Named Lectures

AIR POWER IN AGES OF AUSTERITY
ACM Sir Stephen Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff
Thursday 10 December 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

The Wilbur and Orville Wright Lecture, established to honour the successful and experienced mechanical engineers who completed the first successful controlled powered flight on 17 December 1903, is the principal event in the Society’s year, given alternately by distinguished members of the US and UK aerospace communities. The lecture in 2008 is the 97th Wilbur & Orville Wright Lecture.

Previous speakers include:

2008 - Vern Raburn, founder of Eclipse Aviation
2007 - Dr Michael Griffin, NASA Administrator
2006 - Dr John Green, Chief Scientist, Aircraft Research Association Ltd
2005 - Prof David Southwood, Director of Science, European Space Agency
2004 - Prof Ann Dowling and Dr Tom Hynes, University of Cambridge
2003 - Philip Condit, Chairman and CEO, The Boeing Company
2002 - Prof Ian Poll, Director, Cranfield College of Aeronautics and Technical Director, Cranfield Aerospace Ltd
2001 - Marsha Ivins, NASA Astronaut
2000 - Mr Daniel Burnham, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Raytheon Company

A transcript of last year's Wilbur & Orville Wright Lecture is available here

Details on last year's Wilbur & Orville Wright Lecture available here

Whittle Lecture

FRANK WHITTLE'S SUCCESSORS: How government can best support aerospace innovation
The Lord Drayson, Minister of State for Science and Innovation, DIUS
Wednesday 17 June 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

The Whittle lecture was established to honour Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle OM, KBE, CB, FEng, Hon FRAeS, FRS who died in 1996. Sir Frank had the idea of using a gas turbine to produce a propulsive jet directly. He lived to see the abundant fulfilment, for both military and civil aircraft, of the 'jet revolution' in which he had played such a seminal role.

Previous speakers include:

2008 - Alain Garcia, Former Vice President of Engineering, Airbus France
2007 - Dr Vijay Mallya, Chairman & Managing Director, Kingfisher Airlines
2006 - Robin Southwell, Chief Executive Officer, EADS UK Limited
2005 - James Albaugh, President and CEO, Integrated Defence Systems, The Boeing Company, USA
2004 - Dr Mike Howse, Director, Engineering and Technology, Rolls-Royce plc
2003 - Sir Alec Broers, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
2002 - Simon Hargreaves, Deputy Chief Test Pilot, BAE SYSTEMS
2001 - Sir Richard Evans, CBE, Hon DTech, Hon FRAeS, Chairman, BAE SYSTEMS
2000 - Sir Neil Cossons, Director, Science Museum

A copy of the transcript for last year's Whittle Lecture is available here

Lindbergh Lecture

THE SPIRIT OF INNOVATION
Marion Blakey, President and CEO, Aerospace Industries Association of America
Tuesday 28 April 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

This lecture commemorates Charles Lindbergh, who was the first pilot to fly solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Lindbergh had a monoplane specially built for him, which was christened Spirit of St Louis. He departed Roosevelt Field, Long Island on 20 May 1927 and landed the following day at Le Bouget, Paris, having flown 3610 miles.

Previous speakers include:

2008 - Robert Milton, Chairman, President & CEO, ACE Aviation Holdings Inc.
2007 - Timothy Clark, President, Emirates Airline
2006 - Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways (India) Pvte Ltd
2005 - Peter Rothwell, Chief Executive, TUI, NE / Managing Director, TUI, UK
2004 - Willie Walsh, Chief Executive Officer, Aer Lingus
2003 - Noel Forgeard, President and Chief Executive Officer, Airbus
2002 - No lecture
2001 - Juergen Weber, Chairman and CEO of Lufthansa German Airlines
2000 - Stelios Haji-lonnou, Chairman, EasyJet

Details on last year's Lindbergh Lecture available here

Stewart Lecture

THE FUTURE OF AVIATION MEDICINE IN EUROPE: Untangling the Web
Dr Sally Evans, Chief Medical Officer, UK Civil Aviation Authority

Tuesday 16 March 2010
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK

The Stewart Lecture was established in 1969 to honour the life and work of Air Vice-Marshal William Kilpatrick Stewart CB CBE AFC OIIP BSc MB ChB MRCP, who joined the staff of the RAF Physiological Laboratory in 1940 and commanded the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine (which the RAF Physiological Laboratory became) from 1947 until his death in 1967.

