How the past is inspiring the future


We recently published our General


Aviation Roadmap, setting out our ambition to make the UK the best place in the world for General Aviation. As we gradually reopen the economy, skills and jobs will be essential in helping the sector not only recover, but prosper and innovate. Historic Aviation, and General Aviation more widely, will play a major role in that, as crucial entry points for careers and the development of skills in the sector. On top of that, many of the airfields and sites that are used to house, restore, and maintain our wonderful aviation heritage, are also centres of innovation as we drive towards a greener future. As we set out in the roadmap, our work to protect these assets, as well as the development of skills, are vital steps on the road to recovery. In addition, we are looking to support the historic aviation industry in partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority, through a communications campaign to promote the benefits of the sector, such helping the development of skills in the aviation industry, as well as a wider programme of work that will help the sector thrive. Together, we will ensure that the past


inspires the future, and create a brighter aviation future for all.


Visiting an airshow or museum is often where it all starts for the next generation of aerospace professionals


but the real answer is much more than that. The link between historic aviation and the wider field of the


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aerospace industry goes much further than simply wowing crowds at airshows or impressing visitors to museums — those who work in the sector, and in general aviation more widely, provide inspiration and pass on crucial skills to the next generation of aviation professionals. The point about early inspiration was highlighted by


Professor John Perkins in his Review of Engineering Skills for the (then) Department of Business, Innovation and Skills in 2013. Although he was’t speaking specifically about aviation, he said: “If we are going to secure the flow of talent into engineering, we need to start at the very beginning. “We need young people who are technically and academically


competent, but who are also inspired by the possibilities of engineering. Starting to inspire people at 16 years old is too late; choices are made, and options are closed off well before then. So we need purposeful and effective early intervention to enthuse tomorrow’s engineers.” And that’s where historic and heritage aviation really does


play its part, with it’s wide range of airshows and museums around the country it entertains and educates but, particularly, it inspires the young. It’s a point emphasised by Aviation Minister Robert Courts,


who says: “I remember being very young and very interested in aviation. My grandfather lived in a little village just outside Cambridge not far from Duxford and he used to take me to Duxford and Mildenhall Air Days, so that East Anglian aviation is something I can remember from my earliest days and it has very much rubbed off on me. “There’s no doubt that aviation is part of the country’s DNA.


You might think about the Red Arrows or Spitfires and the Battle of Britain from a military aspect, but with the civilian aspect it’s equally true when you look at the great airliners of the past with the Comet, the first proper operational jet airliner, developed by de Havilland in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. “If you ask anyone, certainly in the air force, there’s a very high chance they will say they were inspired by the past — they’ll say they read about the Battle of Britain, went to airshows, spoke to people who’ve been pilots or involved in aviation more broadly in the past, so that role of real, sheer inspiration is as alive today as it has always been. Almost everyone who’s involved in aviation will have a story to tell about how they became involved in it, and it will vary from person to person.


FLYING HERITAGE 5


ou might wonder what links a Lancaster bomber with, say, an Airbus 380. Certainly they’re both among the largest aircraft of their time and were at the cutting edge of aviation when designed,


‘We need purposeful, effective early


intervention to enthuse tomorrow’s engineers’


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