No June Lecture - Royal Aeronautical Society

HATFIELD BRANCH
                                                                  NEWSLETTER

                                                                                    JUNE 2021

                                     No June Lecture
  We hope our members have a great summer, that the weather is good and
  you are at last able to do most or all of the things you want to do. We look
  to seeing you again when our new season begins in October. In the mean­
  time, see the flier at the back of this newsletter about our social event.

From the Chairman
Welcome to our June newsletter. Last month, we held our            Recently, the Branch membership has been declining.
first online AGM. For those who are interested, the             Traditionally, our membership comes from two cohorts; the
minutes, together with the supporting reports, can be           students at the university and those who were employed
found here: AGM Minutes. It was followed by an                  locally at de Havilland, Handley Page, BAe Systems and
enlightening lecture from Andrew Chadwick on the Drones         Raytheon. Inevitably, this latter group is suffering from the
Pathfinder Programme. This concluded the 2020/21                passage of time and if the Branch is to grow, we must bring
season.                                                         in new members. We know that there are a significant
    This has certainly been a strange year for us all. When     number of, mainly small, aerospace companies within the
we were forced to cancel the Geoffrey de Havilland lecture      local area and we need to spread the word and encourage
at short notice, in March 2020, few could have envisaged        their employees to get involved. Personal contact is the
what would unfold over the next 14 months. Despite the          best way; so, if you can help, please get in touch.
disruption at the end of last season, which included               I am delighted that Maurice James and Rodney Day have
cancelling the AGM, I am delighted that we have managed         been elected as our new President and Vice President. Both
to run a full programme of online lectures this year. Keith     Maurice and Rodney are keen to help the Branch to thrive
Gowland has shouldered most of the burden of organising         and to develop the, already close, links between the branch
these online events and, despite the initial problems, these    and the university.
have been well received.                                           The committee have been working hard to develop the
    The committee has continued to meet regularly, using        programme for the next season which will start with the
MS Teams and have done a sterling job in keeping things         Geoffrey de Havilland lecture in October. We already have
going. In August, Sagar Patel decided, for both family and      many of the other lectures agreed. As the Covid 19 restric­
work reasons to step away from his role as Secretary and        tions ease, we are looking to start having real meetings
from the committee. I am grateful to him for his support        again. However, as our lectures are hosted at the university,
and to Keith Gowland who agreed to step into the breach.        we have to follow their guidance on when these might
    When I took over as Chairman, we were unable to find a      resume. Physical meetings are social and networking
new Treasurer, so I continued with both roles. Now, I must      occasions, while online lectures allow people from further
thank Jeremy Kimmons for volunteering for this key post.        away to attend. So, we are assessing the possibilities of
Also, Peter Elliot has become the vice chairman.                continuing to stream the live events, to get the best of both
    Stan Kimm has left the committee after many years.          worlds.
Stan carved many of the magnificent trophies that we               We expect to publish our next newsletter in September,
present for the university prizes. So, we will continue to be   and I wish you all an enjoyable summer.
reminded of his contribution. Thanks Stan.                         Steve Rogers

HATFIELD BRANCH                                      JUNE 2021
                                                  NEWSLETTER                                                   Page 2

