Episodes
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In this podcast series from the Royal Aeronautical Society's monthly AEROSPACE magazine, Editor in Chief Tim Robinson, Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater and Features Editor Bella Richards analyse recent aviation, aerospace and space news - and preview the next (June 2024) edition of the magazine. Special guest this episode is new RAeS President David Chinn. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com
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In 1945 confidence in British aviation was sky-high. Yet decades later, the industry had not lived up to its potential. What happened? The years that followed the war saw the Brabazon Committee issued flawed proposals for civil aviation planning. Enforced cancellations restricted the advancement of military aircraft, compounded later on by Defence Minister Duncan Sandys abandoning aircraft to fixate solely on missiles. Commercially, Britain's small and neglected domestic market hindered the development of civilian airliners. In the production of notorious aircraft, the inauspicious Comet came from de Havilland's attempts to gain an edge over its American competitors. The iconic Harrier jump jet and an indigenous crop of helicopters were squandered, while unrealistic performance requirements brought about the cancellation of TSR2.
Peter Reese explores how repeated financial crises, a lack of rigour and fatal self-satisfaction led British aviation to miss vital opportunities across this turbulent period in Britain's skies.
Peter Reese wrote this lecture for the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust in 2023. The recording is courtesy of the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.
A number of Peter Reese’s books, including In Turbulent Skies: British Aviation Successes Setbacks 1945-1975, are available if you make a donation to the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Library Conservation Appeals. The minimum donation is £5 per book. To order, please visit https://forms.office.com/e/siWpX4w9eW -
Missing episodes?
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In this podcast series from the Royal Aeronautical Society's monthly AEROSPACE magazine, Editor in Chief Tim Robinson, Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater and Features Editor Bella Richards analyse recent aviation, aerospace and space news - and preview the next (May 2024) edition of the magazine. Special guest this episode is outgoing RAeS President Kerissa Khan. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com
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The ultimate test of the great powers’ pilots, aircraft and powerplants in the interwar period, the Schneider Trophy seaplane contest pushed forward aviation design to new heights and directly led to the Spitfire and Merlin engine.
W. Cox, a member of the trophy winning Supermarine team, takes us through each contest, starting with the pre-World War II contests and highlights how the key technological developments in aircraft design were represented in the race.
Please note, due to the age of this recording, there are periods of poor sound quality.
W. Cox addressed a meeting organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 12 October 1965. 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. -
In this podcast series from the Royal Aeronautical Society's monthly AEROSPACE magazine, Editor in Chief Tim Robinson, Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater and Features Editor Bella Richards analyse recent aviation, aerospace and space news - and preview the next (April 2024) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com
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After being redeployed from Unilever to a small firm just outside Rugby in May 1940, Bob Feilden played a key role in the development of Whittle’s jet engine, working with his colleagues to transform the jet from theory into practice.
Starting with the early history of Whittle’s jet engine and its early testing, Feilden takes us inside the firm to give us a first-hand account of the jet’s flight trials, in the Gloster E28/39 and how they overcame the technical challenges to develop the W1 engine into the W2, W2/500 and W2/700.
Feilden also explores how the firm looked to make the engine fit for the ill-fated Miles M52, the plans for the LR1 Turbofan, the relationship between Power Jets and Rolls-Royce and how the team broke up in 1946 after nationalisation.
The lecture was also published as a Hodgson Prize winning paper for the Aeronautical Journal in February 1993. Royal Aeronautical Society members can access the paper for free via www.aerosociety.com/elibrary.
G. B. R. Feilden addressed a meeting organised by Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust in 1992. The recording is © The Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust • All right reserved, it was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS. -
In this podcast series from the Royal Aeronautical Society's monthly AEROSPACE magazine, Editor in Chief Tim Robinson and Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater analyse recent aviation, aerospace and spaceflight news - and preview the next (March 2024) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com
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AEROSPACE Editor-in-Chief Tim Robinson and Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater sum up the 2024 Singapore Air Show
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RAF turned Imperial Airways pilot, Captain Parker, gives us a flavour of what life was like working for Imperial in the 1930s. He tells us about operating the Handley Page HP.42 and recounts a story of being stranded in the desert after an aircraft was forced down. After flying landplanes he was transferred to seaplanes and gives us insights into life operating flying boats before and after the Second World War.
