Brought to you by Another Orkney Production (AOP), ‘The Other John Rae’ is a fascinating talk by Professor Andrew Rae at the King Street Halls, Kirkwall, Tuesday 1 October at 7.30pm. Admission, which includes refreshments, £7 (Concessions £5).

John Rae was a pilot with Scotland’s first civil air service, the short lived Midland and Scottish Air Ferries Ltd before joining Ted’ Fresson’s Highland Airways.

He was much respected by Fresson and the passengers he carried.

One of his great claims to fame is that on a flight from the North Isles he lost power and landed in the trees at Westness House Rousay with little damage to the passengers and pilot. The aircraft was put on the Post boat and shipped back to Kirkwall and after some repairs was soon back in service.

He went on to have a distinguished career as a pilot but he was also a keen photographer and recorded images of the various companies he worked for.

Also with a keen interest in aviation, his grandson Andrew Rae is currently Professor of Engineering at the University of the Highlands and Islands, responsible for engineering research and strategy across the University’s partners, and holds a personal Chair as Professor of Experimental and Applied Aerodynamics. 

He chairs the Steering Committee, of the ‘Sustainable Aviation Test Environment’ (SATE) Future Flight Challenge project based at Kirkwall Airport in Orkney to evaluate alternatively-fuelled and alternatively-piloted aircraft in an operational setting and against real-world use cases.