WRAeS Talk: 71st Rex Pierson Memorial Lecture - Vertical Aerospace: The Future of eVTOL
- 2nd Dec 2026
- 5.30pm
- Entry donation £5 per person. Card payment at the door.
- Evening talk in The Clubhouse at Brooklands Museum
- Doors open 5.30pm / Talk starts 6.45pm
- Campbell Gate Entrance
71st Rex K Pierson Memorial Lecture
Trevor Woods is Director of Regulatory Affairs at Vertical Aerospace. He previously held leadership positions at the UK Civil Aviation Authority in aircraft certification and as Chief Operation Officer of CAA Subsidiary, Air Safety Support International. He subsequently moved to the European Aviation Safety Agency where he held positions of Standardisations and Approvals Director, Flight Standards, Director, and Certification Director. Prior to his regulatory experience, Trevor was an Advanced STOVL Future Projects Engineer at BAE Systems, Military Division.
For more information please contact: [email protected]
Meetings are held in the Brooklands Museum Clubhouse.
The Brooklands Club Members bar is open to use from 5:30pm – please use card payment for drinks.
All are welcome (RAeS membership is not required). There is an entry donation of £5.00 (please use card payment) at the door. This donation is not expected from those under the age of 21 or holders of a current Student Union card.
Certificates of Attendance for C.Eng or CPD purposes are available on request.
Entry is via Campbell Gate only, Brooklands Road, KT13 0QN from 5.30pm.
About Rex Pierson
In 1908 at the age of 17 he joined Vickers Ltd at Erith, Kent as an engineering pupil-apprentice, progressing through the various departments while studying for his Bachelor of Science Engineering degree through evening classes. On completing his time as an apprentice, he joined Vickers newly formed Aircraft Division as a technician. In 1913 he learnt to fly at Brooklands, his Aero Club Certificate being number 600.
Rex Pierson was awarded three times for services to his country, the M.B.E. in 1919, the O.B.E. in 1941 and the C.B.E. in 1943. In 1938 he elected a Special Director of Vickers-Armstrongs.
Returning to his early career, in 1914 he was appointed Chief Technician of the Aircraft Division of Vickers. His duties included the design and development of a number of WW1 machines known as the Vickers Gun-bus.
In 1917 at the early age of 26 he was appointed the Chief Designer of the Vickers Aircraft Division and was put in complete charge of the Basil Street, Knightsbridge design office. In 1919 the Knightsbridge office was closed down and Rex moved the more promising staff to the aircraft works at Brooklands.
From then until 1945 he remained Chief Designer and was responsible for many inter-war Vickers designs. After the war he handed over the Chief Designer reins to George Edwards (later Sir) and took up the role of Chief Engineer of the whole Vickers-Armstrongs Aviation Group.
In 1946 R.K.P. initiated with the Vickers design group the basic foundations of what became the Viscount. Unfortunately, he never saw the Viscount fly as he fell ill in early 1947 and never fully recovered, passing away in January 1947 at the early age of 56.
