The pallets stack high inside the inventory hangar. Crates ready to be filled with kits line the ramp outside. It feels callous to say the pandemic resulted in any good consequences, but one was undoubtedly felt by Van’s Aircraft: Pilots stayed home—and built airplanes. The experimental/amateur-built (E/AB) category of aircraft saw intense growth as homegrown projects—and the ability to isolate in a hangar while doing them—took on a new shine. Instead of making jam and nurturing sourdough starter, hundreds of new builders “fermented” aircraft across the U.S.
During the year marking its 50th anniversary, Van’s worked hard to catch up. Facing workforce and supply chain ups and downs that have plagued the entire industry, the Aurora, Oregon-based OEM added shifts and placed orders on backlog from 12 to 18 months. The company managed to stockpile some key materials—such as the gauges of aluminum it bends and stamps into pre-built parts—yet it still waits on others, from the wood to build crates to the avionics finishing kits.