Previous speakers include:

2009 - Dr Charles Billings MS, MD, FRAeS, Emeritus Professor, The Ohio State University, USA
2008 - Wg Cdr Matthew Lewis, Consultant, RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine
2007 - Col Doug Ivan, Chief Opthalmology Branch, Clinical Services Division, USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, USA
2006 - Dr Rollin Stott, DAvMed Principal Medical Officer, QinetiQ Ltd., Visiting Senior Lecturer, Kings College, London
2005 - Michael Bagshaw, visiting Professor of Aviation Medicine, Kings College London
2004 - Air Cdre Tony Batchelor Officer Commanding, RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine, RAF Henlow
2003 - Col Thomas Travis, Commander and Dean of the USAF of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas, USA
2002 - Prof Helen Muir, Head of the Department of Aviation Psychology at and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Cranfield University
2001 - Dr Raymond Johnston, Head of Occupational Health/Aeromedical Clinical Tutor Civil Aviation Authority

Details on this year's Stewart Lecture available here

Lanchester Lecture

AERODYNAMICS: A Discipline Swept Away?
Prof Cord-Christian Rossow, Director of the Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology, German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Manchester Central (During CEAS 2009)

The Lanchester lecture was set up to honour Frederick William Lanchester, HonFRAeS, Britain's first great aerodynamicist. He is best known for designing and building the first British petrol driven four wheeled motor car (in 1895) and for his work on the theory of flight and design of aircraft. Lanchester's work on stability was fundamental to aviation and he formulated the first comprehensive theory of lift and drag.

Previous speakers include:

2008 - Prof Ian Poll OBE, Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Cranfield Aerospace
2007 - Philippe Spalart, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, USA
2006 - Prof Brian Williams, Visiting Professor, University of Surrey
2005 - Dr John Green, Chief Scientist, Aircraft Research Association
2004 - Dr Dietrich Bechert, Scientist, Consultant at DLR, DLR Berlin
2003 - Mr Christopher D.S. Clarkson, Head of Research & Technology and Process Development, BAE SYSTEMS – Air Systems
2002 - Dr John Anderson Jr, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland & Curator for Aerodynamics, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
2001 - Mr Jeff Jupp, Director Technical, Airbus UK
2000 - A. Elsenaar, Senior Scientist, National Aerospace Laboratory NLR, The Netherlands

Details on last year's Lanchester Lecture available here

Sopwith Lecture

UAS Systems and the Future
David Koopersmith, Vice President, Advanced Boeing Military Aircraft
Thursday 24 June 2010
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

This lecture was established in 1990 to honour Sir Thomas Sopwith CBE, Hon FRAeS. In the years prior to World War I, Sopwith became England's premier aviator and established the first authoritative test pilot school in the world, he also founded England's first major flight school. Between 1912 and 1920 Sopwith's Company produced over 16,000 aircraft of 60 types.

Previous speakers include:

2009 - Dr Sergey Mikheyev, General Designer, Kamov Company
2008 - Mikhail Pogosyan, Director General, Sukhoi Aviation Holding Company
2007 - Tom Enders, Chief Executive, EADS
2006 - Sir John Chisholm, Chairman, QinetiQ
2005 - Alberto De Benedictis, Head of USA/UK Operations, Finmeccanica & Chief Executive, Finmeccanica UK Ltd
2004 - Kevin Smith, Chief Executive, GKN plc
2003 - Prof Jim Matthew and Mr Ian Wormald, Members of the Sir George Cayley 150th Anniversary, Commemoration Committee
2002 - Air Marshal Sir Timothy Garden, Visiting Professor, Centre for Defence Studies, King's College, London
2001 - John Roundhill, Vice President - Marketing, New Airplane Program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
2000 - Mr C Duke, Managing Director, BAE SYSTEMS (Aviation Services) Ltd

Details on this year's Sopwith Lecture available here

Cierva Lecture

Cierva Lecture
Frank Robinson, President & Chief Executive, Robinson Helicopter Company
Tuesday 5 October 2010
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

The Cierva Lecture is named after Juan de la Cierva, FRAeS, an aeronautical engineer who pioneered rotary flight. In 1926 with the backing of the Weir brothers he formed the Cierva Autogiro Company and it was his development of rotor blade design and articulated rotor blades, which played a major role in the first successful helicopter in 1936.

