Dickerhoof was born in Norway, Kansas. In the early 1920’s, he bought and restored a Canuck, which he taught himself to fly. In 1939, at Chanute Junior College, Dickerhoof started a training course to promote civilian flying. During World War II, he received a contract from the United States government to train pilots and instructors for the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPT). At one point there were 24 Waco UPF-7’s in use at Dickerhoof’s facility, and by the end of the program in 1945, the CPT school in Chanute was the largest secondary instructor school in the United States.