A test-bed for tiltwing and V/STOL aircraft and flexible assault transport aircraft both started life as a large assault glider in 1948. Both projects evolved with the demands of the United States Air Force and advances in technology, and both provided excitement and challenges for its designers and engineers, including a young Don Richardson.

The lecture was addressed to the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 11 May 2006, the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.