Royal Aeronautical Society Podcast

Scientific & technical aspects of the Wrights’ achievement by Prof. D. I. A. Poll

Though Wilbur and Orville were the first to build and fly a powered aircraft, what contribution did the Wright Brothers make to aeronautics? In this paper, Ian Poll takes us through the progress that had been made up 1903 in four key technical areas which had to be addressed if powered, controllable flight was to be achieved: structures, aerodynamics, stability and control & propulsion, before judging the contribution made by the Wrights in those four key areas.
The lecture concludes with a general question and answer session
The lecture was part of a seminar, “The beginnings of powered flight: The Wright Brothers contribution to aviation”, which was organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 10 May 2003. The podcasts were edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and they were digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

Alan Bristow Memorial Lecture 2019 with Mark Alber

The Alan Bristow Memorial Lecture is held annually to highlight the legacy of the man who founded the largest international helicopter group that continues to bear his name. Alan was a true pioneer, a great innovator and fully supported progressive ideas for developing all aspects of aviation, in particular, Rotorcraft. Bristow continues to operate in this spirit, leading the industry in innovations, many of which are now standard in today’s operating environment.

Natter - Historic Step To Human Spaceflight

This Historical Group lecture will be presented by Brett Gooden, M.D., Ph.D., F.B.I.S. who will consider the world’s first manned vertical take-off rocket and its significance in relation to human spaceflight to come. Brett will describe the historic but tragic manned flight of a prototype Natter on 1 March 1945 and the critical lessons learned from it for future human vertical rocket flights.
In the space of less than one year a team of engineers under the leadership of the talented engineer Erich Bachem evolved the basic principles used in human vertical rocket flight today. Bachem realised from the beginning of the project that the pilot could not perform the complex task of guiding the rocket precisely on course while being subjected to the multiple stresses imposed by the launch and boost phases of the flight. Consequently, the operational Natters were constructed to fly under the control of a three-axis autopilot which would be pre-programmed remotely from the ground control seconds before launch.

Air Law Summer Lecture

John Harrison, Airbus’ General Counsel, has offered his thinking on how Airbus is navigating the ever-changing nature of global trade and politics. As Airbus celebrates 50 years, Mr Harrison will outline Airbus’ response to a challenging global environment, whether it be protectionism in Europe, WTO disputes or Brexit.

Twelve seconds that changed the world: the Wrights’ achievement of flight, 1903 by Peter L. Jakab

Wilbur and Orville Wright placed their names firmly in the pantheon of great American inventors and their creation of the world’s first successful, powered, heavier-than-air flying machine and inaugurated the aerial age, one of the defining characteristics of the twentieth century.
In this paper, Peter Jakab takes us through the life and early career of Wilbur and Orville Wright, their approach to invention and how they developed their theories and their aircraft up to the momentous events of 17 December 1903.
The lecture was part of a seminar, "The beginnings of powered flight: The Wright Brothers contribution to aviation", which was organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 10 May 2003. The podcasts were edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and they were digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

The Americans, the Wrights & the early history of inventing flight by Richard P. Hallion

After the death of Otto Lilienthal, the vital impulse compelling research on man-flight passed from Europe to America. In this paper, Dick Hallion looks at the two of the Wright Brothers immediate contemporaries, Octave Chanute and Samuel Langley, before moving onto the early life and work of Wilbur and Orville Wright and the selection of Kitty Hawk as their test ground.
The lecture concludes with a question and answer session.
The lecture was part of a seminar, "The beginnings of powered flight: The Wright Brothers contribution to aviation", which was organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 10 May 2003. The podcasts were edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and they were digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

From antiquity to the era of the Wrights by J. A. D. Ackroyd

Covering 2000 years of history in 40 minutes flat, John Ackroyd outlines the scientific and the practical paths to achieving powered flight. Starting with the theoretical achievements made by, amongst others, Sir Isaac Newton and Sir George Cayley, and the developments in aerodynamic knowledge brought by experiments of the whirling arm and an understanding of fluid flow, John Ackroyd moves onto looking at the late nineteenth century aircraft concepts of John Stringfellow, Horatio Philips, Otto Lilienthal, Percy Pilcher, Sir Hiram Maxim and Samuel Langley. Serendipity, Ackroyd argues, brought the two paths together to enable the Wright Brothers to fly.
The lecture concludes with a question and answer session.
The lecture was part of a seminar, "The beginnings of powered flight: The Wright Brothers contribution to aviation", which was organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 10 May 2003. The podcasts were edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and they were digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

An interview with…. Capt Hugh Dibely FRAeS on flying in the civil jet age

Captain Hugh Dibley FRAeS careers started at the dawn of the civil jet age, with the navigator using the stars as a guide. In this interview with AEROSPACE’s Tim Robinson, he describes life in the cockpit from the piston-engined airliners such as the Douglas DC7, to the de Havilland Comet, to Boeing 707 and 747 right up until Airbus FBW, as well a second career as racing driver in the swinging 60s and the clash in cultures between BEA and BOAC.
Hugh Dibley was interviewed by Tim Robinson in 2019 and was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

RAF Mental Health Services: Organisation. Delivery. Impact.

This Aerospace Medicine Group lecture presented by WO James Parkin RNMH BSc Hons, Specialist Nurse Advisor Mental Health, Royal Air Force.
The lecture objectives are:
- To explain how occupational mental health services are delivered in Defence and what the UK laydown is
- To explain the care pathways and service provision of occupational mental health to Aircrew, ATC and RPAS Aircrew
- To share annual outcome data of care pathways and return to unrestricted duties for those groups
- To share the RAF expertise in Mental Health Aeromedical Evacuation
- To share anonymised case examples to illustrate strategic and tactical capabilities

An interview with…… Mike Savage on more selling with BAC

In this last part of his interview, aerospace PR man Mike Savage tells us about being the sole passenger on an Eastern Airlines Constellation; the incident aboard the banana freight DC-4 from South America to Miami, the piano-playing Dr Omar Fontana buying BAC 1-11s for cash, the incident of the exploding cigar at the BAC chalet at Farnborough; the lost BAC promotional radio tape in New Zealand; the Omani Royal VC10 and how Mike and the entire crew of a Saab 2000 were arrested for two days by military police in Asia for filing the wrong flight plan on their way to the Australian Air Show.