View a printable diary of HQ events here
Doctrine, Technology & Weapon Systems
for Urban Warfare
Tuesday 18th November 2008
No.4 Hamilton Place, London
“They know that cities .... place limits on our technological
superiority and especially our use of firepower. We have to develop technologies that allow
us to win while minimizing collateral damage." - Col Mark Thiffault, Director, Joint
Information Bureau, Urban Warrior
There are many examples both of urban warfare and counterinsurgency in the last century but
fewer occurrences of the two types of operations together. It has been predicted that urban
operations are increasingly likely in 21st century conflicts. Urban areas are also an
attractive environment for insurgents. Evolution of military doctrine is already occurring
but the capability to fulfil the changing doctrine is lagging, including the development of
training and tactics. Integrated weapon systems and technology, existing and new, and
support for successful deployment and use offer opportunities to meet these challenges. In
this it is recognised that control of joint operations could be crucial to success,
including C4ISR and fire support from both manned and unmanned air vehicles.
In order to provide a forum for discussion of the issues involved, and of potential
solutions, papers are invited on relevant topics to be presented at a one-day unclassified
conference, organised by the RAeS’s Weapon Systems & Technology Group.
REGISTER ON-LINE here for this Weapon Systems & Technology conference
Programme for Doctrine, Technology & Weapon Systems for Urban Warfare available here
Sponsorship Packages for the Doctrine, Technology & Weapon Systems conference available here
Aviation Safety: On Purpose or by Accident?
Young Members Board Conference
Friday 21 November 2008
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ
This year’s Young Members Conference focuses on the subject of aviation safety.
Flying is statistically the safest way to travel but accidents still occur. How do
we learn from the misfortune of others to prevent future incidents? With technology ever improving,
are we doing enough to counter the increasing proportion of human factors related incidents?
Finally, what is the business and reputational impact for those who get it wrong.
‘Aviation Safety: On Purpose or by Accident?’ aims to help answer these questions.
Programme for Young Members Conference Conference available here
REGISTER ON-LINE here for this Young Members Board Conference
Sponsored by: 
SURTECH 2009:
The Changing World of Surveillance
Tuesday 3 – Wednesday 4 February 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
Air traffic surveillance is moving at a fast pace. A decade ago primary and secondary
radar were the only means of surveillance available. Today there is a range of surveillance techniques
in operation supporting new applications that would have been unimaginable back then.
Airport surveillance has been revolutionised by the availability of airport multilateration, delivering
clear operational benefits. Networks of static ground antennas are being used in wide area multilateration
as well as for new multistatic and passive surveillance, bringing performance improvements at potentially
lower through-life costs. Initial use of ADS-B is allowing aircraft to maintain spacing from each other
in some controlled operational environments.
At the same time, the regulatory environment is changing and there is a push towards performance-based
operations. New European and US regulations are being developed for surveillance systems and new surveillance
techniques face challenges in gaining operational approval. An increasing reliance on GNSS in surveillance
systems has to be addressed, and new planning and analysis tools are required to support the system lifecycle.
In Conjunction with 
Please visit the dedicated Surtech 2009 Website here
REGISTER ON-LINE here for Surtech 2009
Sponsorship Packages for Surtech 2009 available here
Sponsored by: 
Supported by: 
Evolution of Combat Capable
Unmanned Air Systems and Weapons
Thursday 26 February 2009
Boscombe Down, Salisbury
Guided missiles have had a long and varied evolution. Major
trends have arisen from changing requirements and the development of new technologies for
propulsion, airframes, sensors and control devices. Network Enabled Capability (NEC) has
added a revolutionary dimension. Weapon system designers today have access to advanced
multi-spectral seekers, secure navigation frames of reference, advanced auto pilot
architectures and data networking of ever increasing sophistication.
Many military capabilities require flexible systems of systems in which the integration of
air platforms and their weapons into extensive command and control structures is imperative.
The development and production of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) is now a major global
industry. Their extension to Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) offers attractive
advantages. The marriage of these trends with those of weapon system and guided missile
technology could yield significant benefits.
In order to provide a forum for discussion this one day unclassified conference has been
organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society's Weapon Systems and Technology Group in
conjunction with QinetiQ at Boscombe Down. The papers to be presented at this event cover
many current developments and technologies involved, making it an essential one day
conference to attend.