Lecture Report – The UK Government
Drones Pathfinder Programme, Andrew
Chadwick
For our final lecture of the season, we were delighted to procedures and routes in order to ensure safe flight. To safely
welcome Andrew Chadwick to talk on the UK Government integrate drones, all three aspects need to be re­examined.
Drones Pathfinder Programme. Andrew, who is the                  Andrew outlined the significant amount of work
Chairman of the RAeS Unmanned Air Systems Specialist required to develop the unmanned aviation ecosystem,
Group, is also the Aviation Technology Initiative Lead in the including platform technology, airspace issues and
Connected Places Catapult.                                    regulatory developments.
    Andrew opened his talk by explaining about the               There are a broad range of sectors where drone
Catapult System. The Catapult Network has been set up by technology can be used. These include agriculture; energy
Innovate UK as a network of world leading
centres designed to transform and accelerate
the UK capability for innovation and future
economic growth. There are currently 9 of
these innovation centres spread over the
country and covering a wide range of techno­
logies from Cell & Gene Therapy to Satellite
Applications. The Connected Places Catapult
is the UKs innovation accelerator for cities,
transport and place, with a focus on
connecting business, academia and the
public sector to generate new business and
accelerate the creation of innovative
products and services. The Catapult, which
has a network of 3500 businesses and over Image: Connected Places Catapult
300 academics, is focussed on 3 areas of
strategic opportunity – levelling up/ regional productivity, infrastructure; public safety, surveillance and security;
accelerate the transition to net zero and restart & recovery transport and logistics; construction; insurance and the
post pandemic.                                                media, where over 90% of aerial shots are already being
    Andrew then focused on the drones and the rapid captured by drones.
expansion in their use, both in the numbers of drones and        Andrew then introduced the Drones Pathfinder
the value to the UK economy. A report from PwC in 2018, Programme and showed us a number of projects supported
estimated that by 2030 there could be 76,000 drones flying by the Programme but led by industrial partners.
in the UK. The report also estimated that the drone              In the Energy Pathfinder, a consortium is working to
economy could support over 600,000 jobs,
with £16 billion in net cost savings and a £42
billion increase in UK GDP.
    Such increases in numbers don’t come
without risks and the Connected Places Catapult
is working with key stakeholders, including
Government, CAA and Industry to safely
integrate drone flying into the airspace. Many of
these drones will be flying beyond visual line of
sight (BVLOS) and It is necessary to prove that
these drones can be operated safely. Manned
aviation has developed rules and procedures
over the last 100 years to ensure airworthiness
certification, pilot training to deal with
emergencies and regulation of infrastructure, Image: Connected Places Catapult

HATFIELD BRANCH                                           JUNE 2021
                                                     NEWSLETTER                                                          Page 3

introduce BVLOS linear infrastructure surveys
across the electricity and gas networks. It has
been demonstrated that drones can be
successfully flown to replace the manual
inspections previously carried out from the
ground by engineers. In another project, led
by sees.ai, they are working to develop a
control room operating multiple drones with
significant autonomy. The aim is to have
drones with cameras and sensors which can
develop their own 3D map of the operating
environment in real time. They can then use
this information for flight path planning and
autonomous avoidance, with all processing
                                                Image: Connected Places Catapult
being performed onboard in real time.
    Increasing numbers of drones, operating remotely from drones weighing more than 250g, whereby all drone
their pilots and with increasing autonomy, make efficient owners and operators need to be registered and have
traffic management vital and the Catapult is leading the passed an online test.
initial development of an open access unmanned traffic After a lively Q&A session, Maurice James proposed the
management (UTM) framework. The UTM is a scalable vote of thanks to Andrew for a most interesting and
digital air traffic management system that can monitor and informative lecture.
manage drone operations to keep them safely separated as        The            Pathfinder         webpage           is
well as integrating drone operation into the wider airspace https://cp.catapult.org.uk/project/pathfinder, where you
management.                                                  can find all the programme project information, upcoming
    Andrew closed by reminding us of the protocols for safe events and past presentations.
drone operation and the latest legal requirements for           Steve Rogers

