AeroSociety Podcast

This years Amy Johnson Lecture speaker Air Vice Marshal Susan Gray talks about women in Aviation and the RAF over the past 100 years; commemorating those inspiring women that came before her, whilst reflecting on her own 33 years of Service. She discusses the challenges and achievements along the way to becoming the first, and only, female 2-star Engineer in the Services. Changes in society, culture and technology are explored, whilst Gray discusses what this means for, and how we inspire, the next generation of female Engineers.

The terrorist attack against the United States on September 11, 2001 was a watershed event for many different reasons, not the least of which was the 16 year tort litigation against airlines, security companies and other aviation related defendants that ensued and recently was concluded. Desmond Barry of the Condon & Forsyth law firm was the lead counsel for American Airlines and the court appointed Defense Liaison Counsel in that litigation, and will highlight the various legal, factual and administrative issues involved and explain how they ultimately were resolved.

British Aerospace’s first Typhoon pilot and then Director of Flight Operations for BAe’s Military Aircraft Division, Chris Yeo, gives an insight into the development of the multi-role combat aircraft when it was about to start its flight demonstration programme and eighteen months after the first flight of BAe’s Development Aircraft 2. Then known as the Eurofighter 2000, Yeo tells his audience what had been achieved in the first two phases of the project by the three flying prototypes, together with a brief history of the aircraft, a description of the operational systems, aerodynamic shape, structure, flight control systems and cockpit control systems. He also discusses the long series of research programmes that led to the Typhoon, before going onto show the importance of the requirements produced by the four customer air forces and how the aircraft design evolved to meet those requirements. The podcast concludes with a question and answer session. The Lecture took place on 5 September 1995. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

The civilian flyers of the ATA ferried more than 309,000 RAF aircraft during World War II, very often without instruments and a knowledge of the aircraft gained from a series of short flying notes. So doing, they saved valuable flying hours for the RAF’s pilots. Leading glider pilot Philip Wills, was one of the first to join the new service in 1939 and went onto become the ATA’s second-in-command and Director of Operations. Full of stories of his time in the service, Wills shares his knowledge of how the service was rolled out, the day-to-day work of its pilots and their training. He also highlights how the organisation set standards for the future path of air accident investigation and pilot documentation through the development of their flying and ground handling notes – the one-stop-shop for those interested in how to fly World War II aircraft. A full set of the notes are held at the National Aerospace Library in Farnborough. The Lecture took place on 5 April 1965. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

Engine pioneer Sir Harry Ricardo talks about his early career, the great men who influenced him and trends in engine development. After discussing working in his Grandfather’s railway engineering company, Ricardo goes onto talk about his big opportunity, when in the middle of the First World War he designed and manufactured engines for the Army’s great new weapon, the tank. Sir Harry also discusses many of the men who he influenced his work on diesel and petrol engines for both aeroplanes and cars, such as F. W. Lanchester, Sir Robert Waley Cohen of Shell, Rudolf Diesel and Ackroyd Stuart, before giving opinions of trends in gas turbine and combustion engine development. The interview was conducted in 1961 by Rex Wailes for an article in the Institution of Mechanical Engineer's magazine, The Chartered Engineer. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

Packed with stories of the “Father of the RAF”, the then Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Dermot Boyle, pays tribute to the first Chief of the Air Staff. Presented less than two years after Trenchard’s death, Sir Dermot outlines Trenchard’s career first in the Army and then in the fledgling RAF and explains how the “giant amongst men” sculpted the new service ready for the challenges that would be brought by World War Two. Boyle’s lecture is peppered with stories illustrating the man’s impishness, kindness and humour. This recording was of the Inaugural Trenchard Memorial Lecture, which was hosted by the Halton Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society on 20th February 1958. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

This presentation will discuss the BAE Systems Advanced Hawk Development Aircraft programme. From the drivers behind the requirement for further development of the Hawk, to the purpose of the flight trial; which was to explore improvements to both the aerodynamic performance and the cockpit displays. The talk will then discuss the modifications made to the company Hawk demonstrator, challenges leading up to the first flight and a summary of the flight testing performed. The presentation will conclude with lessons learnt and future plans for the Hawk programme.

