Glaciologist, qualified pilot and experienced navigator Dr Charles Swithinbank spent sixty years using aeroplanes to help him study ice sheets in an era when the aeroplane was replacing dogs and boats as the main way of studying and visiting the polar regions. In this lecture he retells many fascinating stories from his career, including pioneering the use of radar on aircraft to measure the thickness of ice, finding natural runways suitable for the landing of aircraft of any size and in his 80s, accepting invitations from NASA to pick his brain on how his polar experience might inform future manned missions to Mars – he volunteered to go to Mars and help, but NASA politely declined.

Dr Charles Swithinbank addressed a meeting of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 3 September 2012 and the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS.