View source for Royal Aircraft Establishment

{{Short description|Defunct aerospace research organization and aircraft manufacturer}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name = Royal Aircraft Establishment
|ensign= 
|location = [[Farnborough, Hampshire]]
|image = File:Royal Aircraft Factory, c.1915.jpg
|caption = Royal Aircraft Factory (RAF) c.1915
|map_type = 
|coordinates = {{coord|51.279475|-0.787926|type:landmark_region:GB-ESS|display=inline}}
|map_caption = 
|type = Research establishment
|built = 
|used = 1904–1991
|ownership = [[War Office]] (1904–1906) <br> [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] (1964–1991)
|controlledby = {{Army|United Kingdom}} (1904–1906)
|battles = [[World War I|First World War]] <br> [[World War II|Second World War]] <br> [[Cold War]]
}}
The '''Royal Aircraft Establishment''' ('''RAE''') was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|UK Ministry of Defence]] (MoD), before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.

The British '''Army Balloon Factory''' was established on Farnborough Common in the early 1900s. By 1912 it had come under civilian control and was the '''Royal Aircraft Factory''' ('''RAF''')  In 1918 it was renamed Royal Aircraft Establishment to prevent confusion with the newly created Royal Air Force.

The first site was at [[Farnborough Airfield]] ("RAE Farnborough") in [[Hampshire]] to which was added a second site [[RAE Bedford]] ([[Bedfordshire]]) in 1946.

On 1 May 1988 it was renamed the '''Royal Aerospace Establishment''' ('''RAE''') before merging with other research entities to become part of the new [[Defence Research Agency]] in 1991.

==History==
In 1904–1906 the Army Balloon Factory, which was part of the Army [[School of Ballooning]], under the command of Colonel [[James Templer (balloon aviator)|James Templer]], relocated from Aldershot to the edge of Farnborough Common in order to have enough space to inflate the new "dirigible balloon" or [[airship]] which was then under construction.<ref name="walker">Walker, P; Early Aviation at Farnborough, Volume I: Balloons, Kites and Airships, Macdonald, 1971.</ref><ref>''Colonel Templer and the birth of aviation at Farnborough'', May 2007, Royal Aeronautical Society, p&nbsp;13</ref> Templer's place was taken by Colonel [[John Capper]] and Templer himself retired in 1908. Besides balloons and airships, the factory also experimented with [[Samuel Franklin Cody]]'s [[Samuel Franklin Cody#Kites|war kite]]s and aeroplanes designed both by Cody and [[J. W. Dunne]].<ref name="walker" /> In October 1908 Cody made the first aeroplane flight in the United Kingdom at Farnborough.<ref>''Colonel Templer and the birth of aviation at Farnborough'', May 2007, Royal Aeronautical Society, p&nbsp;3</ref>

In 1909 Army work on aeroplanes ceased and the Factory was brought under civilian control. Capper was replaced as Superintendent by [[Mervyn O'Gorman]].<ref name="walker" /> In 1912 the Balloon Factory was renamed the Royal Aircraft Factory (RAF).<ref>''Colonel Templer and the birth of aviation at Farnborough'', May 2007, Royal Aeronautical Society, p&nbsp;12</ref> Its first new designer was [[Geoffrey de Havilland]] who later founded his own company. Later colleagues included [[John Kenworthy]] who became chief engineer and designer at the [[Austin Motor Company]] in 1918 and who went on to found the Redwing Aircraft Co in 1930<ref>''Flight International''</ref> and [[Henry Folland]] – later chief designer at [[Gloster Aircraft Company]], and founder of his own company [[Folland Aircraft]]. One of the designers in the engine department was [[Samuel Dalziel Heron|Samuel Heron]], who later went on to invent the sodium-filled [[poppet valve]], instrumental in achieving greater power levels from piston engines.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1963/1963%20-%201252.html |title=World News: S.D. Heron |magazine=[[Flight International]] |date= 18 July 1963 |volume=84 |issue= 2836|page=80|access-date=18 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104093300/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1963/1963%20-%201252.html |archive-date=2012-11-04}}</ref> While at the RAF, Heron designed a radial engine that he was not able to build during his time there, however upon leaving the RAF he then went to [[Siddeley-Deasy]] where the design, the RAF.8, was developed as the [[Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar|Jaguar]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.raes.org.uk/pdfs/3164COLOUR.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-12-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202210527/http://www.raes.org.uk/pdfs/3164COLOUR.pdf |archive-date=2 December 2010}}</ref> Heron later moved to the United States where he worked on the design of the [[Wright R-790|Wright Whirlwind]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19791508000 |title=Wright Whirlwind J-5A-B Radial Engine |publisher= Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum |access-date=18 August 2011}}</ref>
Other engineers included Major [[F.M. Green]], G.S. Wilkinson, James E. "Jimmy" Ellor, Prof. A.H. Gibson, and [[Alan Arnold Griffith|A.A. Griffith]]. Both Ellor and Griffith would later go on to work for [[Rolls-Royce Limited]].<ref>''World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines'', 5th edition" by [[Bill Gunston]], Sutton Publishing, 2006, p.&nbsp;209</ref>

