Visit to Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) and the National Aerospace Library (NAL) Farnborough. 25th May 2017
Trenchard House is an unassuming building on the main road from Aldershot to Farnborough. The only unusual thing about it is that several aircraft are parked in the grounds - although in Farnborough, that isn’t totally surprising. The Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) is there, in the oldest aeronautical building in the world. In 1906, it was a balloon factory; now it holds a colossal collection of items from the aviation history of the UK. The Aerospace TPN visited on 25 May and heard from David Wilson a fascinating history of British aviation and the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). Samuel Cody’s first UK flight of 16 th October 1908, was commemorated a century later by the opening of the Cody Pavilion containing a replica of Cody’s original aircraft. Cody’s fatal accident…