SA celebration of Van’s Aircraft 50th Anniversary

This year, Van’s Aircraft Inc. celebrates its 50^th anniversary. Smoke On Go decided to find out more from two of the most respected RV affectionados in South Africa.

We first chatted to Robin Coss from Robin Coss Aviation in Cape Town.

Robin started flying in 1987, and currently has about 500hrs on various RV’s. It all started in 1997 when his friend Jaco Jackson introduced him to an RV. Robin then conscripted two partners to build their first RV, which incidentally was the third RV aircraft in South Africa.

People were so impressed, that they asked him to build their aircraft for them.

Robin says that building a Van’s Aircraft at the time was the most sensible option, and nothing really beat its specs and performance. He has since built other types such as Glasair, Kis Cruiser, Christen Eagle, replica Spitfire, Carbon Cubs, as well as Rotorway and Hummingbird helicopters.

“Being an aircraft engineer, I specialised in accident damage and corrosion rebuilds of aircraft, which gave me lots of experience,” said Robin.

Presently Robin Coss Aviation builds six to eight aircraft a year and is now touching the one hundred mark, excluding helicopters. According to Robin, the reason why the VAN’s Aircraft are so popular is the balanced handling, wide envelope of performance, large payloads, and innovations in its production methods.  “Not all aeroplanes are created equal, but VAN’S are really just a cut above the rest.”

The Van’s aircraft numbers are growing constantly and steadily in South Africa, with about 350-400 RVs in the country. This is a drop in the ocean compared to the United States, as all of Van’s foreign customers only make up 2% of Van’s total turnover.

Robin travelled to America to Oshkosh to personally congratulate the Van’s team on their 50^th anniversary, as well as to check out the new RV-15.

“We have been inundated with enquiries on the RV-15. It is an incredible aircraft that Van’s Aircraft have designed. With all their years of experience, as well as cutting edge 3D design packages, they are able to not only get it right the first time, but also predict the flight characteristics. “

The RV-15 looks to be the perfect bushplane to be launched to help celebrate their 50 year milestone.

Robin Coss Aviation is the only professional builder endorsed by Van’s in South Africa, as well as the only company to have the right to build RVs professionally in the eyes of the SACAA, and have the appropriate manufacturing licences from them to do this.

When asked about his vision for the future, Robin replied, “Our business has never been a mass production model. It has been about quality hand-crafted sports cars of the sky. Safety, fits and finishes, have been our trademark and we became a sought after brand name. This will continue to grow with new models like the RV-15 joining the fold, as well as other special projects like the Jet A1/Diesel powered models we are developing, starting with the soon to be unveiled RV-9D, which is powered by the Continental CD155 engine.”

Pierre Gouws is another well-known personality in the RV community, and since January 2015 has acted as the team leader of the Raptors Aerobatic Team. Pierre is an ex-SAA pilot, and presently flies for Safair.

Pierre has a few thousand hours flying airliners, but his love of RV’s has gained him an additional 400hrs on these aircraft since he first built an RV-8.

Pierre has nothing but praise for the RV, “Formation aerobatics was a natural progression for me in the airshow environment, and the RV -7 and RV-8 series of aircraft perform wonderfully together. They are so well designed, that I challenge any pilot to find a better homebuilt”.

Pierre will be at Kitty Hawk on the 24^th September, go out and meet him.

HISTORY

In the early 1970s, after improving the Stits Playboy, Richard (“Van”) VanGrunsven decided to start with a clean sheet of paper. His first aircraft was the RV-3, which impressed a lot of people, and many asked if they could get plans.

So, Van quit his job with the forklift company and in 1972 he founded Van’s Aircraft, Inc. (“RV” stands for Richard VanGrunsven).

The business grew and Van’s Aircraft began producing complete aircraft kits and new designs. Van’s Aircraft moved to larger quarters in North Plains, Oregon where Van and his wife Diane built a home across the road from the factory.

In 2000, the company moved to a new 60,000 square foot facility near Aurora, Oregon (KUAO). The employee-owned company currently employs around 70 people (excluding sub-contractors), manufacturing several hundred complete aircraft kits a year. The majority of the components are manufactured in the Van’s factory.

Van resides in North Plains and commutes to Aurora by air, flying whatever RV strikes his fancy on the day. After years of working long hours, Van has carved out a little more time for himself, flying sailplanes. In recent years, he spends every Saturday teaching and introducing young people to aviation and building aircraft.

Today, more than 11,114 RV kits have been completed and flown, with thousands more under construction. Completion rates currently average about 1.5 per day. RVs are flying in at least 45 different countries and kits have shipped to more than sixty, achieving a global following.

Their popularity is not the result of any superior marketing campaign, but rather simply because they fly so well and bring so much pleasure to their builders.

www.vansaircraft.com