The Internet of Things and Flying
Our recent General Aviation Safety Council (GASCo)                  available on a smartphone, that consumers can access
briefing (April 2021) made me reflect on how things have            through their flight deck console.
changed now that we are well into the internet age. What             It would seem that the electronic flight bag is now here,
once was time consuming and slow appears to be quick and         subject to regulatory approval. It is now possible to fly your
data rich. For example, the self­briefing of weather for your    route on your simulator, download your flight plan and
flight can now be part of the digital flight panel with          upload to your smart phone or tablet. However, you are still
connected aircraft services and features to consumers            required to carry an up­to­date aeronautical chart [though
through a wireless communication system.                         this can be an electronic one – Ed].
     Technologies such as in­aircraft sensors and global             The prospect of live weather and situation awareness
positioning systems generate data that is transmitted            information through a subscriber identity module (SIM) card
through two­way communication between a vehicle and a            and modem embedded in a smartphone means you need to be
central computer system. Remote engine health monitoring         clearer about knowing your limits and when to keep your risk
offered by Rolls Royce enables aircraft to transmit and          assessment to a manageable level. However, if we continue to
receive data and typically they contract with third parties to   build in capability to our flight deck there are a range of safety,
provide support for preventative maintenance. For                security, and convenience issues to be resolved. For example,
example, fleet operators may contract with:                      self­briefing assistance, flight planning, low level and off route
• telecommunication companies to connect aircraft to the         navigation, dynamic flight plans, automatic crash notification
    internet,                                                    that allows for voice and data communication between an
• telematics provides connected services by processing           aircraft and a person at a call centre.
    data, and                                                        In providing these services, connected aircraft generate,
• content providers, provide applications, similar to those      transmit and receive various types of data, such as location,

HATFIELD BRANCH                                           JUNE 2021
                                                      NEWSLETTER                                                         Page 4

but may include, data from fitness trackers, cockpit eye           breaches that could increase the possibility of identity
tracking for situation alertness and awareness, engine             theft, harassment, and stalking.
monitoring, flight data, speed, height, direction and
deviation, outside air temperature, etc. All of which can be       Lack of sufficiently informed consent
reviewed and used to improve your flying skills and                Consumers may not read or fully understand the end­user
establish alerts and warnings appropriate to your flying           agreements and/or privacy statements. Information could
needs. However, at what stage could you find your chief            be used to treat consumers differently or consumers that
flying instructor (CFI) on the phone or sending a text to          decline consent could be treated differently. Privacy
advise you on an unsafe flight condition or that the               policies/statements may not be written clearly and/or may
regulator has noted an airspace infringement!                      disclaim as much as possible to avoid action by the CAA.
                                                                   Consumers must consent to share data as a condition of
At what stage does the pilot in command give full                  use or lose access to the service or technology.
authority to the machine or man on the ground?                        In recent years, connected aircraft have become more
Critical thinking needs to happen to address current               common, Automatic dependent surveillance broadcast
practices such as:                                                 (ADSB), Aircraft Communications, Addressing and
• Providing users with understandable and accessible               Reporting System (ACARS) Controller–pilot data link
   information about privacy practices, including information      communications (CPDLC) offers users a number of benefits
   that specifies the types of personal data collected; why such   but also increasing the potential for privacy risks. Currently,
   data is needed; how data will be used; and whether and for      manufacturers and operators are collecting, using, and
   what purpose(s) data will be shared with third parties.         sharing data on a fairly limited basis and are, at least
• Provide reasonable limits on personal data collected and         partially, using leading privacy practices to protect that
   retained, including collecting only as much personal data       data, for example FlightRadar24. However, concerns are
   as needed to accomplish specific purposes; using de­            being raised about whether such data, including sensitive
   identified data to the extent possible; and securely            information such as location and behaviours, is being
   disposing of data once no longer needed. Consumers              adequately protected. With the anticipated increase in the
   also have a right to understand the limits that the             number of connected aircraft including drones in the near
   respective company sets as part of its privacy policy.          future and, with it, the financial incentives with being
• Maintain reasonable safeguards to control risks related to       connected, using and sharing data needs to be valued.
   data, such as loss, unauthorized access, use, destruction       However, if that opportunity is missed, users may not fully
   or modification, and improper disclosure, and take              embrace emerging technologies with potential safety
   associated steps including conducting risk assessments.         benefits, such as aircraft to aircraft capabilities like
• Allow consumers to access and correct their personal             automated see­and­avoid.
   data, and use reasonable measures to ensure personal               Keith Gowland
   data is accurate.
• Allow consumers to control what personal data                      2021­22 Events Programme
   companies collect from them and how this data is used.
   Further, companies should offer clear and simple                  (Wednesdays)
   choices, presented in ways that enable consumers to
   make meaningful decisions about data collection, use,             24 Jun 21, 3pm: Social @ the monument
   and sharing.                                                      (TBA) Aug 21, 3pm: Social @ the monument
• Handle data with appropriate measures, including holding           21st Oct 21: Geoffrey de Havilland Lecture: Dr Bill Brooks
   company employees responsible for adhering to the                 17th Nov: Military Aviation Authority, Wing Commander Paul
   company’s privacy principles and requiring third­party            Reagan
   recipients of data to adhere to those same principles.            15th Dec: Aerospace in Hertfordshire, Guy Thomas
                                                                     19th Jan 2022: Frank Whittle: Early Jet Engines, Iain Whittle
Privacy Notices Do Not Guarantee Privacy Protection                  16th Feb: Student Lecture Competition
Tracking information could be used to track individuals              16th Mar: Electric Aviation, speaker TBA
across locations without their knowledge or consent.                 20th Apr: Reaction Engines, Sophie Harker
Information could be used, shared, or sold in ways that              19th May: TBA, preceded by AGM
consumers do not understand, anticipate, or consent to.              All lectures are online. Please contact
Insecure data information could be subject to data                   hatfield@aerosociety.com for an invitation

