WRAeS Talk: The 70th Rex Pierson Lecture - Another Giant Leap for Mankind

  • 3rd Dec 2025
  • Entry donation £5 per person. Card payment at the door.
  • Evening talk in The Clubhouse at Brooklands Museum
  • Doors open 5.45pm
  • Talk starts 6.45pm
This keynote lecture of the year from Padhraic Kelleher, is named after a Vickers Aircraft designer Rex Pierson. ‘Rex' joined Vickers in 1908 aged 17 and in 1913 learned to fly at Brooklands. In 1917 at the age of 26 he was appointed Chief Designer until 1945 when he was given the role of Chief Engineer of the whole Vickers-Armstrongs Aviation group.
Rex designed many of the early Vickers aircraft such as the Vimy, Vickers Gun Bus and the Wellington. He also started the Viscount project but unfortunately fell ill and died before the first flight of the Viscount.

For more information please contact: wraesmemsec@outlook.com

Born in 1891, Rex Pierson lived through a remarkable time in aviation history.  He contributed greatly to the advances in aerospace technology during the first half of the 20th century and helped drive the emergence of commercial aviation.  

In the second half of the century, mankind continued to make giant leaps to go higher, further and faster and to do so ever more safely, securely and affordably.  As we consider the world around us today, are we living through another giant leap for mankind and are we ready for what lies ahead?

Speaker BIO

Padhraic Kelleher is a Senior Adviser at the UK Civil Aviation Authority where he has led regulatory teams addressing safety strategy and policy, industry innovation, international relations and airworthiness for commercial, recreational, ex-military and unmanned aircraft; commercial spaceflight; cybersecurity and safety management.

Padhraic has served as President of the Air Navigation Commission at ICAO (the International Civil Aviation Organisation) overseeing the development of international aviation safety and air navigation standards.  He has also served as a Director of the European Joint Aviation Authorities and of UKCAA subsidiaries CAA International and Air Safety Support International 

His early regulatory career focussed on airworthiness type certification of Airbus, Boeing and Canadair types building on industry experience as a certification flight test engineer at British Aerospace plc.

Padhraic holds a first class honours degree in electronic engineering from Ireland’s University of Galway, a Master’s degree in aerodynamics and flight control from Cranfield University and postgraduate qualifications in management and company direction.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Meetings are held in the Brooklands Museum Clubhouse.

The Brooklands Club Members bar is open to use from 5:45pm – please use card payment for drinks. Food can also be ordered from the Bar and will be served from 5:45pm.

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 5.45pm.

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