Royal Aero Club Papers
The Royal Aero Club Collection contains unique material, and only by inspection of each item are historic documents being discovered. Examples include:
- the grant to the Aero Club of the prefix "Royal" in 1910;
- the origin of the King's Cup air races, first contested in 1922; and
- correspondence about the Schneider Trophy Contests, won outright by a British team in 1931.
Royal Aero Club Minute Books
The Minute Books of the main Committee of the Aero Club – later the Royal Aero Club - can be considered over three periods.
1901 to 1956
The Minute Books covering the period 1901 to 1956 have been optically scanned. The digitised images can be searched and viewed online.
1956 to 1969
The Minute Books covering the period 1956 to 1969 are missing. However, the activities of the Club during this period can be followed through the contemporary editions of the Royal Aero Club Gazette, held in the archives.
1969 to 2007
The Minute Books covering the period 1969 to 2007 have been optically scanned. The digitised images can be searched and viewed online.
Royal Aero Club Sub-Committee Minute Books
The Minute Books of various Sub-Committees have now been scanned too, and the digitised images can also be searched and scanned online. This new development opens up further exciting opportunities for detailed research into the history of the Club.
| Sub-Committee | First Date | Last Date |
|---|---|---|
| AGM Minutes | 11 Mar 1909 | 28 Apr 1965 |
| Racing Committee | 16 Feb 1920 | 29 Aug 1923 |
| Racing Committee | 5 Sep 1923 | 27 Jun 1934 |
| Racing Committee | 31 Oct 1934 | 20 Jun 1950 |
| Racing Committee | 23 Aug 1950 | 9 Dec 1959 |
| Balloon Committee | 26 Jan 1906 | 18 Jun 1908 |
| Exhibition Committee | 30 Jan 1906 | 28 Aug 1907 |
| Technical Committee | 21 Feb 1906 | 14 Dec 1906 |
| Gliding Committee | 28 Aug 1922 | 21 Sep 1923 |
| House Committee | 21 Jan 1952 | 17 Dec 1956 |
| Technical Committee | 5 May 1919 | 20 Jul 1925 |
| MacRobertson International Air Race | 24 Nov 1933 | 19 Oct 1934 |
| RAeC and Automobile Association | 13 Jun 1934 | 5 Aug 1938 |
| SBAC – RAeC Joint Standing Committee | 24 Jul 1919 | 26 Feb 1930 |
| Schneider Trophy (1929) | 9 Nov 1927 | 11 Sep 1931 |
| • Finance Committee | 14 May 1931 | 15 Mar 1932 |
| • General Purposes Committee | 23 Feb 1931 | 25 Aug 1931 |
| • Press and Publicity Committee | 28 Apr 1931 | 14 May 1931 |
Aviators' Certificates
The index cards and photograph albums of pilots who were issued with their Aviators' Certificates by the Royal Aero Club from 1910 onwards are available through the website www.ancestry.co.uk or at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon and many public libraries, where the records are freely available.
Bev Snook Papers
During 2006, further archival material - the property of the late Beverley J Snook OBE, a past chairman of the Royal Aero Club - was added to the Collection.
Click here for more information about scrap books and albums of press albums in the Royal Aero Club Collection.