HATFIELD BRANCH                         JUNE 2021
                                                    NEWSLETTER                                Page 5
Branch Prizes 2020
The Branch is pleased to be able to support a number of annual prizes at the University
of Hertfordshire. Due to the pandemic, the decision on the 2020 award winners was
delayed and the normal awards ceremony cancelled.

John Cunningham Flying Scholarship
Sponsored by the de Havilland Flying Foundation
For demonstrating outstanding flying skills on the flying module of any engineering
course which involves pilot studies
Alys Dunn

John Houlder Engineering Flying Scholarship
Sponsored by the de Havilland Flying Foundation
For demonstrating outstanding flying skills on the flying module of any engineering
course which involves pilot studies
Christopher Sykes

R E Bishop Aerospace Design Prize
For an outstanding performance on the final­year design project, awarded to the
student achieving the highest grade in the subject
Sotirios Zormpas

The Robert Pooley Prize
Sponsored by Pooleys Flight Equipment
For the best­performing student in level 5 (second­year) Pilot Studies module
Alexander Wilson Leonard

The Tony Fairbrother Award
For the best Masters level assignment in the field of Stability & Control
Mayur Rabadia

The Blue Streak Prize
For the best final­year project in Rocketry
Cliff Chavhundura

The RAeS Hatfield Branch Aerospace Bursary
For the best­performing first year student on an Aerospace Degree Course
James Curry

Student Lecture Competition 2021
Sponsored by Safran
For her talk on ‘X59 QUESST – A low­boom, low­drag supersonic jet’
Vaishnavi Pawar
Congratulations to all the prize winners.
  Steve Rogers

HATFIELD BRANCH SOCIAL

 Hatfield Aerodrome remembered
 Social afternoon Thursday 24th June 2021 from 15:00Hrs

Summary
Members of the RAeS Hatfield branch have missed face-to-face
meetings in the last year. Therefore, you are invited to join this
Covid compliant activity and share your experiences, complete
the heritage trail, and enjoy the company of others.

Steve and Peter with be there to welcome you at the Aerodrome
monument for this informal gathering.

 VENUE:                             PROGRAMME:                       We look forward to being with you.
 Hatfield Aerodrome                 15:00 Setup
 Ellenbrook Fields, Hatfield        15:30 Optional Heritage trail
 AL10 9GZ                           16:00 bring and share
                                    afternoon tea and book swap.
                                    17:00 – End
 Members & non-members are welcome                                                            GET CONNECTED WITH RAeS
                                                                                              Search “RAeS Hatfield Branch”, on Facebook
 For further details, please contact the Branch
 Secretary on: Hatfield@Aerosociety.com