In 1918 the Royal Aircraft Factory was once more renamed, becoming the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) to avoid confusion with the [[Royal Air Force]], which was formed on 1 April 1918, and because it had relinquished its manufacturing role to concentrate on research.

During WWII the [[Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment]], which had moved from [[Felixstowe]] to a safer location at [[Helensburgh]] in Scotland, was under the control of the RAE. In 1946 work began to convert [[RAF Thurleigh]] into RAE Bedford. Engineers at the Royal Aircraft Establishment invented high strength [[carbon fibre]] in 1963.<ref>{{cite web|title=The history and uses of carbon fibre |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p013jv1v|publisher=BBC|access-date=3 May 2015|date=9 January 2013}}</ref> In 1961, the world's first [[Landing performance#Runway surface|grooved runway]] for reduced [[aquaplaning]] was constructed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Grooves for braking on airfield runways|date = 28 September 1961|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7404oFuuDQkC&q=farnborough+grooved+runway&pg=PA797|publisher=New Scientist, 28 September 1961|access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref> In 1965, a US delegation visited to view the new surfacing practice and initiated a study by the [[FAA]] and [[NASA]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=McGuire|first1=R.C.|title=REPORT ON GROOVED RUNWAY EXPERIENCE AT WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT|url=https://archive.org/details/nasa_techdoc_19690011108|website=Internet Archive|date=January 1969 |publisher=Federal Aviation Administration|access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref>

On 1 May 1988 the RAE was renamed the Royal Aerospace Establishment.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Airscene: Aircraft and Industry: United Kingdom |magazine=[[Air International]] |date=July 1988 |volume=35 |issue=1 |page=5 |issn=0306-5634}}</ref> On 1 April 1991 the RAE was merged into the [[Defence Research Agency]] (DRA), the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|MOD]]'s new research organisation. Then, on 1 April 1995 the DRA and other MOD organisations merged to form the [[Defence Evaluation and Research Agency]] (DERA). The Bedford site was largely shut down in 1994. In 2001 DERA was part-privatised by the MOD, resulting in two separate organisations, the state-owned [[DSTL|Defence Science and Technology Laboratory]] (DSTL), and the privatised company [[QinetiQ]].

; Aircraft

The unit used various aircraft such as : Hawker Hunter, [[English Electric Canberra]] B.6 WK163 & B.6 WH953,{{sfn|Hall|1992|p=90}} [[BAC One-Eleven]] Series 402 XX919, [[British Aerospace 125|Hawker Siddeley HS.125]]  XW930,{{sfn|Hall|1992|p=91}} and [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|Douglas Dakota]] ZA947{{sfn|Hall|1992|p=96}}. During February 1988 the last [[Westland Wessex]] left after 30 years of trials work.{{sfn|March|1989|p=88}}

==Royal Aircraft Factory==

===Aircraft Factory designs===
Between 1911 and 1918 the Royal Aircraft Factory produced a number of aircraft designs. Most of these were essentially research aircraft, but a few actually went into mass production, especially during the war period. Some orders were met by the factory itself, but the bulk of production was by private British companies, some of which had not previously built aircraft.

Up to about 1913 the designation letters referred to the general layout of the aircraft, derived from a French manufacturer or designer famous for that type:
* S.E. = [[Alberto Santos-Dumont|Santos]] Experimental ([[Canard (aeronautics)|Canard]] or tail-first layout)
* B.E. = [[Louis Blériot|Blériot]] Experimental ([[Tractor configuration|Tractor]] or propeller-first layout)
* F.E. = [[Henry Farman|Farman]] Experimental ([[Pusher configuration|Pusher]] or propeller behind the pilot layout)

From 1913/4 onwards this was changed to a designation based on the role for which the aircraft was designed:
* A.E. = Armed or Armoured Experimental
* C.E. = Coastal Experimental (e.g. [[Royal Aircraft Factory C.E.1]] – prototype only)
* F.E. = [[Fighter aircraft|Fighting]] experimental (although they remained "Farmans" in the sense of being pushers)
* N.E. = Night Experimental (e.g. [[Royal Aircraft Factory N.E.1]] – prototype only)
* R.E. = [[Reconnaissance]] experimental (two-seat machines)
* S.E. = [[Fighter aircraft|Scout]] experimental fast single-seat aircraft.

