The Big Lebowski: Are you employed, sir?
The Dude: Employed?
The Big Lebowski: You don't go out looking for
a job dressed like that? On a weekday?
The Dude: Is this a... what day is this?
|
 Doug Reeves.
Busboy Trainee:
Delta Romeo, LLC.
(Andrena Wishnie photograph.)
Resume
primary role in world:
husband / father
professional experience:
not important
passions:
things with
motors,
wings and guitar strings
¯¯VAF¯¯
Mission Statement
-----------------------------
-
Family first.
-
It's not about
technology or features. It's about people, and
creating a no-stress place to get away from the
pressures of the world for a bit.
-
J.J. D.I.D.
T.I.E. B.U.C.K.L.E.*
(an outstanding benchmark to shoot for)
-
Make fun of yourself.
-
Spend less
than you make.
-
Respect and civility.
-
Lead by example.
-
Loyalty up loyalty down.
-
Foster a sense of
community.
Circa 1970 (age 5).
Flowered pants and a hat
that says 'MEXICO' on the front.
You gotta trust me on the hat. |
VansAirForce.net
(VAF)
is focused like an electron microscope on Van's RV kitplanes
only.
It's a place for people building and flying them
to socialize, network, get inspiration and receive help
from others.
Hello. My name is Doug
Reeves. I fly this RV-6
and am building
this RV-3.
I was
born and raised in Waco, TX, and attended Midway Elementary,
Junior High and High Schools. Two years at McLennan
Community College followed, then two more at Baylor, finishing
up in 1987 with a B.A. in
Entrepreneurship/Marketing. Worked construction and played
in bands to make extra $$$. Like everyone else in the
80's I
then got a job that orbited around computers.
I
created VansAirForce.net
(VAF) in 1997 and ran it in the evenings as a side business in order
to make the building and flying of our airplane, a Van's RV-6 we
call 'Flash',
more affordable. Over the next decade VAF gathered an online
head of steam, becoming my full time job in April 2007. I now
run this site, fly and build airplanes and occasionally write
about it. My business goal going forward is to
never set foot in a conference room or cube again.
I'm
building (glacially slow) an
RV-3B
with our son
as a dirt simple, low cost 2nd airplane as time, money
and circumstances allow.
"Woke up, got out of bed. Dragged a comb
across my head."
-- A Day In The Life
Checking the inbox and forums
each morning around 0520 local,
I'm looking for RV
items that surfaced while I slept - things that might help
others still building, motivate someone into trying the
hobby, or anything else that catches my eye in a RV way.
I try to finish assembly of the next 'edition' M-F before 0715
Dallas time, push it out, then the process
starts anew. Then maybe I go fly for a bit, or
exercise, or hunt for content, or work on the accounting end of the business. It's
easily an eight hour a day job, but spread
out over the whole 24 in little thirty minute bites. An unconventional career, but the perks are meaningful:
a) pants optional, b) no commute or meetings, c)
creative control.
Most likely
lost over some part of Oregon in our
RV-6 'Flash'. Ed Hicks photo.
Some background on the site:
Starting
back in '97 with the
RV White Pages and some 3rd party
message board software, the site found its online
footing. Later, as the weaknesses in the message
board app became apparent, I created several Yahoo groups - one for each model to give the community a
little more flexibility. A couple of years later
when the I.T. department (of my then day job) blocked access to
all Yahoo stuff (like most companies were doing at the
time), I couldn't approve messages fast enough
for people's needs and still keep the spam out. Shortly thereafter I researched, purchased and
installed the
current forum software (and deleted the Yahoo
groups I had created). The newest incarnation of the site's forums
hopefully make the hobby, in some small way, more personal.
The rules
for posting can be cliff-noted with 99.999% accuracy
with a simple "Be Nice."
"You can stand out on a
street corner handing out $100 bills and someone will still call you an
@sshole."
-- friend of Jim Pappas
There
has been a very conscious effort on my part to make everything
on the site
visible to everyone,
without requiring any kind of registration or login. If I point you to a news article on RVs that I find, you won't
have to register to see it. If I point you to some
pictures somewhere that someone has uploaded, same thing.
And, because it's a people oriented hobby, I usually only
spotlight those stories where the person's real name is given
(you won't see a construction status shot on the front page for
user 'AcePilot78' unless his real name is listed in there
somewhere). While you do need to login
to the forums to actually POST a message, any
unregistered 'lurker' can
see it all. Unlike almost every other aviation
website.
I do it this way specifically to put a no-hassle spin on
the experience and to quasi-reinforce to viewers that we
represent something that is more community than clique.
It is
my hope that if you come to the site regularly, and
consider yourself a regular viewer, you will adhere to the
honor system that I've requested and will send in
your yearly
donation. I have enough usernames and passwords to
keep track of - I'm sure you do also.
I currently live north of Dallasw,
TXw
with my
jewelry making
/ yoga instructing wife, two children, chihuahua 'Moon Dog', RV
'Flash', two
hermit crabs and
fish 'Bubbles'. Above all else I care
about my wife, children, extended family and friends.
Flying comes in around priority number twelve, as it
should.
Our
family's company, created because the CPA said to do it, is Delta Romeo, LLC.
It sounds all official, but is really just one guy in front of a
computer (possibly in pajamas) scratching out a living.
Thanks for reading,
Doug (contact
info)
