This was published as a feature article on NW Natural's corporate intranet

High Flyer

Most people have a car in their garage, Ron Van Bladeren, Manager of Telecommunications, has a plane in his garage which doubles as an aircraft hangar—a hangar that’s as big as a house with a back door that opens up onto the taxiway at Evergreen Airport.

Ron and his wife built their house and the two-seater plane designed by Richard Van Granson of Forest Grove. The Van Bladeren’s RV8A airplane has a 600-700 mile range, cruises at 185-195 MPH, and gets about 16 miles per gallon of aviation fuel, which costs about $3 a gallon.

Like many young boys, Ron dreamed of flying a plane. When he was eleven he and a friend disobeyed their parents, rode their bikes across the Sunset Highway to what was Bernard Airfield, where they plunked down three dollars a piece for an airplane ride. Aviation was in Ron’s blood. He learned to fly for the Navy during the Vietnam era but he didn’t want to become an airline pilot and fly commercial jets because it was too much like driving a bus. Instead he built several airplanes, including one in which he flew his future wife from Portland to Concord, California, to meet her parents.

Ron still dreams about being able to fly one of the military’s new tactical fighter planes, but meanwhile he’s happy to be able to fly his small plane, ride his motorcycle, sail, and harness the wind.

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