I decided to build a plane back in 2004 but what plane to build? I went on the internet and it didn't take long to realize that Vans was the market leader by far and for good reason. I asked on the Mid-Atlantic RV Yahoo group if anyone in the local area was building and could show me their project, answer a few questions. A guy named Mitchell Lock responded, invited me over to his house and spent a couple of hours with me. I ended up going over to his house three or four times during my build, an invaluable help to a new builder like me. I was thrilled when he become president and General Manager of Vans Aircraft Company. I was building an RV-7 and so was Dan Checkoway at the time. I referred to his excellent site on a daily basis. Because of Dan's site and VAF I never had to call Vans support.