AeroSociety Podcast

Today the RAF has a history. An element of the contemporary RAF’s challenge is to innovate, while grappling with the legacy of one hundred years of existence and experience. In 1918 it did not have a history and this may well have been one of its most significant advantages. The newly-created RAF had to fight not only for its survival but to create a culture and sustainable pedigree with very little legacy. In this lecture, Sophy Gardner explores the nature of this advantage to the RAF in its early years.

The ohm, amp and volt are now understood around the world. In this interview Sir Richard Glazebrook, a key figure in the international standardisation and determination of electrical quantities, discusses his research and committee work to define how electricity is measured today. Sir Richard was the first Director of the National Physical Laboratory, the first Chair of the Advisory Committee on Aeronautics and the 2nd Wilbur and Orville Wright Memorial Lecturer. Sir Richard Glazebrook talk was recorded in 1934 and the podcast was released courtesy of the IET Archive. The original film version of this recording can be viewed via the National Physical Laboratory YouTube channel. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

The V-bombers were the UK’s nuclear delivery system from 1957 to 1969. In this lecture, author and former Vulcan pilot with the V-Force, Wg Cdr Andrew Brookes, tells us the story of the characters who established the Force before going onto judge its effectiveness by taking us through the processes of launching and carrying out a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union and by telling the story of how the V-Force took part in a mission to test the US’s nuclear defence system in 1961. He then concludes on the impact that the V-Force had in raising the profile of the UK abroad. The podcast includes a fascinating post-lecture question and answer in which former members of the V-Force and other raise points and questions on the design and operation of the Vickers Valiant, Handley Page HP80 Victor, and Avro Type 698 Vulcan. The lecture was presented to the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on the 21 November 2002. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

Silvius Dornier, son of the founder of the German aircraft company, discusses the STOL and other projects that occupied the company after it was re-established in 1954. Dornier began its post-war German designs with their Spanish designed Do 25 which then formed the basis for their German designed general utility monoplane, the Do 27, which went onto sell over 600 aeroplanes of various versions. He them moves onto the experimental Do 29 with tilting propellers, the Do 32 one-man helicopter and the Do 31 experimental jet transport, as well as the Do 28 which went onto harness VTOL to provide a thirteen passenger transport aircraft that was sold around the word. Please note that the archive nature of this recording means that the recording is poor in places. The lecture was hosted by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Chester Branch Lecture on 14 April 1965. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

This flight test group lecture was delivered in 2013 by Justin Paines (Former Chief Flying Instructor, ETPS)Engineering Test Pilot, 2Excel Aviation Ltd.

Dr James Luckring, Senior Research Engineer, NASA Langley Research Centre delivers the 2017 Lanchester Named Lecture at the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Andy Start FRAeS, President, Inmarsat Global Government speaks at the Space specialist group lecture. Andy Start explains the key role of satellite in the future digital society, Inmarsat’s plans for future innovative networks, and how the UK can enhance its position in the high growth space industry.

This year’s lecture will review the past 10 years of progress toward preparing for routine space flight for members of the public. The lecture will review the regulatory and legal climate affecting preparations for flying commercial space flight participants under the auspices of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Results from research conducted to evaluate the challenges presented by the broad range of individuals wishing to fly to space on commercial vehicles will be discussed. Dr. Vanderploeg will include review of pre-flight testing and training used to identify and quantify the medical risks for commercial space flight participants and the mitigation of those risks. The lecture will conclude with the application of results and recommendations from research and practical experience to the medical program at Virgin Galactic. As commercial space flight operations commence over the next one to two years, the opportunities to practice Aerospace Medicine in new and exciting ways will become a reality.

These are challenging times for air traffic management around the world. Demand is outgrowing supply. In the UK alone, 2017 was a record-breaking year in which volumes reached levels never imagined a few decades ago. Forecasts suggest more is to come but the airspace is already at maximum capacity which threatens not just this country’s aviation efficiency but that of the whole transatlantic corridor. Martin Rolfe FRAeS, CEO, NATS, explores the challenges and opportunities ahead for this important sector for the UK economy and discusses which technologies will be key to ensuring the UK remains a world leader in ATM.

Qantas Managing Director and Group CEO, Alan Joyce FRAeS gives an insight into how Qantas transformed its business in three years and the part technology played and is playing in supporting sustainable profitability and meeting customer expectations. He talks about taking delivery of the state-of-the-art Dreamliner which will connect Australia and Europe in one hop, and how Qantas has set its sights on the last frontier of aviation - the ultra long-haul flight from the east coast of Australia to London or New York.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, the Admiralty asked Handley Page to build a strategic bomber; work on Britain’s first large aircraft was begun. In a lecture given just months before his death, Sir Frederick Handley Page HonFRAeS tells the story of how he and his company designed, built and tested the Handley Page O/100 (H.P.11), O/400 (H.P.12) and V/1500 (H.P.15) and how these aircraft were used in war and peace. Sir Frederick Handley Page HonFRAeS addressed a meeting organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 30 October 1961. The recording was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

In his 1967 Acceptance Speech for Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, the pioneer of large aircraft designs and helicopters tells his audience about the primary innovations behind Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first powered flight and the major contribution Charles Lindbergh made in publicising aviation. Digitised from an original Sikorsky Aircraft Gramophone Record with permission received from Igor I. Sikorsky Historical Archives, Inc. © 2017.

Sir Barnes Wallis Hon FRAeS takes listeners through his technical life story. Starting with his time designing airships, he moves into talking about the Second World War when he designed the dam-destroying Bouncing Bomb and 22,000 lb ‘ten-ton’ bomb. He also discusses his contribution towards the geodetic structure of the Vickers Wellington bomber. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a donation from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

From the launch in Baikonur to re-entry, the presentation brings the audience through ESA Astronaut, Tim Peake's (HonFRAeS) journey to space and life on the International Space Station, with special highlights on science and research, education activities and Tim Peake’s spacewalk.

Jeffrey Quill FRAeS masterminded the development and production test flying of all 52 variants of the Spitfire and, in this lecture from 1984, describes the evolution of the Spitfire and its Rolls-Royce Merlin engine in all their marks from the Schneider Trophy aircraft of the 1930s onwards. Quill goes onto describe how the war shaped the development of the Spitfire marks and how they met the challenge. Edited for podcast by Mike Stanberry FRAeS, the digitisation of the recording was funded through the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.