Captain Parker was interviewed by David Jones in around 1975. This recording is part a AeroSociety Podcast series, Development of Civil Aviation from the UK to Australasia, it was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS. -
Captain Crowther operated the first service from Brisbane to Darwin and then onto Singapore in 1934 and recalls life flying a DH.86 on that route. He also describes the time when he was transferred to flying boats, including the period he flew between Australia and Ceylon during World War II. Crowther also gives us a view of managing the 'Kangaroo Route' in the early post-war years from his position as their Manager of the Western Region.
Captain Crowther was interviewed by David Jones in around 1975. This recording is part a AeroSociety Podcast series, Development of Civil Aviation from the UK to Australasia, it was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS. -
In this podcast series from the Royal Aeronautical Society's monthly AEROSPACE magazine, Editor in Chief Tim Robinson, Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater and Features Editor Bella Richards analyse recent aviation, aerospace and space news - and preview the next (January 2024) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com
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What’s in a name? This lecture takes us through the evolving picture of how manufacturers were required to name their military aircraft and engines and shows how different aircraft followed and deviated from the Ministry’s requirements.
Gordon T. Wansbrough-White FRAeS addressed a meeting organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 28 November 1966. 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. -
In this podcast series from the Royal Aeronautical Society's monthly AEROSPACE magazine, Editor in Chief Tim Robinson, Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater and Features Editor Bella Richards analyse recent aviation, aerospace and space news - and preview the next (January 2024) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com
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“Oh come on, surely it was the Wright Brothers who did this!” In his lecture Dr John Ackroyd FRAeS tries to persuade us that Sir George Cayley, not the Wright Brothers, defined the concepts behind the aeroplane and flew it in 1804.
After exploring Sir George’s early life and some of his non-aeronautical designs of early tractors, engines and artificial hands, Dr Ackroyd explores Cayley’s key breakthrough, his discovery in 1799 that flapping wings would not lead to flight and what was needed was a complete separation of the lifting from the propulsion system.
Dr Ackroyd then analyses Cayley’s results from his glider flights, experiments and concepts using modern aerodynamic techniques and compares Sir George’s achievements to those who came after. He also explores how Sir George learnt from aerodynamic shapes found in nature and that the challenges facing aviation could be divided into the four basic areas which remain the fundamentals of aeronautics today: aerodynamics, structures, flight dynamics and propulsion.
The recording concludes by showing how Cayley’s work influenced and compared to the work of future generations, most notably how the Wright Brothers built on Cayley’s work to be the first to conquer the challenge of powered flight.
The lecture was specially recorded to mark the 250th Anniversary of Sir George Cayley’s birth and was produced by Peter Laws CEng MRAeS.
Find out more about Sir George Cayley by visiting www.aerosociety.com/cayley250 -
In this podcast series from the Royal Aeronautical Society's monthly AEROSPACE magazine, Editor in Chief Tim Robinson, Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater and Features Editor Bella Richards analyse recent aviation, aerospace and space news - and preview the next (December 2023) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com
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AEROSPACE Editor-in-Chief Tim Robinson and Features Editor Bella Richards sum up the 2023 Dubai Air Show and speak to special guest Royal Aeronautical Society President, Kerissa Khan.
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After service in World War I, Capt Allan moved to the other side of the world and joined the fledgling Australian National Airways. He retells stories of his time with the airline, including his experiences of flying Avro 10s between Australian cities, and shares his opinions of the company’s two guiding lights: Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm.
Allan went onto play a part in many of the key events in spreading civil aviation across the southern hemisphere, including pioneering airmail flights between London and Australia, starting with flying with Kingsford Smith on the first experimental air mail flight in 1931 and playing a part in a record-breaking trip between the two continents in his de Havilland DH.86 during 1933. He also discusses training to operate flying boats for Qantas, before giving a view of why Qantas decided to fly American rather than British aircraft after the Second World War.
Captain G. U. Allan was interviewed by David Jones in around 1975. This recording is part a AeroSociety Podcast series, Development of Civil Aviation from the UK to Australasia. It was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS. -
Tapp joined Qantas when it employed 25 people, including just seven pilots. His path to Australia started after service with the Royal Air Force and a spell promoting the Westland Widgeon light aircraft. From there Captain Tapp heard about Qantas, wrote a letter to Hudson Fysh and, after a test with de Havilland, were off to Australia in 1928. He gives us a flavour of flying for the company in those years, tells us about the characters who worked for the airline, including engineer Arthur Baird, explores the problems with the de Havilland DH.86 Express and tells us what it was like travelling on the early days of the Australia to Singapore route.
Captain Russell Tapp was interviewed by David Jones in around 1975. This recording is part a AeroSociety Podcast series, Development of Civil Aviation from the UK to Australasia. It was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS. - Show more