About me

my live story

Born 1943 in the tropics of the Caribbean Netherlands Antilles and raised there as a "Shell" child, the family finally left in 1961 to return to the mother land of my parents, the Netherlands. It was strange, still unknown, but soon to be accepted as the new place for me to live and to continue my school years to come. Secondary education on the "exact" side (science) as we call it, which I did quite thoroughly :)

Thereafter I joined the Dutch Royal Air force as a volunteer to become an Air Traffic Controller in the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. After my so-called OJT (On the Job Training) at Eindhoven airbase (F84F Thunderstreaks) I was transferred to Gilze Rijen (EHGR) to enforce this training base at the ATC department (TWR and APP). There I learnt already the importance, not only of (pilot) training itself, but more over the significant role that ATC shall play here in serving and guiding the (student) pilots any moment of their (training) performance.

Having a more or less limited contract and having heard of "Eurocontrol" towards the end of that contract period, my choice was easy. Swap the uniform for civil and more loose clothes. Luxembourg was the guest country for 9 months with intensive Conversion Training to follow the first part of the practical training on Brussels Airport. On the top floor of the "old" building, still there, it was behind the "wall" where Eurocontrol had its premises and where I joined civil ATC on a real airport. Looking out of the windows from that 10th floor to see the birds pulling themselves with full power into the air. Round about the moment you witnessed the wheels got off the old intercom crackled the sounds of the tower controller reporting that Sabena so and so got airborne at time .... True information, confirmed with my eyes .... he went off and was airborne :)

Following its flight path and struggling its way up many minutes later that same Sabena reached level 195 climbing to contact "the Uppers". Still procedural control at that time with the help of many handwritten flight strips, prepared and distributed by the students (a.o. me :)). Still, in the very middle between those procedural boards of the east and the west sector, there was that "box" covered by the poor radar guy bent forward and inside to try to watch that old fashioned green scope with the winding beam, which they proudly called "radar". It meant that if procedural control could not follow, this radar mate tried to identify the traffic (primary with the help of some secondary) and advised what to do to not only to provide sufficient separation, but more over to expedite the at time already steadily growing amount traffic .... DVR, WUL, DEN, GAA, LNO and NTM as they followed the at that time called Upper Green One airway. "Passing WUL, 12.35, FL 234 climbing FL250, estimating DEN 12.41, Bealine 345". Already Bealine, be it not the present BE-line, but the good old British European Airlines BEA, serving Europe from the island in the North Sea :)

I don't know why, but again after 9 months we all changed to Beek in the Netherlands to become Maastricht Control, the first real European cooperation in Air Traffic Control and Airspace delegation. Controlling Belgium Airspace from "Dutch" territory .... at least, that is what it seemed. In reality, as I found out many years later, the premises, the ground on which this first Eurocontrol Centre was built, by mutual agreement and contract was declared to have an European status. In reality it meant that the Eurocontrol Organisation there had special (tax) facilities, but we .... yeah, you see my point :( We remained with a European status but under the Dutch legislation and therefore Dutch tax liable under the Dutch ruling :( Never mind, it wasn't really poverty at those times, but still, what's in the name of an International European Organisation if you don't really feel it in your finances? Or, did I really remained too much Dutch there ??

It was there in these beginning years that we continued to build what we started already in Brussels. The foundation of the Eurocontrol Guild of Air Traffic Services EGATS. So many nationalities, so many different backgrounds and interpretations, but all together determined to have our professional interests not only respected but more over protected. I say professional interests because interesting enough we did understand that by safeguarding our professional status we would be stronger in case we needed to additionally look at the social or trade union facts. Many, many years, in fact as long as I was there, we had to defend and safeguard our existence against the national attacks from different countries where we in fact provided an excellent ATC service. But, as you can imagine, success always provokes jealousy and other problems. It was but humans there.

As a founder member of EGATS, for many years I actively participated in the many tasks and duties which we performed, like with the several conferences and international meetings which we organised. High standing and much appreciated by the professional world of pilots and related organisation (airlines) alike. EGATS became a guarantee for quality and for professionalism. Secretary of the Board, editor of the Magazine, organiser of several conferences, a lot of free time was passed where my "second" heart was devoted to: ATC.

to be continued :)

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Created on ... May 07, 2010