Royal Aeronautical Society Podcast

The D. P. Davies Interview on testing the Comets, Boeing 707, Britannia & Brabazon

The D. P. Davies Interview on testing the Comets, Boeing 707, Britannia & Brabazon.
“The test pilots’ test pilot”, former CAA Chief Test Pilot D. P. Davies talks frankly about the civil aircraft that he put through his paces before being certified as safe in the UK.
The interview was conducted by Rodney Giesler in 1992 and edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

The D. P. Davies Interview on his service in the Fleet Air Arm.

The D. P. Davies Interview on his service in the Fleet Air Arm and the Handling Squadron during the 1940s.
“The test pilots’ test pilot”, former CAA Chief Test Pilot D. P. Davies talks about his early career first training and then serving in the wartime Fleet Air Arm, including reminiscences of the naval test pilots course, the Empire Central Flying School at Hullavington and the Handling Squadron.
The interview was conducted by Rodney Giesler in 1992 and edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

The John Morton Interview (Part 2)

In the second interview covering 1955 to 1982, Morton recalls how his career in the aircraft industry developed with Fairey and Westland, with emphasis on the tip-jet designs, Ultra light and Rotodyne. The ‘Rationalisation’ of the British aircraft industry in 1960 resulted in Fairey becoming part of Westland he moved to Yeovil in 1965 and was responsible Scout Wasp and Lynx until he retired to live in New Zealand in 1982.
The Royal Aeronautical Society would like to thank Paul Harrison and Dave Gibbings for enabling us to release the interview with John Morton and to Mike Stanberry MRAeS for editing all podcasts.

The John Morton Interview(Part 1)

John Morton talked to Paul Harrison in 2013 about his service in the Fleet Air Arm, at Boscombe Down and his time putting rotorcraft through their paces, most notably the Fairey Rotodyne.
In his first interview, Morton covers his career from 1942 to 1955. Here he recalls wartime pilot training in the USA in some detail and the process by which a naval aviator was qualified.

The Harald Penrose Interview Part 2

Early Westlands chief test pilot and aviation historian Harald Penrose discusses some of the great figures he met during his career in the aircraft industry, including T. O. M. ‘Tommy’ Sopwith, Barnes Wallis and Sydney Camm. He also talks about Vickers test pilots E. R. C. ‘Tiny’ Scholefield and Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers, together with their chief designer Rex Pierson, before going onto discuss working with test pilot Jeffrey Quill when Westlands built Supermarine Seafires and when he flew the prototype Supermarine Spitfire at Martlesham in 1936.
Harald Penrose was interviewed by Rodney Giesler in 1983 and 1989 and the podcasts were edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

The Harald Penrose Interview Part 1

Early Westlands chief test pilot and aviation historian Harald Penrose tells us his experiences of the very early days of test flying his career. He starts off talking about his early life and learning to fly, before telling us about test flying for Westlands between 1928 and 1953. Stories include accounts of high altitude flying in the Houston-Westland PV3 that was used to make the first flight over Mount Everest and his work on the tailless Westland Pterodactyl series designed by Captain G T. R. Hill. Penrose goes on to tell us the story of when he had to bail out of a Westland P7 after its wings came off, before moving onto discuss working with W. E. W. ‘Teddy’ Petter on the development of the Westland Whirlwind, as well as the Westland Welkin and Wyvern programmes and the English Electric Canberra.
Harald Penrose was interviewed by Rodney Giesler in 1983 and 1989 and the podcasts were edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

Urban Mobility by Airbus, An Innovation Challenge

Rush-hour traffic is unbearable for many commuters today – and the problem is growing. By 2030, 60% of the world’s population will live in cities, which is 10% more than today. To address this rising concern, Airbus is harnessing its experience to make the dream of all commuters and travellers come true one day: to fly over traffic jams at the push of a button.

Amy Johnson Named Lecture 2017

As the main external face of Airbus amongst UK stakeholders, Katherine Bennett OBE FRAeS speaks about her approach to the role of public affairs and to developing future talent in a global aerospace company.

Courtroom Animation vs Simulation

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a courtroom animation is worth a million words.
In a courtroom, technology is used to show the jury and judge how a patented device works, how an accident happened or biochemistry in action to help see that side of the case to provide a persuasive argument.
Animations to recreate cases inside courtrooms (e.g. PowerPoint animation, 2-D animation and 3-D animation) have become an important part of litigations, particularly in the U.S. The big problem (or perhaps advantage) of these visual graphics is that they do not have to obey the laws of physics; they are cartoons. As opposed to these visual representations, a simulation is an analytical solution of equations that are based in physics. Some of these visual models look so good that it is difficult to see that they actually are violating the laws of physics. In this presentation, several examples of good and bad animations as well as animated simulations will be discussed and explained.

The Ted Sturmthal Interview

North American test pilot Ted Sturmthal takes listeners through what it was like to take the Valkyrie bomber up to speeds of Mach 3 and gives some other technical insights into the programme. He also describes some of his earlier work on the Boeing B52H, Martin B57F & Convair B58 programmes.
The interview took place in 1979 and was conducted by Rodney Giesler and was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS.