Handley Page Ltd developed two key concepts: the slotted wing and laminar flow. The first can be found on all modern transport aircraft and the second has arguably the greatest potential of all technologies for reducing the fuel burn and environmental impact of future civil aircraft. In this lecture Dr John Green explores the development of the two concepts and the fascinating relationship between the two co-creators of the slot, Sir Frederick Handley Page and Dr Gustav Lachmann.

The recording also includes the paper Handley Page military aircraft and prospects for future military aircraft by Simon Howison FRAeS. The question-and-answer session that covers both papers follows and includes insights from Tony Chapman who was able to give a first-hand account of working with Lachmann and HP during the 1940s.

The afternoon session of the conference ‘Handley Page Ltd : celebrating the centenary of the first British aircraft company’ was organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 10 September 2009. The session was introduced by Sir Brian Burridge FRAeS and the recording was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.