Monthly Talks Programme
These take place on the last Thursday of each month at 19:30 (No Talks are held in August and December). The price for Talks at the Fleet Air Arm Museum for 2024 is £6.00. We are continuing to improve the standard of our live Zoom option with the aim of widening the audience for these talks. The cost for this option is £4.00.
Access for Thursday evening Talks at the Fleet Air Arm Museum is via the ground floor access gate, which is to the left of the main entrance stairs. Ring the bell on the sign to the left of the gate and a staff member will come and let you in.
Guests and non members are very welcome at the Museum or on Zoom. Tea/Coffee, Wine and Soft Drinks are available for a donation in the FAAM Auditorium before the presentation starts and also in the interval.
These are very popular events and we encourage you to purchase tickets beforehand to ensure entry. Entry is possible on the door of the night of the Talk but only if the maximum capacity has not been reached. Pre-paid tickets are guaranteed entry as priority will be given to pre-paid ticket holders. Tickets are available online via PayPal. Other payment options are available by BACS and Cheque. Please note: there is a cut off for purchasing advance tickets on the Tuesday before a Thursday Talk at 19:30 when the PayPal links will be disabled. Any payments received after the cut-off will be held over to the following month’s Talk.
NON SoFFAAM MEMBERS
Are very welcome to our Thursday evening Talks. Consider joining SoFFAAM to get the benefits of entry to the Museum and other society privileges. See our Membership page HERE.
NB. We do not issue physical tickets. Names will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium. You will be asked for your Surname and checked-in on the night. The same is for Zoom where you will be checked as you log-in. Zoom links are sent out 48 hours before the talk takes place. For further details on any of the monthly talks, please contact us.
Sue Adcock – The RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine Centrifuge: Farnborough
Thursday 25 April 2024 at 19.30
One of the challenges experienced by fighter pilots is the high G forces caused by rapid combat manoeuvres. Opened in 1955, the Farnborough centrifuge (at the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine) was the first machine in Britain able to safely test human subjects and their equipment under the effects of high G. For over 60 years, the centrifuge remained at the forefront of UK research and training, contributing to many world-leading technology advances. The only centrifuge designed and manufactured by British engineers, it is a unique and impressive example of 1950’s British engineering.
Sue Adcock, a former research scientist, centrifuge subject and pilot (150 hrs in fast jets), will cover a brief history and description of the Farnborough centrifuge, describe the effects of high G on the human body and outline various ways of providing G protection, including her personal experiences. Her talk will be illustrated with archive film of the centrifuge and in-flight Hawk recordings.
See payment options below.
April 2024 Talk Payment Information.
Members and guests attending at the FAA Museum is £6.00ea and Zoom £4.00ea. You can also pay on the door on the night to see this Talk, but priority will be given to pre-paid tickets if the hall capacity is reached.
PLEASE NOTE: there is a cut off for purchasing advanced tickets on the Tuesday prior to the Talk at 19:30 when the PayPal link will be disabled. Any BACS or Cheque payments received after this time will be held over to the following months Talk.
PayPal
To attend at the Museum is £6.00
Online tickets are no longer available.
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium. You will be asked for your Surname and checked-in on the night.
PayPal
To attend on Zoom is £4.00
Online tickets are no longer available.
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the Zoom attendance list and you will be checked-in on the night.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
BACS
BANK: Lloyds Bank plc. Sort Code: 30-99-98 Account No: 00857987
Please reference the payment with your Surname/April so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the April 2024 Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
Cheque
Please send a cheque payable to SoFFAAM:
Membership Secretary, Coombe View, 1 Coombe Villas, Coombe Orchard, Chapel Street, Axmouth, Devon, EX12 4AU.
Please reference the payment with your Surname/April so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the April 2024 Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
Luftwaffe Aerial Reconnaissance Photographs of the UK with Nigel Clarke
Thursday 30 May 2024 at 19.30
In the first years of WW2 and the years leading up to it, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to undertake secret aerial reconnaissance of the United Kingdom, in preparation for an eventual invasion. After the collapse of the Third Reich, the race to salvage the secrets of Hitler’s huge intelligence gathering operation began.
In June 1945, a British Intelligence unit stumbled on 16 tons of reconnaissance pictures in a barn at Bad Reichenhall, deep in Bavaria. The entire archive was sent back to Britain where it was sorted, recorded and classified as top secret and locked away. However, there were many secret documents that had been discovered by ordinary allied soldiers who collected them out of interest and took them home as souvenirs. Over many years, Nigel has acquired nearly 1400 of these aerial pictures which forms a unique and captivating portrait of the English Landscape. He will share some of these with us this evening including ‘our local’ area, all from the fascinating perspective of our would be invaders.
