Any time an aircraft designer can look out the window and think, A thousand of my airplanes are out there flying right now, that's a good feeling. By that yardstick, Richard "Van" VanGrunsven should be feeling very good indeed. His company, Van's Aircraft, can document 10,700 aircraft flying or that have flown. He founded the company in 1972, so that total says he's sold an average of a little more than four airplanes a week, every week, for 48 years. Any factory building light aircraft would be happy with those numbers, but Van's Aircraft doesn't build light aircraft. The company makes aircraft kits, so those 10,700 airplanes have been built by individuals, working in small shops and garages all over the world.
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