The Annual Rotorcraft Alan Bristow Memorial Lecture will be presented by Vice Admiral Sir Simon Lister KCB OBE FREng Managing Director, Aircraft Carrier Alliance. The Queen Elizabeth Class carriers are a joint defence asset, designed to deliver air power and provide four acres of UK sovereign territory anywhere across the globe. With an expected service life of up to 50 years, the two highly versatile aircraft carriers will be able to meet the widest range of tasks. As Managing Director of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, the organisation charged with delivering the most capable and powerful surface warships ever constructed in the UK, Vice Admiral Sir Simon Lister will discuss the history, current position and future of the Queen Elizabeth Class programme, taking a specific view of the aircraft/ship interface. Simon’s background in the Royal Navy and his personal links with naval aviation will provide an insightful lecture on this critical defence capability – both the engineering feat and operational requirements behind it. Simon will speak of the aviation considerations built into the ship through design, in build and through trials and reflect on the exciting future of this strategic national defence capability.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier FRAeS, Chief of the Air Staff, Royal Air Force delivers this lecture to the Society as part of the RAF 100 celebrations. On 1 April 2018, the Royal Air Force celebrates its 100th birthday. To mark this occasion, they will be looking to reflect on their history and achievements across a number of events and celebrations of the work they are currently doing and look forward to the next 100 years.

Sir Frederick Page played a leading role in both design and management in some of the most advanced post-war military combat aircraft programmes in the UK. However, he had a secret. Towards the end of his life he wrote his memoirs, sealed them in an envelope and entrusted it to the Royal Aeronautical Society for safe keeping. He left strict instructions that it should not be opened until after his death. The memoirs and now safely held at the National Aerospace Library. The first man to study Sir Frederick Page’s memoir in depth was Keith Hayward and in this lecture, he draws extensively from the manuscript to discuss his early years and training, how he rose to the top of English Electric at Warton and his work on the English Electric’s Canberra and Lightning, and the TSR2. Prof Keith Hayward addressed the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 6th October 2006 and the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

Cierva test and demonstration pilot R. A. C. Brie discusses his aeronautical life. After service during the First World War, Brie worked for Shell during the week and at the weekends was paid for joy riding aircraft in the. A flying accident led to him to rotorcraft and he tells the story of how he started working for the Cierva Autogiro Company. A Cierva he helped with the development of the Cierva C.19 and C.30, taking part in the “Flying Circuses” of the 1930s and establishing the Cierva Flying School at Hanworth. It was during his time at Cierva that he became the first man to fly a rotorcraft off a cruiser and the first Briton to fly a rotorcraft on and off an aircraft carrier. Reggie Brie goes onto discuss his roles during the Second World War, including spells in the USA designed to raise interest in using autogiros in the hunt for submarine. Whilst in America Brie made time to discuss the role of rotorcraft with US companies including Sikorsky, before being call back to the UK to take charge of BEA’s Experimental Helicopter Unit. The interview was conducted by J. L. Nayler and Arnold Nayler in 1970. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

Pilot and serving officer in the Fleet Air Arm, Commander Graeme Rowan-Thomson, gives a short history of the Royal Navy’s air wing, before reflecting on the aircraft, helicopters and other technologies that that revolutionised the service in the 1950s and 1960s, before making predictions for the future. Commander Graeme Rowan-Thomson addressed the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Weybridge Branch on 4th November 1970. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

This presentation will cover the conduct of experimental flight research at NASA Armstrong flight research X-airplanes. The talk starts with the 70th anniversary of the X-1 supersonic flight and a discussion of why this type of flight test became focused at Edwards Air Force Base. Early accomplishments in supersonic and hypersonic flight will be highlighted. The speaker also discusses his involvement with the X-31, X-38, and X-43. The talk will then transition to a discussion of the future of x-planes and the emphasis on all electric aircraft, quiet supersonic flight, and ultra-efficient commercial aircraft.

In celebration of last year's Centenary of Royal Flying on 17 July 2017, to mark the occasion, the RAeS Historical Group hosted ‘The History of Royal Flying’. The illustrated talk from Sqn Leader Graham Laurie MVO RAF (Ret) covers the early days of Royal Flying, the formation of The King’s Flight and The Queen’s Flight, up until the present day along with some personal reminiscences.

The DaSH project is the first successful HPA that has flown in the U.S. since the mid-1990s. Leaning on and learning from the advice and knowledge of those that have been successful in the past was key to having DaSH fly well from the very first flight. Alec will talk about what choices were made in the design that led to that success, but most of all he will focus on all the interesting failures and setbacks that happened during the design and testing phases, and what has been learned from them. How can DaSH be improved, and what are some other, perhaps better ways to build a similar plane in the future? The speaker will then focus on the role of contests, rallies and school projects in creating interest and excitement, and most importantly, viable, flying aircraft. Can HPA flying become a sport? What would that look like? What should the focus be as we try to foster and build and even more vibrant HPA community?