|
The Aero Flight story
The Flight Division of Aerodynamics Department of RAE was colloquially
known as ‘Aero Flight’. The Division’s personnel moved to Bedford from
Farnborough from Spring 1955 onwards, with Danny Lean (future Division
Head) being one of the last to move in Jan 1956. The main group of
research aircraft moved to Bedford in November 1955. One of the first
research aircraft flying at Bedford, in April 1955, was the jet-deflection
Meteor RA490, re-locating from Farnborough each day.
 |
|
Boulton Paul P 111
VT935 |
When Aero Flight moved to
Bedford, it consisted of just
three research sections: Supersonic Flight, Subsonic Flight and Dynamic
Stability Research. The role of the Division was to investigate aircraft stability and
control and flying qualities at high and low speeds.
In later years these
research areas widened to include Gust Research, Military & VSTOL,
Handling & Performance, Flight Simulation and, for a short period in
1969/1970, Helicopter Research & Operations.
By 1971, a separate
Helicopter Division had been formed within Structures department, with
elements at both Farnborough and Bedford.
Standard aircraft included
Gloster Meteor, Hawker Hunter, DH Venom and Canberra while specially built research
aircraft included Boulton Paul BP111, Avro 707, Short SB5 (shown on home page), Hunting Jet Flap, Fairey FD2 and Handley Page HP115.
 |
The two Fairey Delta 2 aircraft, WG774 and WG777, arrived at Thurleigh
in late 1956.
WG774, flown by Peter Twiss Fairey's test pilot, broke the world speed record
- achieving 1132 mph on 10
April 1956.
The photo shows WG777 on the apron ready for flight.
|
|
“Flying Bedstead” (XJ314 is shown here), one of the two built, was transferred to RAE
Bedford on 21 June 1956. This research vehicle was known
officially as the Rolls-Royce “Thrust Measuring Rig”.
|
 |
| |
Flying Bedstead” XJ314 |
Early research themes included the aerodynamics and flying qualities of
delta and swept wing aircraft, using the BP111 and Short SB5, and vertical
take-off and landing (VTOL), initially using the “Flying Bedstead” and
then the Short SC1.
|
 |
Two Short Sc1 aircraft were built - both were operated at Bedford.
XG900 was used in the investigation of stability and control; XG905
for systems development.
The first Short SC1
XG900 (now in the
Science Museum London) made its first conventional
flight at Boscombe Down in April 1957.
SC1 XG905 made the first transition of a VTOL aircraft from forward flight to hover at
RAE Bedford on 6 April 1960.
Watch a Pathe newsreel here. This was one of many aeronautical “firsts” to take place at Bedford. XG905 made
its last flight, also at Bedford, on 10 May 1973.
|
|
Short SC1
XG900 |
|
|
The Hunting 126 XN714, “Jet Flap” research aircraft, built at Luton, made
its first ever flight, at Bedford (Thurleigh), on 26 March 1963.
This unusual looking research aircraft was capable of flight at speeds as
low as 51.5kph (32mph) by virtue of air ducted to the wings to from 'jet
flaps'. It was employed in high lift flight research.
It was demonstrated at the Paris Air Show in June 1965 and made its last
recorded flight, at Thurleigh, on 9 Nov 1967.
|
 |
| |
The Hunting 126 XN714 |
|
Another aircraft to make its first flight at RAE Bedford was the HP115,
XP841, flown by Sqn Ldr Jack Henderson on 17 Aug 1961, and
hitting the front page of the Daily Express the following day.
See a Pathe Newsreel here.
After 500 hours of research flying in support of the Concorde
programme, the HP115 made its last research flight on 31 Aug 1973 and
its final flight, leaving Bedford on 31 Jan 1976.
|
 |
| |
HP115 Slender Delta
|
 |
The Harrier era may be said to have begun when Hawker pilot Bill
Bedford made the first conventional flight in Hawker P1127 prototype
(XP831) at RAE Bedford on 13 March 1961.
Many years of research and development were undertaken, much of it at
Bedford, leading progressively to the operational Harrier and Sea
Harrier. The photo shows one of the early prototypes - P1127 WP976 - outside Aero Flight Hangar.
|
As a result of re-organisation in 1974 the historic name of Aero Flight disappeared, to be replaced by
a new Division, Flight Dynamics Division (also known, rather
prosaically, as just FS1).
The sister division, BLEU, became Operational
Systems (FS2). Over the next few years several varieties of “Flight
Systems” department were created, culminating (in 1997) in all the
‘systems’ research at Bedford coming under a single Flight Management and
Control Department.
From 1991, when DRA was formed, the convention of
calling major groups Divisions was changed to departments, and
Superintendents of Divisions became managers.
|