Previous speakers include:

2009 - John Piasecki, President & Chief Executive Officer, Piasecki Aircraft Corporation
2008 - Dr Ing Pietro Alli, Former AW Chief Technical Officer, AgustaWestland
2007 - Andrew Warner, Chief Test Pilot, Eurocopter
2006 - Dr Gordon Leishman, Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, USA
2005 - Richard Case, Managing Director, AgustaWestland
2004 - Air Vice-Marshal David M. Niven CB CBE BSc FRAeS
2003 - Eur Ing David Gibbings CEng FRAeS, Westland Helicopters Flight Test Engineer (Rtd)
2002 - Mr Troy Gaffey, Senior Vice President – Technology, Bell Helicopter Textron Inc
2001 - Professor (Eur.Ing) Reg Austin CEng MSc CdipAF FRAeS
2000 - Captain Eric Melrose Brown, Vice-President, British Helicopter Advisory Board / European Helicopter Association

Details on the 2010 Cierva Lecture available here

Brabazon Lecture

Can the United Kingdom be the Vanguard of a New Space Age?
Alan Bond, Managing Director Reaction Engines Ltd
19 November 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

The Brabazon Lecture is in honour of Lord Brabazon of Tara. Born in London on 8 February 1884, J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon became one of British aviation's true pioneers and, in his political career played an important role in the planning of civil aviation for the years following WW2.

Previous speakers include:

2008 - Dale Moss, Managing Director, Openskies
2007 - Michael Eggenschwiler, President, German Airports Association (ADV) & Chief Executive Officer, Hamburg Airport
2006 - Willie Walsh, Chief Executive, British Airways
2005 - Mike Clasper, BAA plc
2004 - Jim French, Managing Director FlyBE
2003 - No lecture
2002 - Mike Hodgkinson, Chief Executive, BAA plc
2001 - Mr R Eddington, Chief Executive, British Airways, UK
2000 - Mr N. Forgeard, Airbus Industrie

Details on last year's Brabazon Lecture available here

Watson-Watt Lecture

John Roulston
Thursday 10 May 2007
Institute of Physics

This lecture is biennial, occurring alternate years with the IET. The lecture honours Sir Robert Watson-Watt FRSA, FRAeS, the Scottish physicist who developed the radar locating of aircraft in England. Watson-Watt's other contributions include a cathode-ray direction finder used to study atmospheric phenomena, research in electromagnetic radiation, and inventions used for flight safety.

Previous speakers include:

2006 - John Ferrie CBE, Group Managing Director, Aerospace, Smiths
2001 - Mr Tim Willbond
1999 - Mr B Tucker, GEC plc
1997 - Mr David S Watrous, President RTCA, USA
1995 - Mr Derek McLauchlan, Chief Executive, National Air Traffic Services, Civil Aviation Authority

Details on the 2007 Watson-Watt Lecture available here

Handley Page Lecture

Higher Education's Contribution to Aeronautics
Prof Ian Poll OBE, Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Cranfield University

Tuesday 23 June 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

Established in 1963, this lecture is run alternately with Cranfield. It honours Sir Frederick Handley Page CBE, HonFRAeS, in recognition of his many contributions to aviation, and in particular to safety and reliability in air transportation. After WW2 he was instrumental in setting up the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield, where he was a Governor up to the time of his death.

Previous speakers include:

2007 - Sergei Sikorsky
2005 - Harry Fraser-Mitchell, Historical Committee, RAeS
2003 - Mr David Marshall, Director General, Society of British Aerospace Companies Ltd
2001 - Mr Charles Secrett, Director of Friends of the Earth
1999 - Mr Phillip Meeson, Managing Director, Channel Express

Details on the 2009 Handley Page Lecture available here

Sir Sydney Camm Lecture

Hybird Air Power - Whatever Next?
ACM Sir Christopher Moran, Commander-in-Chief Air Command, Royal Air Force
Wednesday 1 July 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

Established in 1971, this lecture is biennial with the RAF, it honours Sir Sydney Camm CBE, FRAeS, one of Britain's most distinguished aircraft designers. He is responsible for the design of the Hawker Hurricane fighter and also the Hart, the Fury, the Typhoon, Tempest, Sea Fury, Sea Hawk, the Hunter and the Harrier. His achievements are unique; some 27,000 aircraft of 50 different designs are due to him.

