Classic Lecture Series: The V/STOL Wheel of Misfortune, a survey of V/STOL aircraft by John Farley

Summary: The Hawker Harrier test pilot John Farley, gives his views on each of the 45 V/STOL aircraft projects before 2006. Farley based his survey on the work “The V/STOL Wheel of Misfortune” which was put together by Mike Hirschberg of The American Helicopter Society. John Farley was one of the country’s foremost experimental test pilots. After time in the RAF and Royal Aircraft Establishment Aerodynamic test flight, he joined Hawkers and became heavily involved in the development of V/STOL aircraft such as the P1127, the Harrier and the Sea Harrier. The podcast also contains a fascinating Question and Answer sessions where Farley gives further insights into the MiG 29, safety in V/STOL aircraft and the use of fly-by-wire in modern aircraft. The Lecture was presented to the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 23 November 2006. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.