was the answer. Thanks Doug for all you do here! Off to Paypal to show my thanks!
 
I am not part of the 10,000, but almost certainly will be part of the next 200. I was introduced to Van's Aircraft through the inclusion of the RV-6A in Microsoft Flight - it also turned out that the first real RV I saw/flew in was the exact 6A that Microsoft Flight's plane was modeled from. But I digress. When I was considering building, I had a number of options on the table, but it was the fact that the user community (VAF) for Van's was an order of magnitude larger than anyone else that cemented my decision. This place is awesome, I don't know if I could have figured out my build without it. The small suggested contribution to DR for this is as worthwhile as anything I've spent on my build, probably even more so.
 
Without VAF, I wouldn't have decided to build an RV at all. I wouldn't have ever considered an RV-3B, much less bought the kits. And certainly wouldn't have gotten as far as I have, nor would I have met some really great folks and made some new friends.

Thanks, DR!

Dave
 
I had just started my first build of four when I met Doug out at Hicks Airport. At the time I believe I was Jay Pratts best non paying customer. I stopped by Jays almost daily to ask questions. Doug started telling us about this website he was starting and of course we all jumped in as soon as he launched it. Although living within 5 minutes of Jay provided access to the top RV builder in the country, Doug's site was growing and reaching people all over the world who did not have a buddy like Jay. Not long after my job took me away from Texas, Doug's website was the tool that allowed me to build the next three.

I have said many times that Doug and the website he created with out any doubt
Is the number 1 reason why Vans sales have exploded in the past 15 years. Thank you Doug, there are thousands of builders out there that could not have made it without this site.

Pat
 
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ShortSnorter said:
In regards to the OP; A poll would be very interesting to see how much influence VAF had on either a prospective builder or buyer.

+1 for me having VAF as the tipping point for an RV.
Click to expand...

Great suggestion Ryan. I have started a poll on this topic in a separate concurrent thread. Go and vote. :D
 
Without the internet, I would have never tried building an airplane. Builder weblogs got me started. VAF to me was always a huge factor getting questions answered, and just a daily habit of reading it and getting educated about things you would never even think of asking.

I never had one question here that I couldn't find an answer to (or at least get several opinions). VAF was my go to tech support. In fact, I never called Van's during my build to ask any questions.
 
The Plane!

The Plane!
The RV series sold me. Attending OSH since 1980, watching the home built kit industry evolve. The completeness and maturity of the kits closed the deal.
I started a RV6 before I owned a computer. 1995. Also had no idea how many like minded people were out there!
VansAirforce.net has been a tremendous plus all these years. The site has helped so many of us build and get to know each other.
Never got help and friendship like this in other ?type club? aviation anything.

When building 1995. The original Butt Cracks found me and started coming by my build. Wow! What a ride it?s been! Thank You!
If I would have been two years earlier I would have been an original BC. Better late than never.
 
The builders logs that I reviewed while in the "dreaming stage" are absolutely the tipping point that pushed me into the pool. I wouldn't have found those without VAF, no doubt. I'm sure I made quite a pain of myself asking question during the early years.
 
New poll

I have today started a new thread with a Poll titled: "How influential was the existence of VAF in your decision to build an RV". This poll is only open to BUILDERS.

I have deleted the Poll I started several days ago which was open to both builders and buyers of RVs because the logic was flawed.

So if you voted previously and you still qualify please go back and vote again. I'm trying to get as many voters as possible so that the statistics have substance.
 
Thank you Bob. Very thoughtful piece of writing. Doug deserves a huge THANK YOU for an immeasurable contribution to the RV community and flying in general.

Chris
 
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