AT the Vaga Probus meeting on October 23rd, speaker, John Taylor, gave members a great insight into the career of Sir Stanley Hooker, the man who saved the Rolls-Royce aero engine firm on more than one occasion.

John was an aircraft hydraulics engineer until the scrapping of the TSR2 fighter plane. After this, he moved his career to British Waterways, where he was responsible for evolving solutions with water distribution, initially in the south west of England, later covering the whole waterways network of England, Wales and Scotland.

Sir Stanley Hooker was a mathematician and physicist who developed a great insight into the engineering requirements for aero engines. This began with the development of turbo chargers in the 1930s for the Merlin engine that powered Hurricanes, Spitfires and many planes in the Second World War.

Sir Stanley was quick to grasp the significance of the Whittle gas turbine engine used in the twin engined Gloster Meteor that could chase and catch Mr Hitler’s Doodlebugs. Its development led to the Avon engine for the Comet passenger liners and the Proteous turbo prop engine used in the Britannia.

Another of Stanley Hooker’s designs was the Pegasus Engine used in the vertical take-off Harrier Jump Jet and the RB211 engine which is still powering many of today’s passenger liners.

Other prominent people were also involved at each step, including saving Rolls-Royce by restructuring to keep the modern aero engine business operational under Sir Stanley who continued to maintain development.

Vaga Probus is a men only group that meets twice monthly in Ross, and visitors are very welcome.See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.