The dangers of losing consciousness whilst flying has been a continual danger for airmen. ‘Spin Doctor’ Wg Cdr NicholasGreen gives a fascinating and entertaining history of G, G-protection and the medical and other uses of the centrifuge; a story that starts with Erasmus Darwin and Sir Harim Maxim, before moving onto the work of AVM Bill Stewart, the work of aviation medicine researchers at Farnborough and further afield and how centrifuges were used for pilot training, before making predictions for the future.

Wg Cdr Nicholas Green MRAeS gave the Royal Aeronautical Society’s 2011 Stewart Memorial Lecture on 15 March 2011. The lecture was introduced by Air Cdre Richard Broadbridge FRAeS & AVM C. B. Morris and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

The material and information contained in this lecture are UK Ministry of Defence © Crown copyright 2011 and the recording is the copyright of the Royal Aeronautical Society 2011.