The B.S.1 of 1913 was a one-off anomaly, combining both systems: '''B'''lériot (tractor) '''S'''cout (fighter).

R.T. & T.E. were also used for strictly one-off prototypes.

===Designs produced===
Several aircraft were produced during the days as the Army Balloon Factory. These include the [[airship]]s as well as the [[Samuel Franklin Cody|Cody]] and [[J. W. Dunne|Dunne]] designs.

Subsequent Royal Aircraft Factory type designations are inconsistent and confusing. For instance the "[[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.1|F.E.2]]" designation refers to three quite distinct types, with only the same broad layout in common, the F.E.2 (1911), the F.E.2 (1913), and finally the famous wartime two-seat fighter and general-purpose design, the [[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2|F.E.2 (1914)]]. This last aircraft was the one that went into production and had three main variants, the F.E.2a, F.E.2b, and the F.E.2d. As if this wasn't enough, there is the F.E.2c; this was a generic description rather than a subtype proper, and refers to several one-off conversions of F.E.2b's that experimentally reversed the seating positions of the pilot and the observer.

The B.E.1 was basically the prototype for the early [[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2|B.E.2]] but the B.E.2c was almost a completely new aeroplane, with very little common with the earlier B.E.2 types apart from engine and fuselage. On the other hand, the B.E.3 to the B.E.7 were all effectively working prototypes for the B.E.8 and were all very similar in design, with progressive minor modifications of the kind that many aircraft undergo during a production run. The B.E.8a was at least as different from the B.E.8 as the B.E.7 was.

The S.E.4a had nothing in common at all with the S.E.4, while the [[Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5|S.E.5a]] was simply a late production S.E.5 with a more powerful engine.

Several early RAF designs were officially "reconstructions" of existing aircraft because the Factory did not initially have official authority to build aircraft to their own design. In most cases, the type in question used no parts whatever from the wreck, in some cases, not even the engine.

[[File:Royal Aircraft Factory BS1 003.jpg|thumb|right|[[Royal Aircraft Factory B.S.1]] in 1913]]

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[British Army Dirigible No 1]] ''Nulli Secundus''—1907
*''[[British Army Dirigible No 1#Nulli Secundus II|Nulli Secundus II]]''—1908
*[[British Army airship Beta]] – 1910
*[[Dunne D.1]] – 1907
*[[British Army Aeroplane No 1]] (Cody) – 1908
*[[Dunne D.3]]
*[[Dunne D.4]]
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.1]]—1911
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.1]]—1911
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.1]]—1911
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2]]—1912
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.3]]—1912
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.4]]—1912
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.3]]—1913
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.7]]—1913
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.2]]—1913
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.1]]—1913
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.2]]—1913
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.8]]—1913
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.3]]—1913
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory H.R.E.2]]—1913
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2]]—1914
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.2]]—1914
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5]]—1914
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.4]]—1914
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.6]]—1914
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.7]]—1915
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12]]—1915
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9]]—1915
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8]]—1915
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.4a]]—1915
*[[SS class airship]] – 1915
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.4]] – 1916
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.10]] – 1916
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.7]] – 1916
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8]] – 1916
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8|Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.9]] — 1916
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5]]—1916
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5]]a—1917
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.9]]—1917
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory N.E.1]]—1917
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory A.E.3]]—1918
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory C.E.1]]—1918
*[[Royal Aircraft Factory Ram]]—1918
{{div col end}}

===Engines===
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[RAF 1]]
* [[RAF 2]]
* [[RAF 3]]
* [[RAF 4]]
* [[RAF 4|RAF 5]]
* [[Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar|RAF 8]]
{{div col end}}

===Controversy===
At the time of the "[[Fokker Scourge]]" in 1915, there was a [[British press|press]] campaign against the standardisation of Royal Aircraft Factory types in the [[Royal Flying Corps]], allegedly in favour of superior designs available from the design departments of private British firms. This slowly gained currency, especially because of the undeniable fact that the B.E.2c and B.E.2e were kept in production and in service long after they were obsolete and that the B.E.12 and B.E.12a were indisputable failures. Some of this criticism was prejudiced and ill-informed.<ref>John Lloyd ''Aircraft of World War I'' 1958 Ian Allan publisher, Surrey, UK</ref>

Some aviation historians continue to perpetuate the resulting belittling of the important experimental work of the Factory during this period, and the exaggeration of the failings of Factory production types, several of which were described in sensationally derogatory terms.<ref>''Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I'' Military Press, New York 1990—{{ISBN|0-517-03376-3}}.cn</ref>

A modern, rather more "pro-factory" point of view, can be found in several of the volumes of ''War Planes of the First World War'', by J.M. Bruce—MacDonald, London, 1965.

==Superintendents==
[[File:The work of Samuel Franklin Cody in Airship, Kite and Aircraft Aeronautics 1903 - 1913 in England. RAE-O952.jpg|thumb|right|The first five Superintendents at Farnborough]]
The Superintendents of the [[School of Ballooning]] were [[James Templer (balloon aviator)|James Templer]] (1878–1906) and [[John Capper]] (1906 – 1909).  The following have served as Superintendents of the Royal Aircraft Factory / Establishment:

*[[Mervyn O'Gorman]] (1912–1916) - Also Superintendent of the Balloon Factory from 1909 to 1912
*[[Henry Fowler (engineer)|Henry Fowler]] (1916–1918)
*[[Sidney Smith (engineer)|Sidney Smith]] (1918-)

==Changes==

After the end of the First World War, the design and development of aircraft types ended – although work continued on general research and the development of missiles.  Research included [[wind tunnel]] testing and other aeronautical research, areas which offered rare opportunities for [[women in STEM fields]] at this time with examples including [[Frances Bradfield]] who worked at the RAE for her entire career from 1919 to her retirement; [[Muriel Glauert]] (née Barker) joined in 1918 as a researcher working in aerodynamics and [[Beatrice Shilling]] who went on to invent [[Miss Shilling's orifice]], to improve the engine performance of [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricane]] and [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] fighters during the [[Battle of Britain]] as part of wider work at the RAE on aircraft engine problems during [[World War II]]. [[Johanna Weber]], a German mathematician who joined the RAE after [[World War II]] as part of [[Operation Surgeon]] to employ German aeronautical researchers and technicians and bring them to the UK, to prevent their technical knowledge falling into the hands of the Soviet occupying forces in Germany.

In 1930 the RAE developed the Robot Air Pilot, an autopilot that used a gyro and flight controls that functioned by compressed air.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=qOIDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1930+plane+%22Popular+Mechanics%22&pg=PA950 "Robot Air Pilot Keeps Plane on True Course" ''Popular Mechanics'', December 1930]</ref>

Aircraft that were developed or tested at the RAE included the [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier]] and [[Concorde]].

===Aircraft===
* [[Brennan Helicopter]]
* [[RAE Hurricane]]
* [[RAE Scarab]]
* [[RAE Zephyr]]

===Missiles===
* RAE Target—Surface-to-surface missile project from the early 1920s.
* [[Larynx (unmanned aircraft)|RAE Larynx]]—1927 unmanned pilotless aircraft, surface-to-surface anti-ship missile.
* [[Malkara missile]]

===Rockets===
In the late fifties and through the sixties work proceeded at the RAE on several [[rocket]] projects – all of which were eventually abandoned
[[File:M52 model.jpg|thumb|right|305px|A model of the [[Miles M.52]] undergoing [[supersonic wind tunnel]] testing at the RAE circa 1946]]

* [[R.A.E. – Vickers Transonic Research Rocket]]
* [[Black Arrow]]
* [[Black Prince (rocket)|Black Prince]]
* [[Black Knight (rocket)|Black Knight]]
* [[Jaguar (British rocket)|Jaguar]]
* [[Skylark (rocket)|Skylark]]

===Space satellites===
* [[Orba X-2]] – space satellite
* [[Prospero X-3]] – space satellite

==Current use of the Farnborough site==
[[File:Airship Hangar.jpg|thumb|right|Reconstructed [[airship hangar]] at IQ Farnborough.]]

The former RAE Farnborough site is (as of 2011) occupied by:
* [[Farnborough Airfield|Farnborough Airport]].
* [[QinetiQ]].
* Housing, hotels, offices etc. The [[Farnborough, Hampshire#IQ Farnborough (business park)|IQ Farnborough]]<ref>[http://www.farnboroughbusinesspark.com Farnborough Business Park]</ref> development includes several refurbished former-RAE buildings.
* The [[Farnborough Air Sciences Trust]] (FAST) museum, which has several former RAE aircraft and other exhibits.
* [[Air Accidents Investigation Branch]].

The National Aerospace Library (NAL), located in the former Weapon Aerodynamics building (Q134 Building), has a collection of over 2,500 technical reports produced by the RAE.<ref name="url">[http://www.raes.org.uk/cmspage.asp?cmsitemid=Library_NAL "National Aerospace Library"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202122827/http://www.raes.org.uk/cmspage.asp?cmsitemid=Library_NAL |date=2 February 2011 }} ''RAeS'' Retrieved: 27 January 2011.</ref>

===Historic structures===
The historic Farnborough factory site houses three major [[wind tunnel]]s, the {{convert|24|ft|abbr=on}} low-speed wind tunnel (Q121 Building), constructed during the early 1930s, the No. 2 {{convert|11|ft|6|in|abbr=on}} low-speed wind tunnel (R136 Building) and the {{convert|8|x|6|ft|abbr=on}} transonic wind tunnel within R133 Building, which was originally commissioned in the early 1940s as a {{convert|10|x|7|ft|abbr=on}} high subsonic speed tunnel but converted during the mid-1950s. A smaller {{convert|2|x|1.5|ft|abbr=on}} transonic tunnel is housed in R133 Building, while R52 Building contains the remaining {{convert|4|x|3|ft|abbr=on}} low turbulence wind tunnel. R52 Building had previously housed two early 10 ft x 7 ft low-speed tunnels in separate bays, which were replaced by the No. 1 11.5' and 4ft x 3ft tunnels respectively. The former remains in operation at the University of Southampton.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} R52 building also previously contained a {{convert|5|ft|abbr=on}} open jet low-speed tunnel, originally built as a sub-scale prototype for the larger 24-ft tunnel, but subsequently modified for use as a noise measurement facility. Both Q121 and R133 are now Grade I [[listed building]]s.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1259589|desc=Building Q121 at former Royal Aircraft Establishment site|grade=I|access-date=10 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE|num=1259586|desc=Building R133 at former Royal Aircraft Establishment site|grade=I|access-date=10 December 2023}}</ref>

To the west of the Farnborough site is the 5-metre pressurised low-speed wind tunnel, which was commissioned in the late 1970s. This facility remains in operation by [[QinetiQ]], primarily for the development and testing of aircraft high lift systems.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

==Fictional appearance==
The hero of [[Nevil Shute]]'s 1948 novel ''[[No Highway]]'' is an eccentric "[[boffin]]" at Farnborough who predicts [[metal fatigue]] in the United Kingdom's new airliner, the fictional "Rutland Reindeer". The [[de Havilland Comet|Comet]]s failed for just this reason in 1954, although in the case of the Comet I the problem was in the metal structure around the navigation windows, while the point of failure in the Reindeer aircraft was in the structure of the rear empennage/fuselage joints. A film version of the novel, ''[[No Highway in the Sky]]'', appeared in 1951, starring [[James Stewart]] as the protagonist. Stewart prepared for the role by shadowing Fred Jones OBE, a co-founder of the RAE Accident Section. Jones later was head of Structures Section (formerly Airworthiness Section) from 1957 to 1980.

==See also==
{{Portal|United Kingdom|Aviation}}
*[[FAST (museum)|FAST]] aviation museum on the site of the RAE
*[[RAE Bedford]], Farnborough's sister site at former [[RAF Thurleigh]], Bedford
*[[Seaplane Experimental Station]], [[Felixstowe]]
*[[National Gas Turbine Establishment]], a branch of the RAE used for design and testing of gas turbine engines
*[[Arnold Alexander Hall]]
*[[Rhys Probert]]
*[[RAE code]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

*{{cite book |last1=Hall|first1=A. W.|title=RAF Today |year=1992 |publisher= Bison Books|location=[[London]], UK|isbn=0-86124-313-7}}
*{{cite book |last1=March|first1=P.|title=Royal Air Force Yearbook 1989|year=1989|publisher= Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund|location=[[Fairford]], UK}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Royal Aircraft Establishment}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060909150234/http://www.riskybuildings.org.uk/docs/15wind/index.html Risky Buildings: Farnborough wind tunnels]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070222132627/http://www.remuseum.org.uk/specialism/rem_spec_aero.htm Royal Engineers Museum] Royal Engineers and Aeronautics
*[http://rae-exapprentices.org RAE Ex-Apprentices Association]

{{Royal Aircraft Factory aircraft}}
{{Royal Aircraft Factory aeroengines}}
{{Qinetiq}}
{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1908 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct aircraft engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Farnborough, Hampshire]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Grade I listed industrial buildings]]
[[Category:History of Hampshire]]
[[Category:Military history of Hampshire]]
[[Category:Military research establishments of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Research institutes in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Royal Aircraft Establishment stations| ]]