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that same year. VanGrunsven originally planned to become a fighter pilot, but a minor color vision problem that would have been acceptable in civilian aviation, but not to the Air Force, led instead to him serving three years as a communications officer. After serving in the Air Force, he worked as a
198:, where he won the "Best Aerodynamic Detailing" award for the RV-3. The aircraft set new standards of aircraft performance in the homebuilt industry, and became the genesis design for the rest of the RV-series, all which strongly resemble the RV-3.
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tandem aircraft in 1979. Van's
Aircraft continued to produce new designs with good all-round performance, reasonable costs, and continuous improvement in kit quality, developing the RV series all the way up to the latest aircraft, the 2012
147:. Richard learned to fly in 1956 from a 670-foot airstrip on the farm, acquiring his pilot certificate at age 16. His first aeronautical business was providing wheel pants for Taylorcraft. He graduated from the
164:, an Oregon manufacturer of lift trucks. His free time was devoted to learning more about aviation. He now has earned Certified Flight Instructor, multi-engine, and Airline Transport Pilot ratings and has
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area farmer. He has seven brothers and sisters. His father had taken flying lessons prior to getting married and his stories inspired
Richard and his older brother Jerry to acquire an old
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Van's homebuilt designs are built in enough numbers that several groups, such as "Freedom Flight" and the thirteen-member "Team RV", have organized all-RV formation demonstration teams.
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magazine ranked VanGrunsven 22 on its list of the "51 Heroes of
Aviation" and has labelled him the "undisputed leader in kit aircraft manufacturing".
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and modified it by installing a larger engine. Later, he modified the aircraft by installing cantilevered aluminum wings with flaps, creating the
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manufacturer. The number of VanGrunsven-designed homebuilt aircraft produced each year in North
America exceeds the production of all commercial
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using aircraft of his own design. His company has sold over 18,000 kits or sets of plans, with over 7,500 aircraft completed.
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446:"Gift from University of Portland engineering alumnus establishes Richard and Diane VanGrunsven Professor of Engineering"
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Brandon Thalor (17 June 2011). "Team RV Puts On Aerial Show For The
Dispatch Writer, Photographer".
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420:, Kitplanes, Volume 29, Number 12, December 2012, page 28-29. Belvoir Publications. ISSN 0891-1851
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Although commonly known as "Dick" by the media and public, VanGrunsven primarily uses "Richard".
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and others, launched a campaign and website made for honoring EAA's former long-time president
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TARA SULLIVAN (22 June 2009). "Group takes to the air to celebrate
Independence Day".
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in 1965. A few years later he started a clean-sheet design, the all-aluminum
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In
November 2013 VanGrunsven was appointed to the board of directors of the
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Joseph
Gallivan (17 July 2007). "Olinger?s DIY pilots love to go RV-ing".
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In 2006 VanGrunsven was inducted into the Oregon
Aviation Hall of Fame.
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single-place aircraft, which VanGrunsven introduced at the 1972
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In 1973 VanGrunsven founded the aircraft manufacturing company
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protection as part of a company reorganization plan.
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over 12,000 hours of flight time. He is also an avid
692:"Van's Aircraft Announces Chapter 11 Reorganization"
112:(AKIA), an American aviation advocacy association.
108:, and in 2012 became the founding president of the
217:VanGrunsven commutes regularly to his company in
93:(born 1939) is an American aircraft designer and
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175:Towards the mid-1960s, VanGrunsven purchased a
696:Van's Aircraft Total Performance RV Kit Planes
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261:On December 4, 2023, Van's Aircraft filed for
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681:. July 24, 2013. Retrieved: January 12, 2018.
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339:"Aircraft kit industry forms new association"
296:Lane Wallace (June 2012). "Van's Air Force".
418:Q&A with AKIA President Dick VanGrunsven
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313:"AKIA -- The Kit Manufacturers' Association"
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659:"Petition Urges EAA to Honor Tom Poberezny"
131:Richard VanGrunsven grew up on a farm near
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367:"Kit manufacturers form new association"
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344:Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
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124:Example of a Van's aircraft, the 1995
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738:2020 video interview with VanGrunsven
234:(EAA). That same year he, along with
614:"EAA Adds Recognized Names To Board"
589:"Oregon Aviation Historical Society"
530:"Van's Aircraft Celebrates 50 Years"
393:"Kit Association Responding To NTSB"
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416:Bernard, Mary and Suzanne B. Bopp:
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232:Experimental Aircraft Association
110:Aircraft Kit Industry Association
926:United States Air Force officers
916:People from Forest Grove, Oregon
906:American aviation businesspeople
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612:Pew, Glenn (22 November 2013).
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432:University of Portland Magazine
205:. The RV-3 was followed by the
57:Engineer, aviation entrepreneur
931:Military personnel from Oregon
467:"Van's Aircraft, Inc. History"
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1:
921:University of Portland alumni
911:People from Cornelius, Oregon
640:"HonorPoberezny.com launches"
638:General Aviation News Staff.
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91:Richard E. "Dick" VanGrunsven
901:American aerospace engineers
725:Van's Aircraft official site
365:Wood, Janice (5 July 2012).
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391:Pew, Glenn (27 July 2012).
32:1939 (age 84–85)
16:American aerospace engineer
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311:Pew, Glenn (6 July 2012).
866:
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430:"A Creature of the Air".
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676:"51 Heroes of Aviation."
337:Hirschman, Dave (2012).
488:"A Creature of The Air"
157:United States Air Force
192:EAA AirVenture Airshow
149:University of Portland
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48:University of Portland
644:General Aviation News
509:"Richard VanGrunsven"
371:General Aviation News
263:Chapter 11 bankruptcy
155:. He then joined the
123:
545:The Portland Tribune
135:and is the son of a
101:companies combined.
36:Forest Grove, Oregon
872:Richard VanGrunsven
201:In 1973 he founded
23:Richard VanGrunsven
730:2012 article from
720:AKIA official site
196:Oshkosh, Wisconsin
180:homebuilt aircraft
153:engineering degree
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560:Houston Chronicle
133:Cornelius, Oregon
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84:Diane VanGrunsven
62:Years active
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434:. Spring 2008.
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298:Sport Aviation
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236:Dale Klapmeier
219:Aurora, Oregon
203:Van's Aircraft
143:, and later a
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698:. 2023-12-04
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575:The Dispatch
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512:. Retrieved
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491:. Retrieved
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470:. Retrieved
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448:. 2016-02-23
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65:1961–present
891:1939 births
623:25 November
145:Taylorcraft
885:Categories
702:2023-12-05
452:2017-10-26
269:References
244:Bob Hoover
240:Burt Rutan
95:kit plane
781:Aircraft
137:Portland
402:28 July
172:pilot.
76:founder
867:People
679:Flying
597:9 June
514:9 June
376:9 July
350:9 July
322:9 July
255:Flying
170:glider
166:logged
162:Hyster
81:Spouse
858:RV-15
853:RV-14
848:RV-13
843:RV-12
838:RV-11
833:RV-10
618:AVweb
592:(PDF)
397:AVweb
317:AVweb
212:RV-14
126:RV-8A
828:RV-9
823:RV-8
818:RV-7
813:RV-6
808:RV-5
803:RV-4
798:RV-3
793:RV-2
788:RV-1
625:2013
599:2012
516:2012
495:2015
474:2015
404:2012
378:2012
352:2012
324:2012
207:RV-4
188:RV-3
184:RV-1
38:, US
29:Born
194:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
