Anna Kurlanc – Brace for impact!
Anna Kurlanc is currently an R&D engineer at the Dutch Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) Air Transport Safety Institute (ATSI)
What were you dreaming of becoming when you were a kid?
This may sound strange, but aviation was never on my mind back then… Architect, journalist and press photographer were the vocations that seemed the most attractive. But truth be told, I did not have any specific direction, just went from one thing to the next. I did like geography but aviation was never on the list.
What moved you to become part of the aviation family?
It was pure coincidence. I was not sure what to do and was about to start attending university taking journalism and geology when I heard about the new aviation faculty at the Polish military academy. My uncle was an air traffic controller and on impulse I decided to follow in his footsteps. Although medical reasons prevented me from obtaining an ATC license, I did discover at the academy that aviation was about more than pilots and controllers.
I was especially attracted to instrument procedure design and I became a designer myself after a stint at ENAC in Toulouse.
I guess this is why instrument procedure design proved so attractive in the end. But applying this layman’s fascination in the aviation context was a big change for me.What were the most significant events that influenced your professional life?
It was my Dad, no question about it. He used to say, Ania it is a shame not to know this thing… Thus did he motivate me to ask and learn about most everything… from Miles Davies to the third law of thermo-dynamics. He implanted in me this deep seated need to know about things, to query and understand the world around me. Even to-day, when I hear a new term or read about a new process, I hear his voice: it is a shame not to know this thing. Then I go and read up about it…
Was there a company which had a profound influence on your professional life?
I think it was the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency. That is where it all started, where my conversion to aviation became final and irrevocable.
Was there a “Darth Vader” in your life that you needed to conquer?
Not a person but a sort of stereotype in my head… It is not easy to be the only woman in a group and also to be (at least for now) the youngest. The experience and knowledge of the men around me tend to overwhelm me… It brings me down when I realize how much I still have to learn. But I am not giving up!
If you had a second chance, would you try to avoid aviation as a career?
No, absolutely not. I guess I would get involved even earlier and would possibly aim to be a pilot…
Would you recommend aviation as a career to young people to-day?
Oh yes, definitely. It is a field with so much to do, so many things for which you can develop a real passion. But you must make sure that it is really for you. If you watch an aircraft take-off and you feel that “thing” in your stomach… then you know that you have the bug and you are ok.
What personal traits should young people develop first and foremost?
First of all they must have a sense of responsibility. This is really essential. Then they must have this inner need for reaching for the clouds. Even if they are in a desk-job!
What was the funniest, aviation related situation you can recall having been in?
Well, not really funny, more like a nice experience. I was on a flight from Copenhagen to Reykjavik and when we
were served our meal, I noticed that it included a real Polish candy-bar. That particular airline does not even fly to Poland… I had this nice feeling and could only say to myself: how small the world really is.
In conclusion?
As I said, everybody around me seems to be either a controller or a pilot, I am only a passenger. But a passenger who checks the flaps and even times the holding on occasion. It was coincidence that brought me into aviation but I cannot imagine any other work I would rather do.
If I could no longer have an aviation job, I would want to open a really nice florist shop… in a busy airport terminal of course!