Seaplanes were an important feature of aviation during its first four decades, both for long range transport and high airspeeds. Research, and the testing of new designs, was carried out at the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe until 1958. However, the record of this scientific work at MAEE has never been fully reported until this paper. The main scientific topics described are, stability during take-off and landing, hydrodynamic resistance, landing impact, spray formation and its control. Armament research and testing receive special attention. A large fleet of prototype seaplanes was type tested; results from these type tests are summarised to show the wide range of designs needing to be assessed. In a final section the authors consider how seaplanes may return to the main stream in the 21st century.The two authors were respectively Head of the Scientific and Technical offices at MAEE in the 1940s.

Experimental work has been carried out to study the unsteady flow-field characteristics related to shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction. Tests were carried out on an axisymmetric configuration that has a semi-cone angle of 35° and a flare angle of 20°. Further influence of low γ gases (C02 and CF4) on the overall interaction process is also investigated. Both surface and off-surface analysis has been carried out. Off-surface study has been made with a laser schlieren system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the source of the unsteadiness related to such interactions. Two types of shock motions, namely, flapping and rippling could be identified for air, the relative importance of each of which is strongly dependent on the location within the interaction and on the type of test gas. Spectral analysis shows the large-scale motion of the separation bubble to be the main source of high amplitude fluctuations. However, the existence of separation bubble itself does not necessarily indicate the prevalence of unsteady flow conditions.

There is increased interest in new classes of mini- and micro-UAVs with sizes ranging from one metre to ten centimetres. Many envisioned applications of such UAVs require them to be able to fly close to the ground in complex environments. The difficulties associated with flying in such environments coupled with the reduced payload capacity of such airframes means that new methods of sensing and control need to be considered. Good models for such methods are found in the world of flying insects. One particular visual cue used by insects is optic flow, which is the apparent visual motion seen by the insect as a result of its motion through the environment. This paper discusses several research efforts aimed at developing new sensing and control algorithms inspired by insect vision and flight behaviors. These efforts are part of DARPA's controlled biological and biomimetic systems (CBBS) programme. In these (and related) efforts, many elegant control stratagems have been discovered which suggest that simple reflexive schemes combined with the measurement of optic flow may be sufficient to provide many aspects of autonomous navigation in complex environments. Furthermore, these efforts are implementing these behaviors in real flying UAV platforms by using novel hardware and software to measure optic flow, and inserting optic flow measurements into a control loop using a combination of ‘best engineering approaches’ with inspiration taken from biology. This has resulted in fixed and rotary-wing mini-UAVs that are able to hold an altitude and perform terrain following.

During the last century, general aviation (GA), including rotorcraft, has grown from humble beginnings into a mature safe transportation system. The high levels of safety achieved in GA were made possible through the combined efforts of all members of the GA community: manufacturers, owners, operators, maintainers, academia, and regulators.

The 1990s saw a lifeless GA industry begin another growth cycle. As we move into the 21st century it is important that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Small Airplane Directorate (SAD) participate with manufacturers and the GA community to raise the level of safety. This importance goes beyond preventing accidents, which is the SAD's primary goal. Our role in the health of GA is to work with manufacturers and GA organisations to determine the most effective (value verses cost) ways to reduce accidents in both the existing fleet and new aeroplane. Safety is an important component to the overall value of an aeroplane and has become an important selling point for new aeroplane designs. It is vital that the SAD, working with industry and organisations, improve the small aeroplane safety record if the GA market is to grow beyond the enthusiast market.

In this work a combined analysis of the out-of-plane mechanical and the electromagnetic properties of auxetic re-entrant honeycombs is performed. Experimental and numerical simulations are carried out to evaluate the correlation between the anisotropicity of the transverse mechanical properties (shear and compressive modulus) and the permittivity tensor of auxetic honeycombs. The results are evaluated to assess the feasibility of this kind of cellular solid for electromagnetic absorption and window applications with high structural integrity performance.