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 Dav…

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 …

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…

Listen to the Royal Air Force, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton in conversation with Air Marshal Sir Christopher Harper at a Royal Aeronautical Society Corporate Partners briefing, held on 9 April.By AeroSociety Podcast

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 Wa…

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…

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 …

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…

AEROSPACE Editor-in-Chief Tim Robinson and Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater sum up the 2024 Singapore Air ShowBy AeroSociety Podcast

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 l…

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 …

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…

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 Gro…

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…

“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 artific…

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…

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.By AeroSociety Podcast

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 …

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 g…

Aircraft not only need to fly, but also need to land safely. A. D. S. Murray spent his early years in Australia surveying the country or emergency and permanent landing grounds. In this interview, he describes some of the challenges he faced and characters he met during this part of his career.By AeroSociety Podcast

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 (November 2023) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com…

The Spanish Civil War came at a significant period in the development of aviation and foreshadowed aerial warfare in the Second World War. But how much was the Royal Air Force taking notice of what was happening on the continent and what lessons did they learn? In this lecture, Brian Armstrong challenges the impression that those in command of Brit…

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 (October 2023) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com…

After training with the RAF just after the First World War and service in India, Capt Mollard made his way to Imperial Airways, and tells us about life at Croydon Airport and the London to Paris route.In 1929 Mollard was transferred to Cairo and, as Imperial flew further towards Australia, so did he. Here he co-piloted Captain Alger in the hair-rai…

The captain of the 1937 flying boat survey flight from Karachi to New Zealand explains how he became involved in the historic event and how they prepared for the flight, before retelling the story of the eventful trip. He also discusses the warm welcome they received in New Zealand and further afield. Captain Burgess was interviewed by David Jones …

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 space news - and preview the next (September 2023) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com…

Captain Egglesfield commanded some of the earliest commercial flights over India and the Far East including the first scheduled service from Karachi to Calcutta in July 1933 in an Armstrong Whitworth AW.15 Atalanta, the first scheduled Karachi to Rangoon service, and the second survey flights on flying boats between Karachi and Singapore. In this i…

In April 1931 Captain Alger was asked to fly the first experimental airmail flight between Karachi and Darwin in his de Havilland DH.66, the City of Cairo. In this interview Alger retells the story of this eventful flight. Captain H. W. C. Alger was interviewed by David Jones on 8 June 1975. This recording is part of the AeroSociety Podcast series,…

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 space news - and preview the next (August 2023) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com…

Was the incoming Labour Government right to cancel TSR-2? Was there a possibility of creating an Anglo-French military aircraft programme in the early 1960s? Who was the panellists’ favourite villain in the TSR-2 story? These and many other questions were posed to the conference speakers, and we hear their frank conclusions.…

What lessons did the UK’s aerospace industry learn from TSR-2 and what key points can we take into today’s aerospace projects? As a student, Michael Pryce lived close to Ivan Yates, the man who Warton sent to liaise with Weybridge. In his retirement, Yates told Pryce about many of the mistakes that were made on the TSR-2 project and how he learnt f…

What would have happened if Britain decided to keep TSR-2? Benjamin Goodlad explores the possible strategic and tactical use of the aircraft, discusses the gaps it would have filled and considers which aircraft it could have replaced. He also asks how the RAF armed with an operational TSR-2 would have looked from a bomber and strike command perspec…

The cancellation of TSR-2 left a large gap in the RAF’s armoury, but how should the gap be filled? Samuel Hollins explores the immediate procurement dilemmas faced by Britain upon the death of TSR-2 and examines the viability of the procurement options that presented themselves prior to Tornado. He then goes onto suggest that the Europeanising turn…

How did those in the corridors of power see the development of the TSR-2 project once it had been awarded? Clive Richards explores the political and strategic debates that took place within Whitehall between 1957 and the cancellation of the project in 1965.By AeroSociety Podcast

In this new 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 space news - and preview the next (July 2023) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com…

Listen to the AEROSPACE team sum up the 2023 Paris Air Show.By AeroSociety Podcast

Happy Pride Month! Supporting LGBTQ+ people in the industry is so important, in this podcast we spoke with Zac Brown, the President of the European Pride in Aviation Network about all the amazing work they’re doing to support LGBTQ+ people in aviation! For more information about EPAN you can go to their website: www.prideinaviation.org/ and to find…

How effective would the Royal Air Force have found a completed TSR-2 compared to its rivals? Paul Stoddart compares the aircraft’s actual and potential performance data with its competitors in the international military aircraft market: the F-4C Phantom, BAC Buccaneer S.2B, Mirage IVA, RA-5C Vigilante and GD F-111C.…

Keith Hayward explores the politics and personalities behind the TSR-2 project, which, at its heart, was a tension between two separate design teams in two different companies, with the young pretenders at English Electric headed by Frederick Page and the shrewd Sir George Edwards heading the team at Vickers. Pressure was added to the relationship …

Tony Buttler takes us through the runners and riders that competed with the combined Vickers/English Electric design that became TSR-2, chief amongst them a proposal from Hawker Siddeley. He then goes onto explore TSR-2’s path to the first flight, highlighting aspects of the aircraft’s advanced design.…

Clive Richards explores the debate within the Air Ministry and Ministry of Supply on the need to procure a replacement for the English Electric Canberra bomber, culminating with the release to industry of General Operational Requirement 339 in 1957.By AeroSociety Podcast

In this new 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 space news - and preview the next (June 2023) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com…

What is the future of combat air and space capabilities? AEROSPACE TIM ROBINSON FRAeS and STEPHEN BRIDGEWATER round-up two days of high-level debate and discussion at the RAeS Future Combat Air & Space Capabilities Summit.By AeroSociety Podcast

Captain H. W. C. Alger first began flying Vickers Vernons on the Cairo to Baghdad airmail route when serving in the RAF and, when Imperial Airways took over the route, he was selected to join the national carrier, this time flying de Havilland DH.66s. In this interview he describes the Desert Air Route and takes us through some hair-raising stories…

Though flying the early civil aircraft could be a challenge, so could maintaining the aircraft along the desert air route. Capt. Garner explores the challenges supporting aircraft as a ground engineer in North Africa, first for the Royal Air Force and then as part of Imperial Airway’s Ground engineering staff. Not only did he have a number of adven…

In this new 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 space news - and preview the next May 2023 of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.comBy AeroSociety Podcast

Captain Brain was one of Qantas’ first pilots, taking the airline from converted World War I bombers to Catalinas in World War II. In the interview, Brain explains what life was like in the early days flying over the Outback, including the early days of the flying doctor service and searching for crashed aircraft. He looks at the impact of the brav…

In this new 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 space news - and preview the next edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.comBy AeroSociety Podcast

The SRN-1 was the world’s first amphibious hovercraft and it led to a series of craft designed and built on the Isle of Wight. Though most famous for civil uses, the SN series was adapted for military uses and models were sold across the world. There were also schemes to use hovercraft technology for other industrial uses.Ray Wheeler gives an insid…

Happy International Women’s day! As part of our celebrations this year we are showcasing our alta mentoring platform, a platform by women, for women. This podcast features Alessandra Badino FRAeS and Erika Ramos da Silva, a mentor and mentee on the platform, they discussed their experiences on the platform and with mentoring as a whole.…