Tag Archives: Vans RV
Kitty Hawk RV Fly-In 2019
Kitty Hawk Aerodrome once again held their annual RV Fly-In. The apron was jam-packed with light aircraft of all sorts. Everything from yesteryear general aviation types, to the RVs and even a few Cessnas, Bathawks and Gyrocopters. The morning started with a lovely breakfast at the Kitty Hawk Restaurant. The flying started at around 10h00 with 15 RVs getting airborne.
They formed for two formation flybys. After the mass flybys have concluded, the Raptor Aerobatic team started their display. The team’s display consisted of a couple of barrel rolls, loops and solo flybys. After the Raptors RV Team had landed, the skies filled with a familiar roar of radials.
The Puma Energy Flying Lions Harvard team came in to land. The fans really enjoyed chatting to Scully and Arnie. The Bell 206 Jet ranger also made a few passes with a journalist from eNCA inside. Following the helicopter trend, was the two Gyrocopters. I unfortunately missed the Flying Lions display as I my day ended shortly after their arrival.
With the big SAAF Museum Airshow held only a week prior, events like these often get over shadowed by the bigger shows, but they must not be underestimated. Having a chat with some of the airshow pilots is something that you don’t normally get to do at the bigger shows. Because the aircraft park right on the grass in front of the restaurant, it provides a unique opportunity for the future aviators to get up close and personal with the aircraft.
2019 has been a rough year for airshows in South Africa. Many have been cancelled or delayed, leaving the aviation fans longing for some action. That is where many of these smaller events have shined this year. We look forward to next year’s edition of these lovely event!
Kitty Hawk RV Fly-In 2018
The now annual Kitty Hawk RV Fly-in was again a huge turnout from both RV aircraft owners and other general aviation aircraft who made the outing to the east of Pretoria for a great breakfast and lunch at the Kitty hawk restraint which is well advertised through the aviation community and surely attracts all pilots from around the country.
Kitty Hawk aerodrome is located 30km and an easy 20 minute drive south east of Pretoria in the Boschkop area. The airfield is the central hub for an active aviation community and offers aircraft owners superb facilities. As the theme being a RV Fly-in many types of RVs flew into the field and owner to owner had the great opportunity to interact with one another and share the passion for the Vans Rv aircraft.
Some of the resident Rv pilots gave the visitor’s a display of formation flying with different types of the Rv, after the break the Raptors Rv team broke away and then continued to give their usual display at their home base where all of their airshow training takes place before the air show season starts. Once again a great turnout from everyone that attended and one of the friendliest fly-in Aviation Central has attended. We look forward to sharing this day again next year!
History of the Vans RV
After improving another homebuilt design, the Stits Playboy, as much as he could, Richard (Van) VanGrunsven decided to start with a clean sheet of paper. His RV-3 impressed a lot of people (“RV” of course, stands for Richard VanGrunsven…). Many of them were willing to take on the task of building an airplane from scratch so that they, too, could have an airplane that flew like Van’s. Already an experienced pilot, Van quit his job with a forklift company and seized the opportunity to work with his real love, aviation. He founded Van’s Aircraft, Inc. in 1972 and began selling plans and a few parts for the RV-3. These he manufactured himself, working in a small shop behind his house in the small town of Reedville, Oregon. As business grew and Van’s Aircraft began producing full aircraft kits and new designs, the company moved to larger quarters in North Plains, Oregon, a small town about 25 miles west of Portland. Van and his wife Diane built a home on a residential airpark just across the road from the factory. For many years, the RV prototypes and demonstration aircraft flew from the grass runway at the airpark.