Rod Jarvis visit 19th January

On 19^th January we welcomed Squadron Leader Rod Jarvis, our guest speaker for the evening.
Rod’s career with the RAF spanned a total of 50 years. He first enlisted in January 1956 and retired twice. When he rejoined he became a flying instructor including four years as a “Trapper”, that is an instructor of in-flight refueling. 
Rod gave a history of in-flight refueling backed up with a selection of photographs and videos. The first recorded use of in-flight refueling was in 1924 in the USA. A “Wing Walker” transferred five gallons of fuel in a can from one aircraft to another whilst they were both in flight. Later experiments used a weighted line dangling from one aircraft so that an airman on another aircraft could grab it and then haul across a hose. This was fraught with danger because the weight used was around 70lb. 
In 1928 the Americans did manage to keep an aircraft in the air for 27 days with the aid of in-flight refueling. 
The RAF began their first trials in 1929 using Vickers Virginias. 
Rod continued his presentation until nearly 10 o’clock and was thanked with a warm round of applause. He offered to return to give a talk on spinning aero planes.