Thirty-five years ago, Carl Kumpic started out as a summer student on Canadair's Flight Test and Instrumentation team, working across programs from the CF-18 to the CL-84 tilt-wing.

Today he's Vice-President of Defence & Government Programs at Voyageur Aviation Corp., where he leads special-mission aircraft modifications and in-service support for government and defence clients.

Here's his full conversation with Vanguard on flight testing, leadership and what has him fired up about Canada's aerospace sector right now.

HOW DID YOU START OUT IN THIS INDUSTRY AND HOW HAS IT BROUGHT YOU TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?
I started in aerospace as a summer student at Canadair in Montreal, working with the Flight Test and Instrumentation team. The breadth of work was remarkable: programs ranging from the CF-5, CF-18 and CL-215 to early uncrewed aircraft and the CL-84 tilt-wing. I later joined the Challenger CL-600 program in its early stages as an engineer. That experience hooked me on the developmental side of aerospace, the point where an idea has to prove itself in the real world. I continued working in flight test with Bell Helicopter and Rolls-Royce before moving into marketing and program management, which taught me to connect engineering performance with customer needs, business realities and successful program delivery.

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT YOUR ORGANIZATION TODAY?
I am the Vice-President of Defence & Government Programs at Voyageur. My role is to understand our clients' missions and bring together the people and capabilities required to deliver safe, reliable and operationally effective solutions. That includes special-mission aircraft modifications, defence in-service support programs and contracted mission operational services. It also means ensuring that the systems behind delivery, from cybersecurity and quality management to disciplined program execution, are strong enough to support complex, long-term government and defence programs. Our clients need more than an aircraft. They need a trusted mission-ready capability with organizational experience to ensure reliable and effective operations over many years of service.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST CHALLENGING MOMENT?
I have been fortunate to have a career full of challenges; that is part of what keeps aerospace interesting. One that especially stands out was the first major challenge I faced early in my career. I was part of a young engineering team helping establish Bell Helicopter's engineering and production facilities in Mirabel, Quebec, as the company prepared to develop the Model 400 commercial light twin helicopter. The facility was still under construction, resources were limited and a great deal had to be built from the ground up. My responsibilities included helping establish the instrumentation and flight-test capabilities, calibration laboratories and a dedicated control tower for helicopter operations, while also establishing the team and developing the required processes and documentation. It was demanding, but watching the organization, people and capabilities come together was tremendously rewarding. That experience taught me how to work through uncertainty, draw on expertise across organizations and keep a team focused on the larger objective. It prepared me for many of the challenges that followed.

WHAT WAS YOUR A-HA MOMENT OR EPIPHANY THAT YOU THINK WILL RESONATE MOST WITH OUR READER?
Early in my career, I thought the path to success was to learn as quickly as possible, work hard and have the answers. My A-HA moment, and it will seem so obvious to anyone that is not early in their career, was realizing that no one person can hold all the expertise required to solve a complex aerospace problem. Flight testing brings together engineers, pilots, technicians, maintainers, customers and many other specialists. The quality of the result depends on the quality of the team and on whether people feel able to contribute what they know. I came to understand that a leader's job is not to be the smartest person in the room. It is to bring the right people together, ask good questions, listen carefully and create the conditions for the best ideas to emerge. That lesson has stayed with me, whether I am building a program team, serving on an association board or developing a new business relationship. Developing effective solutions is a team sport.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING THAT HAS YOU MOST FIRED UP TODAY?
What has me most fired up is the renewed focus on Canadian sovereignty, defence readiness and the capabilities required to protect our airspace, coastlines and North. Canada has tremendous aerospace expertise, but we need to ensure that the engineering, operational and sustainment capabilities behind critical missions are available here at home. That creates an important opportunity for government and industry to work together, move with purpose and build capacity that will serve Canada over the long term. At Voyageur, we are looking carefully at where our experience in aircraft modification, dual-use, special-mission operations and in-service support can make a meaningful contribution. What excites me most is the opportunity to strengthen Canadian readiness, create highly skilled jobs and help build a more resilient domestic aerospace sector.

WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU RECEIVED?
The best advice I received was to listen to understand, not simply to respond. That is increasingly important in a world dominated by email, messaging and virtual meetings. It is also essential when working across technical disciplines, organizations, cultures and languages, where it can be easy to make assumptions or misunderstand what someone is trying to communicate. Active listening takes discipline. It means setting aside the response you are already preparing, asking questions and making sure you understand the other person's perspective. Being articulate and direct in your own response is the other half of effective communication.

WHAT IS A HABIT THAT CONTRIBUTES TO YOUR SUCCESS?
Before making an important decision, I make a habit of stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. I ask myself what outcome we are trying to achieve, who the stakeholders are, what each of them needs and how today's decision might affect the program over the longer term. That perspective helps me develop strategies that can adapt as circumstances change, rather than simply solving the immediate problem. Once the direction is clear, I believe in leading by example, staying engaged, supporting the team and helping people work through the inevitable challenges along the way.

WHAT IS YOUR PARTING PIECE OF ADVICE?
Don't become so focused on the next challenge that you forget to recognize what has already been achieved. Take time to acknowledge the people who helped make it happen, that team of smart people you surround yourself with, promote and share your successes and enjoy the moment before moving on to the next one.

WHAT PEOPLE OR ORGANIZATIONS DO YOU BELIEVE BEST EMBODY THE INNOVATION MINDSET?
Canadair, as I encountered it early in my career, embodied that mindset for me. Teams were working on civil aircraft, military platforms, uncrewed systems and unconventional designs such as the CL-84 tilt-wing. There was a willingness to explore what might be possible and then do the disciplined work required to test and develop it to a final deliverable. Today, I see that same mindset in universities, research institutes, flight-test organizations and businesses that give talented people the trust, time and room to challenge assumptions. I see it at Voyageur, where we are continually looking at how we can adapt existing capabilities, integrate new technologies and respond to evolving mission requirements. I value both breakthrough innovation, creating something entirely new, and continuous improvement that makes an existing product, process or service better. The organizations that innovate best create the conditions for people to challenge the status quo, test ideas, learn from mistakes and, above all, keep the needs of the mission or customer at the centre of their work.