Home

Programme of Events - 2009 updated 28Oct09
At 2:00 pm on the second Wednesday of each month there will be a meeting, normally at the YMCA Hawker Centre (was the Hawker Sports and Social Club), Lower Ham Road, Kingston on Thames, unless indicated otherwise. There is a well stocked bar, and good inexpensive lunches and snacks are available. We hope members will avail themselves of these. There is plenty of free parking space.
Hawker Centre
 2008  2007  2006  2005  2004  2003 programmes
2009 PROGRAMME  tbd = To Be Decided
 Wed 14 January Social gathering with annual quiz
 Wed 11 February Testing V/STOL Projects - Dr Michael Pryce
 Wed 11 March Folland; the Spirit of Hamble - Chris Hodson
 Wed 8 April Annual General Meeting and Schnelflight Jump Jet - Jim Morley
 Wed 13 May  The Kestrel Evaluation Squadron and more - Sir Donald Spiers
 Wed 10 June Summer Barbeque at the Hawker Centre, NOTE earlier time of 1.00 pm
 Wed 8 July America - Dick Wise
 Wed 12 August Social gathering and Video
 Wed 9 September Social gathering and Video
 Wed 17 September Visit to Rolls Royce Heritage Trust (Bristol)
 Wed 14 October Making them right - an engineer at Hawkers 1936-76 - David Hassard
 Wed 11 November BAE Systems heritage programe - John (L) Parker is postponed and replaced with
 Handley Page Limited - 60 years of achievement - Harry Fraser-Mitchell
 Wed 9 December Xmas Lunch at the Hawker Centre
2010 PROGRAMME
 Wed 13 January Social gathering with annual quiz with Les Palmer
 Wed 10 February Aviation Art - Colin Wilson
 Wed 10 March Harrier Conversion Unit - AV-M Peter Dodworth
 Wed 14 April Annual General Meeting and video
    Historian Dr Micheal Pryce (Feb) spoke to us about Kingston projects in November 2005 (see NL. 12)
    Jim Morley (April) did an apprenticeship with Vickers 
at Weybridge and later was involved with VC10 and Concorde testing. He has been flying models for over 40 years.
    Sir Donald Spiers (May) . After serving an apprenticeship with the de Havilland Engine Company, Sir Donald became a gas turbine development engineer in the Halford Lab at Hatfield. He joined the Air Ministry in 1961 and worked on several operational research topics, including the Kestrel evaluation trials in 1965. He has also held the posts of Asst Chief Scientist to the RAF, project director for various aircraft, including Hawk, and Controller Aircraft in the MoD.
    Dick Wise (July). Dick’s background is very much Avionics at Kingston, where he worked for many years. He then moved to Project Management. From here he became BAe’s man in Washington DC where he remained until his recent retirement. He is therefore well briefed to talk to us about the likely changes that may result from the new regime in the USA.
David Hassard (Oct). David is Charles Plantin's son-in-law whose talk will cover the work at Kingston of this outstanding engineer.
 John Parker (Nov). John resided in Project Management at Kingston and is now at Farnborough, mainly involved with Harrier. For several years he was “our man in St Louis”. As he approaches retirement he has been given an additional role to look after the Heritage material that is held by BAESYSTEMS, and this is what he is going to talk to us about.