Our Next Meeting
Please note the venue bar is cash only
Non Members Fees:
Guest Speaker Nights £5
In-house Speaker Nights £2
This includes a light buffet, tea/coffee & 1 x raffle ticket
Yearly WNAS Membership £20
New member Ann is giving us a talk this month entitled “89 Not Out” it’s a look back over some of her life’s adventures. Now, I’m not allowed to tell you too much, but I have had a sneak preview and it’s certainly been full and interesting!!
In-House Speaker
Last month’s write up
The speaker this month was Kevin Boardman who came along to tell us more about Katherine Johnson. If the name rings a faint bell in some readers it is because she is the main character in the film ‘Hidden Figures’. Katherine was a ‘computer’ at NASA from the late 1940’s. Computer in those days meant something very different to today. She was basically a one of many carrying out mathematical equations (hence computer) in order to work out what was required to put a man into space and more importantly recover said man back to earth in one piece.
So far so good, but Katherine was a black women in a very white and male orientated society. Due to her skills and force of personality she was quickly recognised as a mathematical genius. However she had to fight tooth and nail to get her work recognised and even to get it published under her own name. Her skill sets were, after a long struggle, eventually recognised and she went on to to a long and successful career in NASA being instrumental in the maths within the Apollo programme and Space Shuttle.
She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honour in 2015 by President Obama and lived to the ripe old age of 101.
I have barely touched the surface of this story but Katherine Johnson was a truly remarkable person, who battled long odds to come out on top. If you haven’t seen the film its well worth a watch, just remember its a Hollywood version!
News in brief……….
Our Friday morning coffee socials are a great way to keep in touch if you cant make our main meeting. Non aviation related we meet at the bowls club for 11am and chat about anything. Quite often there’s cake too!
RAF ADRM Visit WNAS members have been invited to join our friends at NAG in a private visit to the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum on 21st May, the evening will include a supper and cost £20 a ticket. (Existing valid ticket holders & Friends £10). Pre booking essential - SEE WNAS FACEBOOK PAGE FOR FULL DETAILS
Shuttleworth Festival Of Flight WNAS & NAG are again joining forces and hoping to arrange a trip to this event on 28th June. Estimated cost is around £60pp depending on numbers, but watch this space, your emails and the WNAS FB page for updates!
The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Guide (NASAG) has gone live! Hosted by WNAS this is a guide to all the aviation goings on across Norfolk and Suffolk, Scroll down on this page or click the NASAG link in the menu.
Non members attendance charges. WNAS has taken the decision to officially start charging a small amount for non members who attend our evenings, this is to help cover costs of speaker’s fees and catering. Becoming a WNAS member remains the most cost effective method of enjoying the Society,
We are always looking for speakers for our meetings, if you have any association or interest in aviation and would like to tell us about it please contact us using the attached form