Registration for this Weapon Systems & Technology Conference available soon
Sponsored by:
Corporate, Air Taxi & Personal Jets:
Current Challenges and Future Prospects
18 – 19 March 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
Following the very successful Conference held in London in March 2008 on the
introduction into Europe of Very Light Jets, and the issues raised by delegates in the concluding open
forum, the Royal Aeronautical Society will hold a further Conference on VLJs at its London Headquarters
on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 March 2009. The Conference will address the significant challenges in
realising the potential of VLJs and resolving the operational and training imperatives in the private,
corporate and air taxi sectors.
The views expressed at the 2008 Conference have been taken fully into account, notably in developing the
programme for the 2009 Conference. The papers will reflect the growing introduction of this type of aircraft
into European operations in a number of different fields and will further address their regulation and
certification. The Conference will also examine developments elsewhere in the world and will seek to add
to the corporate knowledge by drawing on the widest possible experience. In addition to wide-ranging
presentations, the Conference will also seek to involve the delegates whose interaction will be important
for its success.
The papers, some of which will be novel and contentious, will be presented by leading experts in their
fields and some 150 delegates are expected from Europe, North America, the Middle East and Indian sub-continent,
China and the Far East. Regardless of whether you are involved with management, manufacturing, maintenance,
training, regulating, airspace, or any other aspect of VLJ operations, this Conference provides a unique
opportunity to become involved, discuss the issues and influence the work required to resolve them.
REGISTER ON-LINE here for this Corporate, Air Taxi & Personal Jets conference
Click here for further information on conference sessions
Sponsorship Packages for Corporate, Air Taxi & Personal Jets available here
Finding the Right Stuff:
The Medical Selection Aircrew and Astronauts
Tuesday 24 March 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
In the early days of aviation, it was generally believed that the best predictor of success in flying training was the ability to ride a horse. However, it was soon realised that those engaged in civilian and military flying required not only an aptitude to do the job, but also the requisite medical fitness to withstand the flight environment, to fly safely and to be at least as reliable than the aircraft they were operating. Training of aviators requires significant financial investment, and organisations look for re-assurance that a trainee will return a reasonable length of service, and will not fail training for medical reasons.
This Symposium will explore the medical standards used in the selection of military aircrew, civilian aircrew and astronauts. Additionally, it will address some of the psychological aspects of aircrew selection including cognitive testing and the role of personality assessment.
Programme & Registration for this Aerospace Medicine Conference available soon
Concorde - The Supersonic Achievement
40th Anniversary Concorde Conference
Wednesday 8 April 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
“She flies…she flies…” were the memorable words that accompanied the TV coverage
of the first flight of the first British Concorde, 002, from Filton on April 9th 1969.
The visionary concept of an aircraft that could carry one hundred passengers at twice the speed of sound
across the Atlantic emerged about halfway through the first century of powered flight.
How this dream became an aeronautical reality and a success in airline service is covered in this conference
to coincide with the 40th anniversary of that first take-off. Based on their personal experience, invited
speakers will look at a range of subjects including, amongst others, the role of the Supersonic Transport
Aircraft Committee, design concepts, airworthiness and flight test as well as the politics and economics of
airline operations and describe in-service engineering and cabin service as well as what it was like to fly
this iconic aircraft in commercial service. The day will end with an evening lecture by David MacDonald,
former BA Engineer and Capt Dave Leney who were closely involved with Concorde’s entry into service, that
will cover some of the in-service technical milestones.
As we entered the second century of powered flight, Concorde had been and gone from our skies. There is still no other aircraft in the world that can do what Concorde did. If you were part of the Concorde adventure, flew as a passenger on the aircraft or just delighted in seeing her fly, this conference will be of interest to you.
Click here for further information
Programme & Registration for this Concorde Conference available soon
Sponsorship Packages for the Concorde Conference available here
Sponsored by: 
Recent events on the world financial scene mean that the Annual
Conference title of Facing Up to the Future is both compelling and relevant. But we need to
resist the temptation continually to adopt short-term solutions. Rather, we need to be
mindful of the strategic horizon and be in a position to invest in those concepts,
technologies and processes that represent sustainable solutions regardless of the challenge
whether economic, military or environmental.
This conference seeks to do just that by considering the strategic relevance of air power,
the availability of novel, future-proofing technologies and the need to take a holistic but
sustainable approach to the transport needs of tomorrow. But the approach is not theoretical.
The subjects will be treated with a healthy dose of pragmatism so as to allow judgements to
be made about tomorrow which take account of today’s difficult circumstances.
