WELCOME TO OUR FIRST E-NEshortly.WSLETTER

The RAeS Women in Aviation and Aerospace Committee is conscious that we need to communicate more effectively with members, in addition to keeping our section of the Society’s website updated. So this is the first of our e-newsletters with our latest news. We hope you find it interesting.

NEW EVENTS TO CELEBRATE A SPECIAL CENTENARY

WAAC has organised two new events to celebrate the centenary of the first British woman gaining her pilot’s certificate in August 1911.

1) Meet the Spitfire Women Seminar voted a huge success 

Our half-day seminar on May 20 gave delegates the opportunity to hear about the work of the Air Transport Auxiliary and the experiences of several of the 164 women who were paid to ferry military aircraft during World War II. Now known as the Spitfire Women, these remarkable ladies flew dozens of different types of operational aircraft from the iconic Spitfire to four-engine bombers and Britain’s first jet-engine aircraft. Delegates also had the chance to buy books, DVDs etc relating to that extraordinary time. A full report plus photographs can be found on the Society’s Aerosociety Channel. A selection of the best photographs from the event can be viewed on Flickr and a Podcast series of the event will be released shortly.

2) Carolynn McCall to speak at inaugural Amy Johnson Named Lecture

As part of the Century of Women in Flight, the Society is inaugurating the Amy Johnson Named Lecture to celebrate women in aviation and aerospace. Carolyn McCall, Chief Executive of budget airline easyJet, is to be the first speaker at the Amy Johnson Lecture on Wednesday July 6 2011 at 4 Hamilton Place. The lecture, which will be free of charge and also open to non-members, is scheduled for 18.00 and will be followed by a reception at 19.15.

PROF DAME ANN DOWLING TO BE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT 2011 WOMEN IN AVIATION AND AEROSPACE CONFERENCE

Friday 14th October 2011
No.4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ

Professor Dame Ann Dowling, listed by The Times as one of the top ten women scientists/engineers in the UK, is to be the Keynote Speaker for the 2011 Women in Aviation and Aerospace Conference on October 14. Dame Ann is head of the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University, the largest of its kind in Europe and one of the largest in the world. She was also the UK lead on the Silent Aircraft Project.

In line with the conference theme “From Pioneers to Presidents: Celebrating a Century of Women and Flight” we will take a brief look back at 100 years of British women in aviation and aerospace and hear about the many achievements of Britain’s first woman pilot and first female aircraft manufacturer from her granddaughter-in-law, Gail Hewlett, author of the only biography of the remarkable Hilda Hewlett.

There will also be a session on the contribution of women inventors in the past and now, which will feature inspiring young inventor, Emily Cummins, who was the first female and only European to be awarded an Oslo Business for Peace Honouree by a jury of Nobel Prize winners, and Chartered Patent Attorney, Emily Teesdale.

The afternoon programme will feature three seminars with delegates given a choice of sessions on leadership, working abroad/relocating and knowing your maternity rights. As soon as we have a confirmed programme, we will e-mail details to you. In the meantime, keep an eye on the latest news through our section of the RAeS website.

THANKS FOR DELEGATE FEEDBACK

A big thank you to the many delegates who completed the online 2010 conference feedback form. Your comments and suggestions were most encouraging and helpful. The unexpectedly high response rate and the many words of praise underline how important the Women in Aviation and Aerospace Conference has become and how much you all appreciated the fact that it was a conference tackling serious issues that just happened to be attended by a room full of women. To read a selection of these views, click on Delegate Comments.

AWARDS FOR WAA COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Four WAA Committee members have received awards in recent months, most notably an OBE for deputy chairman, Jenny Body, who has recently retired from Airbus where she rose through the ranks of engineering to be Head of Business Development. Jenny is to be presented with her honour at Windsor Castle this month. One of our youngest committee members, Lara Small received from HRH Princess Anne the judges’ special award at the WISE Awards for Excellence for her work encouraging other young people into a career in engineering, supporting students on engineering courses and presenting ideas to companies and teachers about how they can persuade more young women that aerospace engineering is a worthwhile career. For more information, click on Wise Awards or see the story in the January 2011 issue of Aerospace Professional.

Our youngest committee member, Cassandra Leicester was named as the Rolls-Royce Trainee Apprentice of the Year 2011, while committee chairman, Clare Walker was awarded the Jean Lennox Bird pendant by the British Women Pilots Association.

We are working to encourage more nominations of women for medals and awards, so please let us know of other women’s successes to enable us to publicise their achievements to inspire young people (e-mail: [email protected]).

PLAQUE HONOURING ANNE BURNS UNVEILED AT FARNBOROUGH

The Royal Aeronautical Society has honoured the many achievements of aeronautical scientist and champion glider pilot Anne Burns by unveiling a RAeS Aviation Heritage plaque at Farnborough where Anne worked for many years at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. The plaque was unveiled by RAeS Past President Mike Steeden, who chose Anne as his presidential nominee for this prestigious honour.

WAAC Chairman Clare Walker gave a short talk on Anne’s life and contribution to aviation and aerospace, which included being the only woman on a team of 20 investigating the cause of the Comet airliner crashes in the 1950s, Britain’s first female glider champion, and the winner of numerous awards and honours, including two Queen’s Commendations for Services in the Air and two awards from the Society. You can read more about Anne Burns in the January 2011 issue of Aerospace Professional.

KEY CONTACTS AT AVIATION AND AEROSPACE COMPANIES

WAAC is keen to identify key contacts in aviation and aerospace companies through whom we can channel information such as awards deadlines, requests for interviews/speakers, requests for mentors, and news about our activities, including our annual conference. If you or someone you know in your organisation would be an ideal contact for us, please let us know (e-mail: [email protected]).

FEMALE REPRESENTATION SOUGHT FOR RAeS SPECIALIST GROUPS

Several RAeS Specialist Groups would welcome female representation on their committees and in their groups. The Combined Compulsion Technical Activity Committee, a joint RAeS/IMechE group covering powered aircraft, spacecraft and missile propulsion, has a vacancy for one full, voting committee member and up to three non-voting members. The group is under-represented in spacecraft and rocket propulsion and with operators and regulators, according to its chairman. The Human Factors Group is looking for someone with suitable experience of hypoxia/explosive decompression. Its chairman says they are always looking for experienced and knowledgeable individuals to join the group. If you would like to join these or any other of the Society’s many specialist groups, please e-mail us at [email protected].

HIGHER PROFILE FOR WOMEN IN THE SOCIETY’S BRANCHES

To raise the profile of women within the Society, we would like to encourage more female members to put themselves forward as speakers at the regular monthly lectures held throughout the country by the Society’s branches. Please e-mail us if you are willing to speak with a short summary of the subject of your talk ([email protected]).

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST NEWS FROM WAAC, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE.