The initials "RV" usually mean Recreational Vehicle, and while that may be an apt description of the RV-3, RV-4, RV-6/6A, RV-7/7A,  RV-8/8A, and RV-9/9A airplanes, in this case they are also the initials of designer and founder of Van's Aircraft, Richard VanGrunsven. Usually known as Dick or "Van", Richard learned to fly in 1956 at the age of 16. He has logged 7000+ hours, 4000 of it in homebuilts, and holds CFI and multi-engine ATP ratings.

Throughout high school and college years he flew a Cub and a Taylorcraft from the 670' grass strip on his parents' farm near Cornelius, Oregon. He flew as a respite from long weekends of academic study and for the sheer joy of it. His flying included frequent flights to visit the few homebuilders of the era. Often his destination would be one of the noteworthy pioneers of experimental aviation, George Bogardus and Hobie Sorrell. Both had private airstrips that enabled Van to visit regularly. The information he gleaned from them and others became the basis of his later vocation. These early flying experiences helped mold the ideals which he would later apply to all his own designs - sport aircraft must be versatile to be fully enjoyable.

After finishing college with a degree in engineering, he joined the Air Force for a three year tour. He served as a communications officer because a slight color vision problem prevented his acceptance in the pilot training program. He remained active in flying, becoming a key figure in the base flying club, and owning two homebuilts.

The first homebuilt was a rather sad-performing 65 hp Stits Playboy which Van flew for a year and sold. During that time, he purchased another Playboy airframe and rebuilt it, installing a 125 hp Lycoming engine, bubble canopy, and Hoerner style wingtips. This flew much better, but still had a high landing speed, high sink rate, and only moderately good cruise speed. Clearly, he reasoned, this much horsepower should provide better performance, so the airframe couldn't be as efficient as its sporty lines indicated.

Within a year of returning to civilian life, now employed as a mechanical engineer, he had designed, built and installed a set of cantilever aluminum wings to replace the strut-braced wood and fabric originals. Renamed the RV-1, the Playboy flew like a new airplane. The wings were equipped with flaps to provide the short landing performance required for operation from the short farm strip. It was jokingly said that the only reason "that cheap Dutchman" rebuilt the Playboy was to be able to keep it at home and avoid hangar rent. Whatever the reason, it was the beginning of the RV designs.

From 1965 through 1968 Van flew the RV-1 550 hours and enjoyed its performance immensely, but still, he was aware that it was a hybrid and felt something better was possible. Van figured that an airplane should be able to fly into any reasonable airstrip where the fun might be, have enough power and maneuverability to do good basic aerobatics, and be as fast as possible. This may not seem to be a particularly inspired goal, but just consider for a minute how few airplanes actually achieve it. He reluctantly sold the RV-1 (it was still flying in 2001) and began design and construction of the RV-3. It flew for the first time in August 1971. It proved to be a delightful airplane, an improvement in every way over the RV-1.

Even before the RV-3 had flown and proven a success, Van was inundated with requests for a two-seat RV. At the time he was developing and producing RV-3 kits almost single-handedly, so it was several years until he could find time to start building a two-place, and several more years until it would fly.

On its first flight in August 1979, it proved to be outstanding, better than Van had dared dream. Its top speed was only 10 mph less than a comparably powered RV-3. The handling, low speed control and delightful aileron response that characterized the RV-3, had been retained. The RV-4 found a ready and enthusiastic market.

After the RV-4 was established, Van designed an airplane for the prospective customers clamoring for a side-by-side design. Building upon his own work and incorporating ideas from a custom built airplane built in Michigan by Art Chard, (the first man to finish a homebuilt RV-3) he designed the RV-6 and followed it shortly with the tricycle gear RV-6A.

The RV-6/6A became the most successful kit aircraft in history, but Van continued to design new airplanes. Assisted by an engineering staff and CAD draftsmen, Van’s Aircraft, Inc. introduced the RV-7/7A, the RV-8/8A, the RV-9/9A and is now hard at work on the four-place RV-10.

Now almost 30 years at the helm, Van continues to lead the company he founded. He commutes into his desk in the engineering office (no private cubicle, no executive washroom, no reserved parking spot) every day, usually in his original RV-4. Well, almost every day…in the summer, when the soaring conditions are good, he pulls out his Ventus self-launching sailplane, takes a few days off…