Programme & Registration for the RAeS Annual Conference available soon
Sponsorship Packages for the Annual Conference available here
The Edge of the Envelope
Technology Advances in Flight Simulation
Wednesday 3 - Thursday 4 June 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
The growth of the aviation industry places increasing demands on
safety throughout the operational envelope of aircraft. Flight simulation today is tasked
with reproducing aircraft behaviour within the normal flight regime. However, aircrew
preparedness also requires being ready to deal with uncommon situations. These can extend
well beyond the reproduction of system failures. Recent experience has shown that aircraft
themselves may encounter unusual attitudes, requiring pilots to recognise and correct the
threat.
The task to provide training for these situations remains challenging - Acquiring data
representative of abnormal flight envelopes, providing representative control forces,
generating suitable visual information, and presenting appropriate motion cues are all part
of the challenge. Training in conventional simulators, or through in-flight training
provides alternatives. In military flight, familiarisation with the physiological effects of
disorientation and high-g operations is critical to survivability, and industry has reacted
here as well with innovative approaches.
Regulatory requirements continue to be reviewed to meet current and future training
requirements. The latest revision of ICAO 9625, the Manual of Qualification for Flight
Simulators, is built for the future, and it allows new approaches to be taken by industry in
the design of flight simulators.
This two-day conference will bring together the users and developers of flight simulators
that train both the conventional and extended envelope of flight vehicles, including fixed
and rotary wing. The goal is to identify the training requirements, technical solutions,
and the regulatory challenges.
Programme & Registration for this Flight Simulation Conference available soon
Support of Helicopter Operations
Through Life Capability Management
Wednesday 10 - Thursday 11 June 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
Helicopters are, by their nature, complex machines which require
significant support effort in service. Operational concepts are evolving towards more
remote and self sufficient operations with small, or single, numbers of helicopters and
crews, where support infrastructure & facilities are limited. Operationally, it remains
essential to maximise agility and responsiveness to deliver capability. These factors lead
to considerable challenges for all stakeholders to achieve satisfactory levels of
airworthiness, operational availability and safety.
The stakeholder community encompasses helicopter providers (including airframe and avionic
system designers & manufacturers); service providers including operators, flight & mission
crews, and maintainers; and providers of support systems such as the engineering and
training support environments. A critical issue for current and future operations is
sustainment of the maintainer and field support staff skill base.
Furthermore, the service life expectancy of helicopters is increasing; this is especially
true in the military where airframe lives of over 50 years are predicted. Conversely,
advances in system technology, often driven from outside the aviation community, are
resulting in rapid obsolescence of avionics and other on-board operating systems. These
factors, together with changing and more onerous operational demands, particularly in
military operations, drive the need for a strategy for long term sustainability of the
aircraft, together with flexibility in system design to permit affordable upgrading of both
hardware and software.
Programme & Registration for this Rotorcraft Conference available soon
Sponsorship Packages for the Rotorcraft Conference available here
The Handley Page Centenary:
100 Years of Education in Aeronautics - Time for a Change?
Tuesday 23 - Wednesday 24 June 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
The Annual International Conference in 2009 will form a major
part of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s celebrations to mark the Handley Page centenary.
The two-day Conference is co-sponsored by City University, London, as part of its
celebrations of delivering aeronautical education for 100 years. It seeks to examine the
challenges in ensuring that engineers working in the aviation industry are best prepared
and equipped for careers extending over the next 50 years and beyond. The Conference will
be held at the RAeS’s prestigious London Headquarters on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 June
2009.
The Conference has a very broad agenda and will address the skills sets and techniques needed
by aeronautical engineers in the future and whether education and training systems are
optimised to meet those needs. National regulatory requirements and the global employment
market place demands on training systems and strategies, and the pace of change in aviation,
together with careers that may last half a century, may require changes to current
philosophies. As with the Handley Page legacy, the Conference aims to tease out the novel and
contentious.
The strategic challenges in education and training will be examined from the differing
perspectives of manufacturers, operators, regulators, technologists, academia and young
professionals who have recently entered the aviation industry. It will include a panel debate
and a wide range of presentations by leading experts, not only from the UK but also from
other nations and other industries. Delegates are expected from all sectors of the industry
from around the world and this Conference presents a unique opportunity for in-depth
discussion with others in the field. The Conference will seek to determine how the issues
might best be resolved and will conclude with an open forum where delegates’ views will help
shape how the RAeS might help facilitate progress.
