Royal Aeronautical Society

On this day in 1866 the Royal Aeronautical Society was founded. One of the earliest societies formed to study the mechanics of flight, the RAeS has been involved in numerous research efforts over the years. In 1870 they sponsored the development of the first wind tunnel. The society’s biggest boost came with World War II, when the mass expansion of aircraft production lead to a huge shortfall in skilled aeronautical engineers. In response the society established a technical department to bring together the best available knowledge and present it in an authoritative and accessible form – a working manual for engineers who might come from other industries and lack the specialised knowledge required for aircraft design. This technical department became known as the Engineering Sciences Data Unit (ESDU) and eventually became a separate entity in the 1980s. To this day the society holds monthly meetings near some of the major aviation centers in the UK on topics such as the latest research into airflow, to the development of historic aircraft, such as Concorde. You can read more about their work at http://aerosociety.com

Date in History: 12 January 1866