“P-8A Poseidon – Guardian of the Seas”

Thursday 1st November 2018

Lecture Starts at 7.30 pm
(Light Refreshments at 7.00 pm)

Speaker: Group Captain Lyndon Jones RAF, Poseidon MRA1 Programme Director, HQ RAF Air Command

Location: Lecture Theatre ‘1‘, Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ.

Lecture Synopsis

The P-8A Poseidon is a Maritime Patrol Aircraft based on the Boeing 737-800 and designed to hunt submarines and ships.  It can also carry out long range rescue missions.  It is fitted with the latest generation of sensors and can carry anti-submarine warfare torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.

The aircraft is being introduced into the US Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Norwegian Air Force as well as the Royal Air Force.  It has also been ordered for the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

The RAF’s nine MRA1 aircraft will be based at RAF Lossiemouth in Northern Scotland and operated by Nos 120 and 201 Squadrons.

The lecture titles and dates are booked well in advance but are subject to change.

 

“Aerospace and it’s Environmental Impact “

Thursday 11th October 2018

Lecture Starts at 7.30 pm
(Light Refreshments at 7.00 pm)

Speaker: Professor Ian Poll, Emeritus Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Cranfield University

Location: Lecture Theatre ‘0’, Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ.

Lecture Synopsis

The lecture will first address and review how global aviation impacts on the atmosphere and, especially, how it contributes to global warming.

Whilst the issue of CO₂ emissions is well known, less well known are the effects of NO_X and contrail-induced cirrus. The magnitude of the problem, the timescales and possible mitigation methods will be assessed and discussed. In this context, contrail-induced cirrus is of particular interest, since new research is suggesting that this may well be aviation’s largest single contribution to global warming.

Having outlined the challenge, attention will turn to aircraft design and, specifically, the extent to which the manufacturer has control over fuel efficiency and the propensity for contrail formation. This is a new and comprehensive, physics-based model of the civil transport aircraft. The impact of currently proposed, high-risk technologies will be assessed and their likely impact on aviation’s impact on climate change estimated.

Finally, consideration will be given to the operating environment, including airport design and ATM. Here the key questions are: “Is there much wastage in the system?” and, if so: “Who owns the problem and what should be done to resolve it?”

The lecture titles and dates are booked well in advance but are subject to change.

 

“Reaper RPAS Operations”

Thursday 13th September 2018

Lecture Starts at 7.30 pm
(Light Refreshments at 7.00 pm)

Speaker: Paul Clarke, QinetiQ

Location: Lecture Theatre ‘1‘, Cambridge University Engineering Department, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ.

With extensive RAF aircrew and UAV crew experience and a subsequent career in a key role that provides an insight into international operations legislation development, Paul Clarke gives a unique and invaluable review of past and current operational experiences; outlining RAF experience with the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, in RPAS (remote piloted air system) or UAV (unmanned air vehicle) roles.

The lecture titles and dates are booked well in advance but are subject to change.