The photo shows RNAS Yeovilton in 1940
Payment options will become available at the end of April.
Thursday Evening May 2024 Talk Payment Information.
Members and guests attending at the FAA Museum is £6.00ea. You can also pay on the door on the night to see this Talk, but priority will be given to pre-paid tickets if the hall capacity is reached.
PLEASE NOTE: there is a cut off for purchasing advanced tickets on the Tuesday prior to the Talk at 19:30 when the PayPal link will be disabled. Any BACS or Cheque payments received after this time will be held over to the following months Talk.
PayPal
To attend at the Museum is £6.00
A PayPal link will appear here at the beginning of May.
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium. You will be asked for your Surname and checked-in on the night.
PayPal
To attend on Zoom is £4.00
A PayPal link will appear here at the beginning of May.
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the Zoom attendance list and you will be checked-in on the night.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
BACS
BANK: Lloyds Bank plc. Sort Code: 30-99-98 Account No: 00857987
Please reference the payment with your Surname/May so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the May 2024 Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
Cheque
Please send a cheque payable to SoFFAAM:
Membership Secretary, Coombe View, 1 Coombe Villas, Coombe Orchard, Chapel Street, Axmouth, Devon, EX12 4AU.
Please reference the payment with your Surname/May so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the May 2024 Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
David Hassard – “Bat boat to Sea Harrier”, the story of Hawker Aviation at Kingston
Thursday 27 June 2024 at 19.30
“Bat Boat to Sea Harrier” covers the history of the aircraft industry in Kingston upon Thames from 1912 to 1992 – Sopwith, Hawker, Hawker Siddeley and BAe – from some of the earliest aircraft in naval service at Eastchurch and Calshot through Triplane, Camel and 1930s Hawker biplanes to Hurricane, Sea Fury, Sea Hawk, Hunter, Harrier and Sea Harrier.
David Hassard is a volunteer at the Brooklands Museum and joint leader of the Kingston Aviation Centenary Project aimed at spreading awareness of the achievements of the tens of thousands of individuals who worked in Kingston’s aviation industry. His career started as a technical apprentice with Westland Aircraft at Yeovil becoming a Chartered Engineer and progressing into senior production management roles.
David is a lifelong aviation enthusiast. His father worked for de Haviland building Mosquitos, Vampires and Sea Vixens. His father-in-law worked in technical departments at Hawker Aircraft for 40 years
On retirement, David and his wife moved to her home town, Kingston upon Thames where he started his detailed research into the local aviation industry. Much of this research can be found on the project website www.kingstonaviation.org
Payment options will become available at the end of May.
June 2024 Talk Payment Information.
Members and guests attending at the FAA Museum is £6.00ea and Zoom £4.00ea. You can also pay on the door on the night to see this Talk, but priority will be given to pre-paid tickets if the hall capacity is reached.
PLEASE NOTE: there is a cut off for purchasing advanced tickets on the Tuesday prior to the Talk at 19:30 when the PayPal link will be disabled. Any BACS or Cheque payments received after this time will be held over to the following months Talk.
PayPal
To attend at the Museum is £6.00
A PayPal link will appear here at the beginning of June.
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium. You will be asked for your Surname and checked-in on the night.
PayPal
To attend on Zoom is £4.00
A PayPal link will appear here at the beginning of June.
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the Zoom attendance list and you will be checked-in on the night.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
BACS
BANK: Lloyds Bank plc. Sort Code: 30-99-98 Account No: 00857987
Please reference the payment with your Surname/June so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the June 2024 Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
Cheque
Please send a cheque payable to SoFFAAM:
Membership Secretary, Coombe View, 1 Coombe Villas, Coombe Orchard, Chapel Street, Axmouth, Devon, EX12 4AU.
Please reference the payment with your Surname/June so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the April 2024 Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
2024
Iain Ballantyne – ‘Undersea’ in the Cold War – TBC
Thursday 25 July 2024
Gp Capt (retd) Jock Heron – Military Aircraft Procurement Decisions and Follies
Thursday 26 September 2024
Alistair Hodgson – de Havilland Comet 75th Anniversary
Thursday 31 October 2024
Paul Hurt – The ‘Lizzie’ (Lysander) and Westlands
Thursday 28 November 2024
2025
Rod Dean – Flying the Hunter operationally and for fun
Thursday 30 January 2025