Jana’s Biography

Jana graduated in 1985 from the California Polytechnic State University at San Louis Obispo with a Bachelors degree in Aeronautical Engineering. During her time at Cal Poly, she was an intern at NASA’s Ames and Dryden Flight Research Centers. Upon graduation she went to work at Hughes/McDonnel Helicopter, where she was the program manager for a full authority digital fly-by-wire helicopter program. In 1985 she was recruited to join the Northrup B-2 program, where she worked in the Flight Controls Hydraulics Integration lab, which included integration of real time pilot in the loop simulation. In 1990 she came to the Pacific Northwest to join Boeing, first working on the proposed B-777 folding wingtip, then as a fly-by-wire Flight Test Engineer on the initial type certification of the B-777. In 1995 she joined Jim at Gulfstream, where she was the flight test engineering lead for the landing gear and flap/stabilizer system on the initial type certification of the G-V. In 1998, she joined Universal Avionics as a senior systems engineer on a new Terrain Awareness and Warning System, and was the team leader of a group of engineers on a new autopilot flight control system. Returning to Boeing in 2000, working in the flight deck design group and then in Connexion by Boeing. After taking 3 years off on Maternity leave, she began consulting for a multitude of companies, including SeaTEC., AeroTEC, Aviation Partners, Hamilton Sundstrand, Innoviator and many others.