Dumont Aviation Accountable Manager Gerard van Dyk Awarded FAA Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award

Dumont Aviation announces that its accountable manager Gerard van Dyk has received the FAA Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award. The award is given in appreciation for dedicated service, technical expertise, professionalism and outstanding maintenance contributions to further the cause of aviation safety.

Mr. van Dyk,”Van” as he is known in the aviation community, has established an aviation maintenance career spanning more than 50 years. Van Dyk moved to Delaware from the Netherlands in 1962. In the Netherlands, he was a member of the Royal Dutch Air Force and worked for KLM Airlines as a mechanic. When he moved to the US, he was welcomed and encouraged by the FAA in Philadelphia. In 1963, he obtained his A&P Certificate and worked for Summit Aviation in Middletown, Delaware. In 1971, he obtained a position at the New Castle County Airport (KILG) for the Rollins Flight Department as a maintenance manager. When the Rollins Flight Department closed in 1974, van Dyk and his wife Wyneke, started a maintenance company there named Gerard van Dyk, Inc. In 1975, he and his wife established an FBO called New Castle Aviation.

In 1977, van Dyk became the director of maintenance for Summit Aviation at KILG. In 1985 he opened a family owned corporate maintenance facility at KILG named ELCORTA Inc. This business became a FAA Repair Station and in 1999, expanded to a maintenance facility hangar. In 2013, Dumont Aviation acquired the facility and van Dyk is the accountable manager.