Capt. John P. "Pete" Vandersluis
3/13/33 - 6/4/19
Photo courtesy of Pete Vandersluis
Capt. Pete Vandersluis was born in Hackensack NJ. He learned to fly as a teenager and became a charter pilot at 18. Pete served as an instructor in the U.S. Air Force from 1953 to 1957. He flew for Seaboard between 1958 and 1961, interrupted by a number of furloughs. After Seaboard, Pete flew for Eastern Airlines for 27 years. After he retired from Seaboard, he flew aerobatics at airshows for several years.
Pete's autobiography, Born to Fly, was published in 2008. The dust jacket is shown below. Pete's wife, Susan, predeceased him in 2004. Pete and Suzy are seen in this photo taken by Capt. Chuck Clarke at the SPAR reunion in Orlanda Fla. in 1982.