Previous speakers include:

2007 - ACM Sir Glenn Torpy, Chief of Air Staff, Ministry of Defence
2005 - ACM Sir Jock Stirrup, Chief of Air Staff, Ministry of Defence
2003 - ACM Sir Malcolm Pledger, Chief of Defence Logistics
2001 - Air Marshal Sir Tim Jenner
1999 - ACM Sir Peter Squire
1997 - Field Marshal Sir Peter Inge

Details on last year's Sydney Camm Lecture available here

Sir James Martin Lecture

THE F-35 LIGHTNING II
Brig Gen Charles Davis, Program Executive Officer, F-35 Lightning II Program, USAF
8 May 2007
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

Established in 1982, this biennial lecture honours Sir James Martin CBE, DSC, CEng, FIMechE, Hon FRAeS. Nowadays associated exclusively with aircraft ejector seats, Sir James' firm of Martin-Baker Ltd was, in the 1930s and 40s, in the forefront of aircraft development. To date some 6,759 lives have been saved by the use of Martin-Baker ejection seats.

Previous speakers include:

2005 - Rear-Adm Steven Enewold USN, Program Executive Officer, JSF Programme Office, USA
2003 - Lieutenant General Michael Hough, USMC
2001 - Gen. J R Dailey, Director, National Air and Space Museum, USA

Details on the 2007 Martin Baker Lecture available here

Beaumont Lecture

OUT OF THE FRYING PAN AND INTO THE FIRE:
10 Years in the Life of Scheduled Airlines in Britain
Robert Webb QC, General Counsel, British Airways 1998-2009
Wednesday 25 March 2009
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

This occasional lecture honours Major Kenneth Beaumont CBE, DSO, MA (Oxon), AFRAeS. Beaumont was the UK's most prominent name in air law, after starting as technical advisor to Imperial Airways in the mid-1920s. Beaumont's firm is still in existence, under the name of 'Beaumont and Son' and has offices in London, Rio de Janeiro and Singapore.

Previous speakers include:

2008 - His Honour Judge Guillaume, former President of the International Court of Justice
2004 - The Rt Hon the Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
2000 - Mr Lorne S Clark, Vice President, Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary, IATA

Details on last year's Beaumont Lecture available here

Edwin A Link Lecture

The Downturn Opportunity in the Flight Simulation Industry?
Marion Broughton, Vice President Avionics, Training and Simulation, Thales UK

Thursday 10 June 2010
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ Click here for the lecture flyer

The Edwin A Link Lecture was established in 2007 to honour Edwin A Link, the distinguished pioneer of synthetic training. His remarkable foresight led to the creation of the Link Trainer, or ‘Blue Box’ as it came to be known, the precursor of today’s powerful synthetic training devices, most notably full flight simulators.

Previous speakers include:

2007 - ACM Sir Jock Stirrup, Chief of the Defence Staff, Royal Air Force

Ann Welch Lecture

BALLOONING: NOT JUST A LOT OF HOT AIR
Dr Janet Folkes. Lecturer in Materials, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham

Wednesday 10 February 2010
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ, UK

The Ann Welch Lecture was established in 2006 to honour the life and work of one of the most outstanding personalities in aviation. Her achievements in gliding, and in pioneering hang-gliding and microlighting in the UK, together with writing about all aspects of aviation that affect general aviation pilots, and encouraging young people into flying, has been an inspiration to many.

Previous speakers include:

2008 - Jan Fridrich, Vice President, Light Aircraft Associaiton of the Czech Repulic
2006 - Judy Leden, Three Times World Hang Gliding Champion

Click here for the lecture flyer

Langley Lecture

THE GLOBAL HAWK
Carl Johnson, Vice President, International Programs, Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems
Thursday 27 April 2006
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

This occasional lecture honours Samuel Pierpont Langley, an astronomer and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Langley was one of the foremost American scientists of his time, he flew model airplanes, powered by steam, over the Potomac and tried to perfect a full-size plane. His experiments failed, just a matter of days before the Wrights' first successful flight, but his work supported Manly's advanced engine.

Previous speakers include:

2006 -