DSM Experience – Personal Touch Service
Elliott Aviation Des Moines Experience – Personal Touch Service. Our Elliott Aviation Des Moines facility is an Authorized King Air, Phenom, and TBM service center. In addition, we’re a 145 repair station for Hawker, Citation, Falcon 10 Series, and Lear-jet 45/60 Series. We focus on the maintenance of your aircraft and your avionics systems.
Scott Pottebaum – Director of Technical Services
Scott has been in the aviation industry for 26 years; 17 of them have been with Elliott Aviation. Before joining our team, Scott gained experience in the U.S. Navy and the Iowa Army National Guard. He has been factory-trained on King Air 200, Baron/Bonanza, Williams FJ44, Citation 500 Series, aircraft welding and aircraft hydraulics. Scott enjoys being there for his customers and helping them keep their airplanes in an airworthy condition while delivering squawk free aircraft on time. He is most proud of his team for the quality of work they perform and the limited amount of rework or warranty work they have. Scott states that this team stands out from the rest because of “our ability to turn out a quality product in a timely manner.”
Tom Lauda – Quality Control Manager
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Tom has 35 years of aviation experience and we are proud that 28 of those years have been with Elliott Aviation. Tom has a number of certifications: he received his A&P license with inspection authorization; he is a commercial multi-engine pilot and a certified flight instructor-instrument. He is also factory trained on King Air and Beechjets. Tom’s love of aviation and the everyday challenges keeps his passion alive to do the best job that he can. He’s proud of his team for their hard work and goal orientated mentality, making the customer’s overall experience stand out from the rest.
John Ferrick – Project Team Lead
John has been in the aviation industry for 25 years and a part of the Elliott Aviation family for 16 years. He is certified and factory trained on several airframes including Beechcraft 1900, 300, 200, Lear 40/45, CRJ200/900, as well as Pratt & Whitney PTG Heavy. John’s passion for aviation started with his father who served in the Air Force and worked on aircraft. He is proud of his team for the integrity of every single technician who ensures an aircraft will not leave in an unsafe condition.
Cameron Jensen – Service Team Leader
Cameron is one of our Service Team Leaders and has been in aviation for 25 years, 14 with Elliott Aviation. He learned about aircraft while in the U.S. Army and at Great Lakes Airlines before joining our team. He is factory trained on King Air 90 and Cessna CJ1. Cameron also has his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Simpson College. Cameron was attracted to Army aviation for the excitement around flying, so transitioning to maintenance after serving was an easy choice for him. He gains satisfaction from solving difficult problems and enjoying the challenges of troubleshooting complex systems. Cameron states: “The service and avionics departments in Des Moines have a working relationship with many of our customers that are 10-20 years old. We know and understand what our customers are expecting and they trust us to provide it.”
Harold Petro – Team Lead
Harold has 15 years in the aviation industry and joined our team in January 2007. He has gained experience at other FBO’s and is factory-trained on King Air 350, small PT6A Line Maintenance, Cessna 501 Mustang and Hawker 700, 800 and 900. Harold’s passion for aviation started in high school where they had an aviation program. He enjoys the challenges of working on aircraft and his goal is to deliver a safe aircraft every time. Harold is proud of his team for their experience and how they work well together, making them stand out from the rest.
Brett Nelson – Service Supervisor
Brett has 25 years of aviation experience and is factory-trained on many airframes including Beechjet 400A, King Air 200, Phenom 300 and TBM 850. He is also factory-trained on Pratt & Whitney JT15D-5 and PT6A Hot Section. Brett enjoys that every day is a learning experience and there is something different every day. He also enjoys troubleshooting and mentoring technicians. He is proud of his team because they all work together as a team for the success of the end project. Brett states, “We have technicians that are factory-trained on several airframes and engines. We have a lot of experience within the shop.”
Barry Steffan – Shift Supervisor
Barry has 25 years of aviation experience. Joining the Elliott Aviation family 20 years ago, he received his A&P license from Hawkeye Institute of Technology and is factory-trained on King Air 90, 200 and 300 series and PT6A line maintenance. Barry remains interested in the aviation industry due to the wide array of aircraft he has worked on, as they can be anywhere from 30 plus years old to being just delivered from the factory. He enjoys his work because there is always a new challenge. Barry’s goal for each project is for the customer to be satisfied with the completed job and want to return without hesitation. He states that his team works hard to meet customers’ completion deadlines and delivers squawk free aircraft. He also states that it’s his team’s in-house capabilities and experiences that make them stand out from the rest.
Zeke Tiefenthaler – Team Lead
Having 22 years of experience in aviation, Zeke gained experience through the military and at Cessna before joining the Elliott Aviation team. Being part of the Elliott family for 12 years, Zeke is factory trained on King Air 90 and enjoys the people he works with and their ability to know what needs to be done. His goal for each job he does is to get it done right and on time every time.
Lynn Sichender – Avionics Technician/Inspector
Marine veteran Lynn has 36 years of aviation experience. He has been factory-trained on many products such as the Collins Proline 21 avionics suite. His goal for each project is to do a quality job with the highest level of efficiency. Lynn enjoys working with the team to produce a product that the customer then enjoys flying. He states that the team is very skilled, unselfish, hard working, and works great together.
Bart VanHeuveln – Senior Avionics Technician
With 26 years of aviation experience, Bart enjoys completing challenging tasks and creating professional products. Joining the Elliott Aviation team 23 years ago, he has his Avionics Associates Degree from Alexandria Technical Institute and has been certified and factory-trained on numerous avionics systems from Garmin, Honeywell and Collins. Bart maintains his goal is having the highest quality product, whether it is a newly installed system or a repair.
Dean Osterloh – Avionics Wiring Technician II
Dean has been in the aviation industry for 27 years and we’re proud 13 of those years have been with Elliott Aviation. His passion for the industry began with news coverage of the space shuttle program. Before joining the program, he gained experience in the US Air force maintaining avionics systems on RC-135 and B-52G aircraft. After leaving the Air Force, he worked for Boeing Aerospace maintaining KC-135 flight simulators for the Air Force. Dean is certified and factory-trained on Garmin G1000, Collins Proline 21, DOD high reliability soldering and has been to several AF schools. He enjoys seeing an aircraft that he has worked on go to a satisfied customer, which gives him a sense of accomplishment. He’s proud of the team because they have a depth of knowledge, professionalism and willingness to go the extra mile to satisfy the customer.
Dean Foster – Avionics Wire Installer/Technician
An Air Force veteran, Dean has 30 years of aviation experience, gaining 27 year in the service. Dean enjoys seeing his and his team’s work light up in a new Garmin G1000 install and seeing the customers’ smiles. His main goal for each project is to have 100% wire installation accuracy during harness build up and installation. He states, “ We are smaller so we do everything from engineering to installing and repairs of avionics systems which makes us stand out from the rest.”
Dan Swensen – Avionics Sheet Metal Technician
Dan has 20 years of aviation experience, gaining 15 of those years with Elliott Aviation. He is factory trained on King Air 200 and 300. His passion for aviation developed when he was a child as he built and flew RC airplanes. Dan enjoys solving complex problems and coming up with ways to make each project become more efficient.