A panel of speakers from the original 'core' Concorde crew team speak at the Society for the 40th anniversary of the start of successful supersonic passenger services.

Nigel Whitehead OBE FREng FRAeS CEng, Group Managing Director - Programmes and Support, BAE Systems plc delivers the 2015 Wilbur and Orville Wright Lecture.

James Hogan FRAeS, President & Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways talks at the Society for the 2015 Brabazon Named Lecture.

Commercial airline pilots undergo six monthly simulator assessments throughout the length of their entire career where they are comprehensively examined on both their technical and non-technical performance. This lecture will review the history and development of flight simulators and synthetic training devices from an aeromedical perspective. It will then briefly look at the content of a typical simulator assessment and consider how these training devices can be used at different stages of a pilot’s career. The presentation will explore how these training devices manipulate a variety of human physiological principles and limitations in order to maximize the fidelity of the training experience, with particular reference to the simulator motion and visual systems. Whilst the importance of flight simulators in the aeromedical decision-making process has been long established, the current use of synthetic training devices in aeromedical functional assessments for a variety of conditions will also be considered.

This lecture honours Capt Ray Jones, one of the Flight Simulation Groups founding members and celebrates his contribution to the development of the group, the advancement in the art and science of flight simulation and in particular application in the training of civil airline pilots.

This year's lecture will be entitled 'Improving Instructor Standards and Regulating for the Best Safety Use of Flight Simulators' presented by Roger Weeks, Senior Manager Operations Safety at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in Australia.

In this lecture, Roger Weeks will share Australia’s experience with a major safety initiative introduced in 2007 to improve the standards of flying instructors. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) took a ‘back-to-basics’ approach in order to address concerns that pilot standards were declining. The program has been highly successful with improvements in graduation standards of flying instructors achieved. In the second part of the Captain Ray Jones Memorial Lecture, Roger will address the manner in which the use of flight simulators has been mandated for certain training and re-currency activities. In addition to addressing high-risk activities, the approach taken by CASA recognises the value and richness that can be gained by using simulators in type rating programs. Given Captain Jones’ pioneering work in civil airline simulator training, details of this initiative will be highly relevant to those who have an interest in, or involvement with the world of simulator training and testing.

In this lecture Steve Bond discussed elements of his latest

book, the subject of which is a major history of the Vickers

Wellington - the only RAF bomber to have served in its

original role from the first day of World War II to the last, and in every theatre.

James Arbuthnot discusses the current government position on

nuclear weapons, SDSR and the proposal that all NATO

countries should move to spend 2% on defence at the 2015 Sopwith Named Lecture.

Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden Jr, Administrator, NASA speaks at the Society for this Space Group Lecture.

This year's lecture, 'Investigation in Simulation', was given by Nathalie de Ziegler, Investigating Officer, Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA). She described the interest of simulation during investigation, with a focus on human performance, and precautions to be taken which will be illustrated by a real case study.

The Royal Air Force, UK air power and the defence aerospace industry are at a critical point in their evolution. After 12 years of enduring stabilisation operations, UK air power is now reconfiguring towards Future Force 2020. But just what that future holds is unclear: greater complexity, less certainty and increased insecurity is the prediction.

Air Marshal North offered the Royal Air Force view that the answer lies in adjusting how the two work together in the decades ahead, suggesting their respective futures are now fused as one.