AeroSociety Podcast AeroSociety Podcast

In this podcast series from the Royal Aeronautical Society's monthly AEROSPACE magazine, Editor in Chief Tim Robinson, Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater and Features Editor Bella Richards analyse recent aviation, aerospace and space news - and preview the next (June 2024) edition of the magazine. Special guest this episode is new RAeS President David Chinn. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com

In 1945 confidence in British aviation was sky-high. Yet decades later, the industry had not lived up to its potential. What happened? The years that followed the war saw the Brabazon Committee issued flawed proposals for civil aviation planning. Enforced cancellations restricted the advancement of military aircraft, compounded later on by Defence Minister Duncan Sandys abandoning aircraft to fixate solely on missiles. Commercially, Britain's small and neglected domestic market hindered the development of civilian airliners. In the production of notorious aircraft, the inauspicious Comet came from de Havilland's attempts to gain an edge over its American competitors. The iconic Harrier jump jet and an indigenous crop of helicopters were squandered, while unrealistic performance requirements brought about the cancellation of TSR2.

Peter Reese explores how repeated financial crises, a lack of rigour and fatal self-satisfaction led British aviation to miss vital opportunities across this turbulent period in Britain's skies.

Peter Reese wrote this lecture for the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust in 2023. The recording is courtesy of the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust and the podcast was edited by Eur Ing Mike Stanberry FRAeS.

A number of Peter Reese’s books, including In Turbulent Skies: British Aviation Successes Setbacks 1945-1975, are available if you make a donation to the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Library Conservation Appeals. The minimum donation is £5 per book. To order, please visit https://forms.office.com/e/siWpX4w9eW

In this podcast series from the Royal Aeronautical Society's monthly AEROSPACE magazine, Editor in Chief Tim Robinson, Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater and Features Editor Bella Richards analyse recent aviation, aerospace and space news - and preview the next (May 2024) edition of the magazine. Special guest this episode is outgoing RAeS President Kerissa Khan. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com

Listen to the Royal Air Force, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton in conversation with Air Marshal Sir Christopher Harper at a Royal Aeronautical Society Corporate Partners briefing, held on 9 April.

The ultimate test of the great powers’ pilots, aircraft and powerplants in the interwar period, the Schneider Trophy seaplane contest pushed forward aviation design to new heights and directly led to the Spitfire and Merlin engine.

W. Cox, a member of the trophy winning Supermarine team, takes us through each contest, starting with the pre-World War II contests and highlights how the key technological developments in aircraft design were represented in the race.

Please note, due to the age of this recording, there are periods of poor sound quality.

W. Cox addressed a meeting organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Historical Group on 12 October 1965. The lecture was 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.

In this podcast series from the Royal Aeronautical Society's monthly AEROSPACE magazine, Editor in Chief Tim Robinson, Deputy Editor Stephen Bridgewater and Features Editor Bella Richards analyse recent aviation, aerospace and space news - and preview the next (April 2024) edition of the magazine. Find out more at www.aerosociety.com