Monday 25th November - 1845 for 1930 ‘Harrier, F35 and Vertical VX4 – Testing Fixed Wing EVTOL Aircraft’ Presented by Jim Schofield who flew over 100 aircraft types and is the first pilot to fly front-line fighters spanning 100 years: 1917 Bristol Fighter, SE5a, Spitfire, Mustang, Viggen, Jaguar, Harrier, Tornado, Gripen, Typhoon, F-15, F-16, F/A-18 and F-35. He was one of the first pilots to land a Lockheed-Martin F-35 on a ship at night.
During 20 years of service in the RAF Jim became the MoD’s lead Harrier and F-35 test pilot. In this fascinating talk, he will discuss this experience contrasted with testing the new generation of EVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft such as the Vertical VX-4.
Monday 9th December - 1845 for 1930 - Flt Lt Mike Monk – ‘Light-hearted Memories from Sea, Jungle & Winter Survival’ and Helen Tempest – ‘Having Been a Wing-Walker’
Mike Monk was a member of RAF 18 Squadron based at RAF Odiham. During his 12 years of service as a commissioned Navigator, he undertook some amazing tours, in many parts of the world.
Mike will give a light-hearted presentation on his experiences, good and bad, whilst attending RAF Survival Courses - from the cold water of the English Channel, to the humid Malayan jungle, his memories are still vivid! These tales, told in Mike’s light-hearted way, promise to entertain and amuse.
In the second half, Helen Tempest will present - ‘Having Been a Wing-Walker’.
Having started wing walking aged just 15, Helen is probably one of the world’s most experienced wing walkers with over 25 years’ experience. At 21 she joined Vic Norman's wingwalking team, AeroSuperBatics and spent 19 years wingwalking with various sponsors in over 1,000 airshows throughout the UK, Europe and beyond.
She will be explaining about the fun that she had on the top wings of the Stearman aircraft, including learning how to climb around the aircraft in mid-air and performing gymnastics movements in front of many airshow audiences and making and breaking world records along the way.