Royal Aeronautical Society Podcast

Classic Lecture Series: Whittle, the legacy, by Sir Ralph Robins Hon FRAeS

Sir Frank Whittle’s work on the jet engine was arguably the most important mechanical engineering feat of the twentieth century. In the first RAeS Whittle lecture, the then Chairman of Rolls-Royce plc reviews the first sixty years development of Whittle’s basic ideas before exploring upcoming major advances along with the ongoing challenges to reduce product and operating costs.
The inaugural Whittle Lecture took place on 4th February 1997, the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

Classic Lecture Series: What now for the aerospace industry? by Sir Charles Masefield

In 1997 the leaders of Britain, Germany & France threw down the gauntlet to Europe’s aerospace companies, telling them to work together in order to succeed. In his Wilbur & Orville Wright Lecture, the former test pilot, President of BAe Commercial Aircraft, Commercial Director of Airbus and the then Head of the Defence Export Service Department at the MOD, explores the functions at play that led to the announcement and the unique issues and challenges that faced the airframe and platform integration industry in the late 1990s. At the heart of his argument is that the success of cross-European projects and the growing difficulties of smaller aerospace companies, should lead to European companies following the lead of their US competitors by rationalising and restructuring the industry and creating European centres of excellence; only with these large companies could Europe’s companies halt duplication and triplication and then continue to be equal partners in transatlantic collaborative programmes capable of competing with new rivals from Asia.
Sir Charles warms-up his audience with his personal assessment of the sixteen most influential airframe platforms of the first 94 years of powered flight.
The 86th Wilbur & Orval Wright Lecture took place on 11 December 1997, the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

The 50th Stewart Memorial Lecture

The first Stewart Memorial Lecture was given fifty years ago at the Royal Aeronautical Society. Over the ensuing half-century, these eponymous lectures have charted the development of aerospace medicine through the eyes of those who have, through their lecture, commemorated the life and work of Air Vice-Marshal Bill Stewart. Many of those lecturers, whether from the UK or elsewhere, have worked at the former RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine (IAM) or its successor, the Centre of Aviation Medicine.
This golden anniversary offers the opportunity to highlight some of the key challenges and developments in the science and medicine of this unique specialty as well as a glimpse into what the future may hold for aviation and for the aeromedical scientists and physicians that support it.

Classic Lecture Series - The Brabazon Committees by Sir Peter Masefield

The Vickers Viscount, the de Havilland Comet, the Airspeed Ambassador and many other civil aircraft designs of the 1940s and 1950s were specified by the recommendations made by three wartime government committees; two chaired by Lord Brabazon, affectionally known as ‘Brab’ and a third by Lord Beaverbrook.
Sir Peter Masefield, secretary to the Beaverbrook Committee and later Chief Executive of BEA gives us an insider view of the work of the Committees, the projects they inspired and the personalities of those who shaped the post-war civil aircraft industry.
The lecture took place on 28 September 1995, the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

Classic Lecture Series - Aerospace in the 21st century by Alan Mulally

Boeing’s then President of Space & Defense Systems, Alan Mulally, explores the force of change that faced the aerospace industry at the dawn of the information age.
Mulally starts his lecture by outlining the projects that dominated the company’s work in 1997, from civil projects such as the 737, 757 and 777, military projects such as the Joint Strike Fighter and space and defence projects including missiles and the International Space Station.
Turning to the predictions of the futurists, he highlights the importance of broad changes in society, such as the power of computing and the amount of GPS and other information gathered, the shift of power to East, the increased marketisation of government, an increased concern for the environment and the potential consequence for the booming civil and space industry, and the prospect of remotely piloted aircraft.
The 1997 Royal Aeronautical Society Sopwith Lecture took place on 3 June 1997, the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

An interview with.... Col. Joe Kittinger

High-altitude balloonist and parachute pioneer Joe Kittinger recalls stories from his career at the forefront of aeronautical research. After discussing his happy childhood, Kittinger explores his early career as a research and development test pilot during the 1950s and 1960s. He swiftly specialised in aero-medical projects, including studies on the effect on humans in zero gravity, during rapid deceleration and in high-altitude escape; such projects led him to jump from the edge of space and break the longest parachute freefall record; a height of 102,800 feet. He also led Operation Stargazer, which used aircraft to look at stars above the atmosphere and discusses why he decided not to volunteer for the U.S. space programme.
After flying 483 combat missions in Vietnam, Kittinger became the first person to fly across the Atlantic in a hot air balloon solo and went on to support the Red Bull Stratos team that finally broke his 52-year-old freefall parachuting record.
Col. Kittinger was interviewed by Lt Col Lance Annicelli USAF (Ret) FRAeS in 2019 and the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

Modern Airline Fleet Planning – Art or Science?

Choosing the right aircraft is just about the most important decision an airline can ever take, and it’s far from easy. Fleet planners need to consider not just the technical and operational characteristics of a bewildering array of aircraft types on offer, but they must also decide which aircraft is the best fit for the network, both today and a long time into the future.
It’s not an easy task to analyse everything and make a recommendation. A wrong decision can prove disastrous, both for decision makers and the airline, so life as a fleet planner is not for the faint-hearted. Paul Clark has (so far) survived a lifetime of analysing fleets and making recommendations, but is still struggling to resolve a dilemma: Is fleet planning an art or a science? Come along to Paul's lecture on 20 November and help him find an answer!

Sopwith Lecture 2019

Sopwith Named Lecture was established in 1990 to honour Sir Thomas Sopwith CBE, Hon FRAeS.
This year it was presented by Billie Flynn, F-35 Lightning II Test Pilot at Lockheed Martin who will talk about the transformational capabilities of the F-35 Lightning II, and his experiences of putting the aircraft through rigorous testing.
The presentation covered areas such as advanced technologies, stealth, sensor fusion, air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities, electronic warfare, ISR, and interoperability.

Classic Lecture Series: Observations on the First Fifty Years of the R.A.F. by AM Sir Victor Goddard

In his insider’s history of the first fifty years of the R.A.F., Sir Victor Goddard gives insights into the forces and personalities that formed and developed the RAF and made it into an equal partner with the other two armed services.
Sir Victor’s career covered the pioneering years of service aviation; from a cadet in 1912 who co-presented to the Admiralty a scheme for an aircraft bombsight to a seat on the Air Council and a role contributing to the Berlin Airlift. From this insider’s view he gave his audience picture of the forces and personalities that formed and developed the RAF. He considers the founding belief that the RAF needed to be formed in order for air warfare to escape the prejudices of sea and land, how Trenchard moulded the embryo service over a five year period, the decline of airships and how the service came of age during the campaigns against Mesopotamia, Iraq, Aden and against the “Mad Mullah” in Somaliland, where the RAF was able to frustrate the resources of adversaries. Sir Victor also discusses the RAF’s sometime slow harnessing of technology, including the adoption of monoplanes and radar, and tells stories of how he helped to frustrate the development of the German bomber force, his part in helping the RAF to adopt and then use Barnes Wallis’s bombs during the World War II and how he just managed to avoid a court martial after allowing the first use of a parachute to escape an aircraft.
The lecture was delivered to the Royal Aeronautical Society's Historical Group on 19 April 1964. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

Classic Lecture Series: The R.N.A.S. & R.F.C. by ACM Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferte

Packed with stories of the great men he knew and served under, the former R.F.C and R.A.F. flying officer gives us insights into the army’s and navy’s flying services and the wider aeronautical community before and during the First World War. Sir Philip then turns to how these men considered the arguments of forming a joint service and how they went onto create the Royal Air Force in 1918.
The lecture was delivered to the Royal Aeronautical Society's Historical Group on 25 February 1963. The podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.