Royal Aeronautical Society Podcast

Classic Lecture – The history of polar aviation by John Grierson

The first man to successfully fly over the Greenland ice cap chronicles how he, together with other figures such as Charles Lindbergh and Edward Byrd, used balloons, airships and aeroplanes to fly over the world’s great wildernesses and, in so doing, lay the path for air service routes across the roof of the world.
John Grierson lectured to the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Prestwick Branch on 12 March 1964. The recording was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

Classic Lecture: Farnborough 1945 : Farewell to the Luftwaffe - pointers to the future

In late 1945 the Royal Aircraft Establishment hosted displays of German and British aircraft and equipment. It was the first opportunity that many people had to see - in detail and up close - a wide range of aircraft that until recently had been either closely guarded, such as the Spiteful and Martin Baker MB 5, or cause for alarm, such as the Dornier Do 335 and Messerschmitt Me 262. German missiles as well as German and British jet engines were also shown, giving a fascinating glimpse of what might be to come.
Amongst the crowds was a young Mike Bowyer and, nearly seventy years later and after a career as an aviation historian and journalist, he conjurers up the two days he spent exploring the all corners of the exhibition and tells us about the amazing aircraft he encountered.
Michael J. F. Bowyer addressed a meeting of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 17 November 2014 and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

Classic Lecture: Getting the first man on the moon – a view from 1965 by Col. John Glenn

How was the USA’s quest to get the first man on the moon going halfway between JFK’s pledge and Neil Armstrong’s first giant step? Colonel John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, reviews NASA’s achievements before giving us a stage-by-stage view of how NASA was planning to get an astronaut to the moon and back.
The lecture concludes with a fascinating question and answer session. A longer version of this recording, which includes Glenn talking through a range of images from the Space Programme, can be found on the RAeS website.
Colonel John Glenn addressed the Royal Aeronautical Society on 8 October 1965. The recording was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

Classic Lecture: Cody – the hero? By Peter Reese AMRAeS

An American showman turned aviator, Samuel Franklin Cody used his imagination, endless courage and engineering virtuosity to become the first man in Britain to fly in an aircraft of his own making. But can he rightly take a place amongst the world’s heroes?
In this lecture, historian Peter Reese tells the story of how a man moved from performing a Wild West Show to becoming an aeronautical pioneer by building and flying some of the earliest man-carrying kites and aeroplane, before showing how, once the War Office declared against constructing aeroplanes in favour of airships, he raced his own aeroplanes and outflew his contemporaries.
Peter Reese addressed the National Aerospace Library’s volunteers on 29 November 2021 and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

RAeS Podcast with Aerospace Business and Project Management Apprentices, from BAE Systems.

RAeS has joined with Apprentices From BAE Systems to let you know what to expect from an apprenticeship. This Podcast hears Hannah, Emily and Hannah talk about why they chose an apprenticeship, how they felt about the application process, what their days work looks like and so much more.

Rewind: A History of Martinsydes by J. M. Bruce MRAeS

One of the first aircraft manufacturers in the UK, Martin & Handasyde, later to be known as Martinsyde Ltd, became Britain’s third biggest manufacturer during the First World War and designed aircraft for the race across the Atlantic and from the UK to Australia. J. M. Bruce explains the history of this short-lived company and untangles the ‘threads of development’ that linked each of Martinsyde’s aircraft types.
The recording concludes with a short question and answer session that includes reminiscences of George Handasyde’s deputy in the years after he left Martinsydes.
J. M. Bruce MRAeS addressed a meeting organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 26 February 1968. The lecture was introduced by J. L. Nayler FRAeS FAIAA, the recording was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

Aerospace Engineering Apprentices from BAE Systems.

RAeS has joined with Apprentices From BAE Systems to let you know what to expect from an apprenticeship. This Podcast hears Chris and Jay talk about why they chose an apprenticeship, how they felt about the application process, what their days work looks like and so much more.

Classic Lecture: Concorde and the Americans by Kenneth Owen FRAeS

Kenneth Owen takes us through the twists and turns of the Anglo-French campaign to persuade the Americans to allow the supersonic aircraft to land in New York. He highlights how the French Aérospatiale and British BAC used different strategies to persuade American politicians and the judiciary to accept Concorde on the transatlantic route and shows the hoops that the manufacturers had to jump though in order to overcome environmental concerns held in both Washington DC and New York.
Owen begins his story by examining British attempts to get an Anglo-American supersonic project off the ground and also explores how the British and French team persuaded the FAA to give the aircraft type certification that would enable US airlines to fly the supersonic airliner.
The recording includes a fascinating discussion with members of the audience, which included former politicians, civil servants and British Airways employees that were directly involved in the story.
Kenneth Owen FRAeS gave his lecture to a meeting organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 29 April 1997. The lecture is introduced by Frank Armstrong FRAeS, the recording was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

An interview with…Sir John Charnley on blind landing and life at the RAE’s Aero Flight

In the heat of World War II, John Charnley was sent from his red-brick university to the heart of aero research in the UK, the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough. In this archive recording, Sir John describes the transition into the RAE Aerodynamics Department’s Flight Test Division and his work on many of the problems associated with high-speed flight, starting with work on the Gloster E.28/39 which tested Whittle’s jet engine.
After twelve years Sir John moved from the very fast to the very slow, when he was sent to head the RAE Blind Landing Experimental Unit. Charnley explains how he helped to move the Unit’s purely military work landing V-bombers in poor conditions, to include civil applications leading to the development of the AUTOLAND system. A fuller account of the work of the Blind Landing project can be found in Sir John’s Journal of Aeronautical History paper at https://www.aerosociety.com/JAHblindlanding.
Sir John Charnley was interviewed as part of the DERA Oral History Project in 2000 and the recording was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

Rewind: The long winding legal road from Warsaw 1929 to Montreal 1999 by George Tompkins Jnr FRAeS

The ‘Warsaw Warrior’, George Tompkins Jnr, has probably defended more cases involving the Warsaw Convention than anyone else. In this fascinating lecture, Tompkins takes us into the courtrooms and corridors of power where he helped to shift the USA’s stance on the limitation of liabilities that passengers faced when litigating against airlines in the USA. He then takes us to the Montreal Treaty negotiations where, as legal aid to IATA at the conference, the rules were re-written, before making some observations on the post-Montreal world.
The recording includes a question-and-answer session and a vote of thanks by Harold Caplan FRAeS.
George Tompkins Jnr gave the RAeS Air Law Group’s 10th Beaumont Memorial Lecture on 16 June 2011. The session was introduced by Robert and the recording was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.