“Edwin Link’s legacy is immense and today it is hard to imagine a time when simulation was not an integral part of training”. The then Chief of the Defence Staff, ACM Sir Jock Stirrip, started the Royal Aeronautical Society’s inaugural Edwin Link Named Lecture by telling the story of Edwin Link: the man who created the first flight simulator and then championed the technology before, during and after the Second World War.

Sir Jock’s main theme was exploring how simulation was aiding the armed services in the first decade of the twenty-first century. He takes us through how the Royal Air Force was harnessing flight simulation, with projects including the Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility at RAF Benson and the Mission Training through Distributed Simulation (MTDS) project at RAF Waddington. Sir Jock also explores how the Royal Navy used simulation, including at the Maritime Warfare School at Portsmouth, and the British Army’s use of simulators for training soldiers who worked with tanks and those charged with disarming Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

Sir Jock also looks to the future, where he hoped that the technology would continue to blur the boundaries between simulation and reality. He predicted that commanders would be able to see the environment, be able to hone in on an area of interest and be able to see the predicted results before real troops were committed. In effect, there would be “a fusing of the synthetic and real worlds”.

Sir Jock Stirrup gave the Inaugural Edwin Link Named Lecture to the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Flight Simulation Group on 7 November 2007. The material and information contained in this lecture are UK Ministry of Defence © Crown copyright 2007 and the recording is the copyright of the Royal Aeronautical Society 2007. The podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

It took little over a decade following the invention of the hot air balloon for André-Jacques Garnerin to make the first parachute jump from a balloon and, in this lecture, S. B. Jackson takes us through the evolution of the parachute over the next 150 years. After a brief look at the pre-ballooning concepts, Jackson examines the pre-1903 designs of Garnerin, Robert Cocking, John Hampton and others.

Jackson then moves the story into the twentieth century where, after an initial reluctance to use parachutes in the early days of powered flight, the aeroplane became the raison d'être for the parachute. Here he explores the reasons behind the initial reluctance to use parachutes, the creation of the industry around the American Leslie Irvin, the work of the Royal Aircraft Establishment to move the science of parachutes forward during the interwar period and the development of parachutes for uses other than safety, which became increasingly important during World War II. As well as looking at the design and history of the parachute itself, Jackson also explores the development of the pack and harness, together with the fabric used for parachutes.

S. B. Jackson addressed a meeting organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 26 October 1964. The lecture is introduced by J. L. Nayler FRAeS FAIAA, the recording was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

Captain Lester Brain joined Qantas in 1924, in an era when passengers flew in surplus World War I aircraft with an open cockpit. He takes us through the first thirty years of his flying career, reminiscing about the early years of flying over the outback, discusses undertaking rescue missions in an era without radios and then explains the importance of civil aviation to Australia during World War II.

Captain Brain appeared in ABC’s “Armchair Chats” series, broadcast on 3 October 1954. The podcast was released courtesy of Australian Broadcasting Corporation Library Sales, it was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

Sir Frederick Handley Page was one of the UK’s early lecturers in aerospace engineering, teaching students at London’s Northampton Institute, a forerunner of City, University of London. This passion for education never left him and, in 1945, he became one of the first board members of the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield. In two fascinating lectures, Chris Atkin, then a Professor at City, explores HP’s early career and Cranfield’s then Pro-Chancellor, Gordon Page, looks back at HP’s role at the fledgeling Cranfield University.

The evening 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 Dr Kit Mitchell FRAeS and the recording was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

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.

Sir George Dowty HonFRAeS was one of the great names of twentieth century aerospace manufacturing. His post-World War I innovations led to him creating the specialist firm focusing on the landing gears that were used on Lancasters, Typhoons and Halifaxes and which bore his name.

In this lecture, Ally McConnell takes us through the life and work of the great man and how his company evolved during the twentieth century. She also explains how the story emerged during a project to catalogue the company’s archives and thorough a recently unearthed autobiography that was completed weeks before Dowty’s death and recently published as Sir George Dowty, In His Own Words.

Ally McConnell presented her webinar to the RAeS Gloucester & Cheltenham Branch on 19 January 2021, it was introduced by Oliver Towers FRAeS and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

As part of 14th annual National Apprenticeship Week, we have recorded a podcast with Zoe Garstang ARAeS, Airworthiness Engineer at BAE Systems. Zoe has recently completed her apprenticeship and she is currently working in Future Programmes, including work on Team Tempest. Tune in to hear more about her apprenticeship journey, including how to find apprenticeship, her biggest highlights and her future career aspirations.

Cobham’s Flying Circus brought the excitement and glamour, challenges and enthusiasm, thrills and spills of aviation to literally millions of people across Britain and parts of the Empire between 1932 and 1935. Sir Michael Knight explores three and a half years of flypasts, aerobatics, wing walking, parachute displays, upside-down flying and joy rides, which Sir Alan Cobham used to sell the potential of flying to the young and old alike and tells us many amazing stories along the way.

A video version of the podcast is available via www.aerosociety.com/podcasts.

The 1997 Handley Page Lecture took place on 20 February 1997, the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS and it was digitised thanks to a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society Foundation.

When Handley Page joined the Society in 1907, he was described as ‘something of an enfant terrible and one of the most remarkable personalities in a cause [aeronautics] which boasts of more young men’s successes than any other’. In this entertaining lecture, Keith Hayward recalls the explosion that occurred once ‘the enfant terrible’ and his colleagues came up against the Aeronautical establishment and goes on to explore the contribution that HP made during his next fifty years of membership.

The recording concludes with a panel discussion where Prof Hayward is joined by the morning’s other contributors, Harry Fraser-Mitchell FRAeS and Andrew Brookes FRAeS.

Prof Keith Hayward FRAeS presented the third paper in the conference ‘Handley Page Ltd : celebrating the centenary of the first British aircraft company’. The conference was organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 10 September 2009. The lecture was introduced by Tony Edwards FRAeS and the recording was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

The third of the British V-bombers, the Victor was charged with delivering Britain’s nuclear deterrent in the late 1950s and 1960s, before taking on observation and tanker roles, including playing a key part in the Falklands Campaign. Historian and former Victor pilot Andrew Brookes takes us through the design, development and operation of the HP Victor and adds some personal recollections along the way.

Andrew Brookes FRAeS presented the second paper in the conference ‘Handley Page Ltd : celebrating the centenary of the first British aircraft company’. The conference was organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 10 September 2009. The lecture is introduced by Tony Edwards FRAeS and the recording was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.