PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
September 2019
619
A N I N T E R V I E W
KURT J. LUTZ
Tell us about your educational background
I received a Bachelor of Science degree along with my
Commercial/Multi/Instrument ratings from Embry Riddle
Aeronautical University in 1987. All my photogrammetric
training has been “OTJ” (on the job) at Robinson Aerial Surveys
Inc. by, I feel, some of the finest people in this industry. To
reach my goal of being a Certified Photogrammetrist, I applied,
and in the six months leading up to my test, I didn’t go any-
where without a photogrammetry/remote sensing textbook in
my hand (even the beach).
What inspired you to become a pilot, and what did
you like the most about it?
I have wanted to be a pilot since I was about five years old.
I guess what attracted me most at that age was the sense of
adventure and the freedom of flight. As I grew up, I read any-
thing flight related that I could get my hands on. I came to ad-
mire the vision, leadership, and self-reliance of Charles Lind-
bergh, Jimmy Doolittle, Billy Mitchell, Juan Trippe, and many
others took aviation from its infancy to a global industry.
Now, as I gain a little more perspective on my nearly 40-
year relationship with aviation, what still draws me to it is
that same sense of adventure and the freedom as to when I
was a young boy. Also, while I was growing up in the late
‘60s and early ‘70s, my grandfather worked for Singer-Ke-
arfott, helping to produce the guidance systems for NASA. I
have great memories of him telling me about the space pro-
gram. While attending ERAU in Daytona Beach, Florida in
the ’80s, I had the pleasure of seeing many of the Shuttle
launches firsthand. I witnessed the first launch in 1981 and
later got to meet Astronauts John Young and Robert Crip-
pen, as well as observing the catastrophic Challenger launch
from the rear seat of a Cessna Crusader five years later. I am
still a NASA geek to this day, and I’m enjoying the Apollo 11
commemorations this summer.
What made you decide to get involved in the aerial
photography/mapping field?
I didn’t as much decide on the aerial photography/mapping
field as it really, just fell in my lap. It sounds funny, but
before I began at RAS, I had never even heard of photo-
grammetry. When I graduated from ERAU, I fully expect-
ed to get a starter pilot position somewhere working just to
build flight time, and then, eventually, apply to the airlines.
About a week after graduation, I stopped by the “tower”
at Andover Aeroflex Airport (12N), about 20 minutes from
my home, and asked the manager if he knew of anyone hir-
ing. He said he might know of someone and suggested that
I return in an hour or so when they were expected back.
That afternoon, I had an impromptu interview at the snack
bar and a quick flight to see if I could land a Cessna 206.
Growing up, I always had a fascination with geography and
maps, in general.
Kurt Lutz joined Robinson Aerial Surveys in 1987 as an Aerial Mapping Pilot and Aerial Photo
Lab Technician. Throughout the years, his expertise expanded to include project management
and quality control of all aerial imagery. As Director of Operations, Kurt was responsible for
flight and office operations and oversees every phase of map production and project coordination
maintaining Robinson Aerial Surveys’ commitment to providing highly accurate mapping
products with reliable turnaround times to our clients.
Mr. Lutz has been the final authority for all questions of photo interpretation within RAS. He
was routinely called upon by property owners, surveyors, engineers, attorneys and environmental
concerns to offer expert opinion on boundary and land use issues.
Kurt Lutz has been a project manager on over 3,000 jobs providing a full range of aerial
mapping products to both public and private sector clients in the entire northeast region with
clients that include the Port Authority of NY/NJ, NJ Transit, NJ and NY State Departments of
Transportation, NY State Department of Environmental Protection, NYCMass Transit Authority,
NJ Turnpike Authority, several NJ counties and municipalities as well as major engineering
firms and private developers.
I became a pilot in 1987, and beginning as a pilot helps me to develop a project from the
initial planning phase through data acquisition and it gives me a unique perspective in this
industry.
