Planned to succeed the Harrier even before the Harrier, flew, the P.1154 was the joint winner of a NATO competition to produce an advanced S/VTOL aircraft. Michael Pryce tells a fascinating but familiar story of how organisational, financial, technical, and political problems collided leading to Denis Healy cancelling the project in 1965. Pryce then examines the project’s legacy, both technically and as a lesson in advanced project planning.

The lecture is followed by a wide-ranging question and answer session which compares the P.1154 story to many of the issues facing the industry today.

Dr Michael Pryce addressed a meeting organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 12 April 2012. The lecture was introduced by Peter Elliott and the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS.