The airman
Visitation School graduate celebrated for work in aviation Richard VanGrunsven poses in front of one of his creations â a plane that gets high marks from aviators for handling and safety. (Courtesy Vanâs Aircraft) 1/27/2021 1:37 PM
select
For young Richard VanGrunsven, the farms around Cornelius seemed like natural airstrips.
He was born one of eight children to a farm family in 1939, the glory days of aviation. His father had taken flying lessons and when he spoke of life in the air, his clever and skinny son started dreaming. It didn’t hurt that other local farmers used their land as runways into the wild blue yonder. Richard itched to fly.