Jaap Hofstra had wanted to be a pilot from childhood. "I have seen the air battles in the war. They fascinated me'. He was rejected by the National Aviation School, and in 1956 I joined the Dutch Royal Air Force. On February 1, 1972, he went to work at Fokker as a test pilot.. Hehas flown fighters such as the Meteor, the Streak, the Starfighter and later, as a test pilot at Fokker, the F-16.