In Conjunction with 
Programme & Registration for this Training Conference available soon
Space Toursim
Tuesday 30 June 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
This conference looks at the developments with the emerging private spaceflight
industry. It will address the key questions – Where is the industry now? What is vision over the next
decade? And what are the challenges ahead? It aims to bring those prominent in making a viable space
tourism industry a reality to provide their perspective as well as creating a forum in which the key issues
can be addressed. This conference reaches out across the many disciplines that will be necessary to support
space tourism, now and in the future.
In 2001, American businessman, Dennis Tito became the first privately funded astronaut. With one week aboard the International
Space Station, Mr Tito paved the way for others willing to pay to experience spaceflight. Since this landmark
flight, seven other individuals have shared this opportunity showing that there is a continuing and sustained
for privately funded spaceflight. Another form of space tourism which is also emerging are suborbital trips, where passengers are rocketed to the edge
of space, being exposed for a handful of minutes to a weightless environment and seeing the Earth from an
altitude of 100km as well as experiencing the excitement and adventure of the flight itself. Several
companies are developing vehicles for this market which should start their service in the near future.
This conference will take a broad look at the space tourism industry, drawing on the views of organisations across the chain. These include service
companies, manufactures, vendors, infrastructure providers, regularities and policy makers, financers and insurers.
By doing so it aims to create a forum for increasing awareness, forging relationships and breaking down barriers to the
development of private spaceflight.
Programme & Registration for this Space Conference available soon
Human Factors in Design
for Safety Systems
Thursday 9 July 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
More details coming soon.
Programme & Registration for this Human Factors Conference available soon
Handley Page Ltd
Celebrating the centenary of the first British aircraft company
Thursday 10 September 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
More details coming soon.
Programme & Registration for this Historical Conference available soon
A Training and Regulatory Environment for Tomorrow
Annual International Flight Crew Training Conference
Wednesday 23 - Thursday 24 September 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
The 2009 Conference will examine and progress the issues raised
by the changes in the training and regulatory environment that are anticipated over the next
five years. While there has been much discussion and debate on how best to move from the
separate legal frameworks under National Aviation Authorities to a single unified European
Aviation Safety Agency, certain grey areas remain. This two-day Conference aims to address
these areas and propose ways whereby some of the uncertainties may be resolved.
This informative and wide-ranging Conference will examine these issues from the perspective
of aircraft manufacturers and operators, makers and users of training systems, training
providers, airspace managers, researchers, and regulators. The Conference has a very broad
agenda and seeks both to ensure that the issues are taken forward and also determine how the
RAeS might best facilitate progress.
The papers, some of which will be novel and contentious, will be presented by leading
experts in their fields and some 150 delegates are expected from Europe, North America, the
Middle East and Indian sub-continent, China and the Far East. Regardless of whether you are
involved with management, manufacturing, maintenance, training, regulating, airspace, or any
other aspect of operations, this Conference provides a unique opportunity to become involved,
discuss the issues and influence the work required to resolve them.
The Conference will be preceded by a half-day workshop on the afternoon of Tuesday 22
September designed to facilitate discussion between the RAeS International Working Group on
Flight Simulation Training Devices and all the regulatory authorities and operators wishing
to participate. The purpose will be to promote further understanding of ICAO 9625 Revision 3
(Manual of Criteria for the Qualification of Flight Simulation Training Devices), due for
imminent release. Please contact the RAeS separately if you are interested in attending this
event.
Programme & Registration for this Training Conference available soon
Organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society,
CEAS 2009 will be the major event in the European aerospace calendar during 2009.
It will attract aerospace professionals, companies and organisations not only from across
the European Union but also from other major global aerospace nations. It is expected that
there will be up to 1000 attendees and that 400-500 technical papers will be presented.
Click here for the dedicated website
Fixed-Wing and Rotary-wing FSTDs
The Way Ahead
Wednesday 18 - Thursday 19 November 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London UK
More details coming soon.
Programme & Registration for this Flight Simulation Conference available soon
Complex Weapons Systems,
Technologies and their Applications
Wednesday 25 - Thursday 26 November 2009
Venue tbc
More details coming soon.
Programme & Registration for this Weapon Systems & Technology Conference available soon
Click here for a
PDF of our 2008-2009 conference & lecture diary
If you need further information on any of the above events please contact:
Conference & Events Department
+44 (0)20 7670 4345
conference@aerosociety.com
www.aerosociety.com/conference
