Fred Gatz, the head of GTEC, the longtime Twin Commander engineering partner, passed away recently after a brief illness. He was 84.
Gatz began his career with Aero Commander in Bethany, Oklahoma, in 1967 working in the design group. He took a two-year sabbatical to work on DC-10 wing design analysis for McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis, returning in 1970 to Bethany and what was then Rockwell Commander. He remained there until 1988 when he founded GTEC, an engineering consulting firm. He provided engineering support to Twin Commander Aircraft and authorized service centers ever since.
In 1991 Gatz’s son, Gary, joined his father’s firm. Together they worked on structural issues related to repairs, modifications, supplemental type certificates, and service bulletins.
Former Twin Commander President Matt Isley presented Gatz with a lifetime achievement award in 2010 and said, “Fred Gatz is our go-to guy when it comes to designing and certifying structural upgrades and improvements to the Twin Commander airframe.”
