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Introduction
This page is a guide to the published books generated under BAHG
auspices. Only titles, affiliations, and a thumbnail icon representing the
book cover are presented.
The listing here is in order of publication.
Full details may be found by clicking on
either the book cover icon or on the publication title.
Wings Over Thurleigh;
Ed. M D Dobson
Wings Over Thurleigh describes the history and the legacy of Thurleigh airfield at
RAE Bedford from its beginnings until its closure in 1994. It records the
establishment structure, the research aircraft and its facilities. The
work programmes over the lifespan of the establishment are described and
their outcome. It was produced by an editorial team and first published in
2001, reprinted during 2010 and now in its 3rd edition. Minor corrections
were made to the text and many additional photographs were included.
Numerous photographs and illustrations complement the text of 243 pages.
The price is £15 plus P&P.
Wind Beneath the Wings;
M D Dobson
 This book complements the previously published book ‘Wings Over Thurleigh’
It traces the evolution of the Bedford’s wind tunnels from the earliest
thoughts on supersonic flow in RAE, via a “German connection”, through to
their construction at Bedford. A description of the five main working wind
tunnels which provided a speed range from 80 mph to Mach 5 is provided
with numerous photographs and illustrations complementing its 133 pages.
It also details some of the experimental facilities for flight research on
Thurleigh airfield. ISBN 978-0-9541594-1-2].
The price is £15 plus P&P.
Touchdown, Safely!
; R Bruce Lumsden
 The story of All-weather Approach and Landing research and
flight trials at RAE Bedford. The book is part historical, part technical
and part autobiographical. The story recalls a number of major
experimental programmes and some personal recollections of life at RAE
Bedford. The work is focussed on the challenges of landing aircraft safely in
all weather conditions. Its 467 pages are illustrated with photographs,
diagrams and charts, which show the results of the various trials and
experiments undertaken. ISBN 978-1-9999174-0-1.
The price is £25 plus P&P.
Blind Landing
; R Bruce Lumsden
‘Blind Landing’ is a history of the development of blind and automatic landing to enable aircraft to operate in in poor
visibility conditions. The book covers the early flight research conducted prior to and post WWI, including the work
on unmanned aircraft. The requirement to recover bombers returning to fog bound bases in Britain in WWII and later the
increasing requirements of military operations to counter the Soviet threat, maintained the pace of development particularly
in the USA and the UK with the RAE’s Blind Landing Experimental Unit (BLEU) at Bedford. The arrival of jet powered
airliners with increased landing speeds and the need for greater safety and operational reliability then led to airline
operations in a range of poor weather conditions with the Trident, Caravelle, B727 and Concorde aircraft and the later
fly by wire flight control and head up display solutions for the Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer current range of aircraft.
ISBN 978-1-999174-1-8. Price £30 plus £5 postage and packing (UK only,
other countries available on request); Aeroplane Magazine review
January 2023.
The Life of the Royal
Aircraft Establishment; M D Dobson
This
publication takes a broader look at RAE Bedford and deals particularly
with the personnel and social aspects rather than the scientific and
engineering aspects. While the existence of the Establishment and its
research facilities enabled the work, the huge technical success which it
achieved was due to the dedicated efforts of the many scientists,
engineers, aircrew and skilled support staff who worked there. The book’s
264 pages supplement the previous publications and thereby completes a
reasonably comprehensive historical record of the Establishment from its
creation in the 1940s to its closure in the 1990s.
The price is £15 plus P&P.
The Challenges of
Fly-by-Wire; Gerard T Shanks
A historical record of the Fly-by-Wire programmes conducted by
the RAE from the early 1960’s up to the millennium and the relationship
with industry. It describes how these programmes led to its direct
application to the Tornado aircraft design and then into the digital age
in the 1970s by industry and RAE through the Fly-by-Wire Jaguar and the
Experimental Aircraft Programme. These programmes provided sufficient
confidence to apply the technology to the Eurofighter Typhoon. The story
completes with a description of the VAAC Harrier programme the product of
which was selected by Lockheed for the flight control system of the Joint
Strike Fighter, F35-B Lightning II aircraft.
The price is £20 plus
£5 P&P.
The Royal Aircraft Establishment Bedford, Its Technological Contribution to the Design of the
Concorde Supersonic Transport Aircraft. M D Dobson
 Being the leading
research establishment for experimental aerodynamics in the UK, the
information generated by RAE Bedford in support of the design of the
Supersonic Transport Aircraft, which was to become Concorde, was truly
enormous. This work was enabled by the Establishment’s advanced wind
tunnels and flight test aircraft, some of which were built specifically
for the research purpose. The scope of the work ranged from the basic wing
design through to the creation of autopilot control laws to manage a
required climb profile, which was generally too complex for a pilot to
handle but necessary for the economic operation of the aircraft. At one
stage virtually the whole of the Establishment’s work force was engaged
directly or indirectly on the Project. This book seeks to provide an
historical record of that involvement by drawing together and reviewing
all of the research and development programmes which RAE Bedford so
successfully undertook.
The
price is £10 [plus P&P].
Eighty Years of Thurleigh Airfield; A Pictorial Record of the Airfield and its Aircraft. M D Dobson
 This book is essentially a catalogue of photographs of the airfield and
the many aircraft, both resident and visiting,which used it over the
period from its handing over to the Royal Air Force in 1940 to the present
day when it remains in operation as a Civil Aviation Authority licenced
airfield. The book runs to 80 pages in C5 size [16.2cm x 22.9cm] and cites
some 85 different aircraft types.Photographs are mainly from the archive
of the Bedford Aeronautical Heritage Group whose agreement to their use is
gratefully acknowledged. Much of the descriptive narrative is presented in
the form of captions to the photographs with limited supporting passages
only where further explanation seemed necessary.
Priced at £10
[plus p&p]
RAE Bedford RIP. M D Dobson
 Mike
Dobson has recently produced a book
with the somewhat macabre title “RAE Bedford RIP”.
A sixth book in a series which began with the publication of “Wings Over Thurleigh” twenty years ago, it
brings to a conclusion a reasonably comprehensive historical account of
the Establishment and its achievements. The book looks at the state of
both the wind tunnel and airfield sites as they exist today and in
particular, highlights the dereliction internally and externally of many
of the once proud buildings which has been brought about by the forces of
nature, fire and human neglect. Primarily an album of colour photographs
with limited narration to help it along.
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