2011 HAA SYMPOSIUM, RAF MUSEUM, HENDON.
Saturday 22nd October 2011.
“HISTORIC JETS – 70 YEARS OF THE JET AGE”
CAPT. ERIC “WINKLE” BROWN. CBE DSC AFC. KEYNOTE SPEAKER.
In recent years the Historic Aircraft Association Annual Symposium has become noted for its spectacular line-up of speakers. Recent years have seen leading lights including John Moffat, the last survivor of the Swordfish pilots to attack Bismarck and former 617 Squadron and Battle of Britain pilot Tony Iveson leading speakers who give a unique insight into flying and restoring vintage aircraft.
This year’s speakers at the Historic Aircraft Association’s Annual Symposium at the RAF Museum, Hendon on Saturday 22nd October will celebrate the birth of the jet age. They are headed by Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown, CBE DSC AFC, perhaps Britain’s greatest living aviator.
Captain Brown, in his career in the Fleet Air Arm, then as a test pilot at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough holds the record for having flown more different types of aircraft than any other pilot. He will trace the earliest days of jet propelled flight from his experiences of flying the Gloster Whittle E28/39, Britain’s first jet aircraft.
He was probably the first British pilot to break the sound barrier, test flew the high-speed de Havilland Swallow after the death of Geoffrey de Havilland junior, was the first pilot to operate a jet (a de Havilland Sea Vampire) from an aircraft carrier and evaluated Germany’s wartime jet aircraft including the Arado 234 and Messerschmitt 262.
Captain Brown will be joined by Ian Whittle, the son of jet engine pioneer Sir Frank Whittle and by Ray Fowkes, who in the early 1940s became an apprentice to Sir Frank Whittle as he developed the first jet engines. They will add a unique personal perspective on Frank Whittle, the man.
Captain Terence Henderson (who flew both) will celebrate the de Havilland Comet, the world’s first jet airliner to enter service and the supersonic Concorde, perhaps the ultimate. Aviator and writer Nigel Walpole will tell the story of the Hawker Hunter and Supermarine Swift, to explain why one became a 1950s icon and the other became shrouded in obscurity.
To book tickets for the day-long event, which includes buffet lunch and access to the RAF Museum, please download and complete the attached form.