On the home page of the Van’s Aircraft website, there is a replica of a Hobbs Meter. It doesn’t count hours; however, it counts aircraft completions…the number of RVs that have been finished and flown. The count this afternoon was 7,684! No other design in the homebuilt movement has come close to that. What’s equally amazing is that the number of RVs currently under construction (or abandoned) may exceed that total. What’s even more remarkable about all this is the man behind those designs, plans and kits: Dick VanGrunsven. He fits the Dutch stereotype: intelligent, clever, quiet, soft-spoken, conservative, and stubborn. People who try to talk him into modifying one of his designs sometimes get to see a different side of Dick. That’s not to say that he doesn’t respond to the market. He started out with a single seat, got talked into a two-place tandem, then a side by side model and eventually a four-seat design. In any case, his subdued demeanor makes him an unlikely candidate to be the world leader in producing kits that have made it to the flightline…until you get to know where he’s coming from.
There’s more to it than sheer numbers. It has spawned a kind of cult; a band of brothers, who take their RV building and flying very seriously. There are RV clubs out there, RV flying formations, an online chat room and blog that’s hosted by volunteers. EAA sets aside an enormous area for RV tie downs to accommodate those who visit the annual Fly-In. There are guys who have built 5, 6, even 7 copies of the RV designs. They finish one, fly it for a while, sell it and buy another model. They just love building them.
