Born January 19, 1938 in Leiden the Netherlands, his family’s residence in Warmond.
At age 6 he experienced The Second World War right at his doorstep - the earth shaking from the many British Lancaster bombers passing overhead on their way to Germany, some not returning. The crew of one that could not make it back managed to land in a nearby lake – it was nighttime and the surviving crew were able to save themselves by swimming to an island. A farmer rescued them and hid them from the German occupational forces.
At age 16 he attended a technical trade school for 2 years and then the Luchtvaart Nijverheids School for four years which took him to his first job with the Fokker Fliegtuigbouw (factory) at Schiphol. For one year he was kept busy assembling the Parts Manual for the F 27 (type Friendship). But at age nineteen the mandatory 2 year Dutch military draft took him and he selected to serve the Dutch Airforce. After his discharge he was employed by KLM the Royal Dutch Airline maintaining their DC7s and SuperConstallations and in 1960 became involved with the very first jet-powered aircraft – the DC8.
It was this type of plane that took him and his new bride to the USA in 1962. He looked for a job at Boeing, Piasecki Aircraft Corporation, Atlantic Aviation but was rejected because of the lack of the required certificate. He found the Federal Aviation Admiration to apply and spent the next few months studying their written material and passed the tests for the Airframe and Powerplant Certification. With this certification he entered the employ of Summit Aviation in Middletown, Delaware. After 5 years the FAA gave him the opportunity to test for the Inspection Authorization Certificate which was considered a step up.
Lear Jet started to build corporate jets and in 1965 he was invited to their factory to attend a maintenance course for the first Model 23 airplane. This became important because Summit opened a facility at Wilmington AirPort selling Lear Jets and he became the Service Manager for them and other plane types, taking him to many parts of the world. In 1972 he purchased a jet plane hangar at Wilmington Airport and in 1985 his experience made him confident enough to start his own company. ELCORTA a corporation doing business as repair station for corporate jet planes worldwide.
Awards:
In 1970 the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration presented him the Aviation Mechanic Safety Award for demonstrating skill and imagination in developing the outstanding contribution to safety in general aviation through maintenance practices.
In 2014 the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration awarded him the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award: In recognition of your contribution to building and maintaining the safest Aviation System in the world through practicing and promoting safe air craft maintenance for more than 50 consecutive years.