Throughout the world aerospace community, the name of the Royal Aeronautical Society is both well known and well respected.

But what is the Royal Aeronautical Society, and what is the significance of being a member of the world's senior aerospace body? The Royal Aeronautical Society is the one multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Anybody who is a professional within the aerospace industry can belong to the Society. The Society is justifiably proud of its members' range of disciplines, which includes not just engineers and pilots, but also doctors, legal specialists, bankers, air traffic controllers, cabin crew, marketers, journalists, and so on. With headquarters in the United Kingdom, it has members in almost 100 countries worldwide.

The Royal Aeronautical Society building at 4 Hamilton Place, London, W1J 7BQ.

The Royal Aeronautical Society was formed in 1866 by the 8th Duke of Argyll and a group of "aerial navigation enthusiasts". This unique group set about prompting heavier-than-air flight 37 years before the Wright brothers made the first successful, powered flight.

The Society has always striven to maintain its position as a leader and provider of foresight within the aerospace community. As a result, the Society and its members have, at many times during its history, been called upon to advise the government of the day and others on the best way forward. During the Second World War, for instance, the Society arranged meetings between aircraft industry leaders and the Services which allowed a free exchange of information.

The Society also set up a technical committee in the UK on behalf of the Minister of Aircraft Production. This committee existed to answer any technical queries the minister had, but also allowed the members to avail the minister of any problems which they felt were impeding the war effort.

Much of the pioneering work in many aspects of aeronautical study was either presented to, and/or published by, the RAeS. The Society's archives for the latter years of the 19th century show remarkable vision with early work on wind tunnels and lightweight structures. One of the founder members had presented a paper in 1867 with the first recorded use of the term 'jet propulsion' while, in 1881, a member had stated that "it is definitely known that as this speed - 1,100ft/sec [330m/s] - is approached the resistance increases very rapidly." Later, the Society published Sir Frank Whittle's early gas turbine studies long before his 'new' propulsion system received any official support.

There have been very few aerospace endeavours anywhere around the world which have not had Society members somewhere in the team (very often as the leader). Throughout the Society's history, lists of prominent members read as a who's who of aerospace: something which is as true today as it has ever been.

The desire to emulate and improve on the success of the past is strong and the Society works hard to ensure that yesterday's achievements are the forerunners of many more to come.