Hello and welcome to Top Landing Gear Full Flaps, and to the full length interview with Ian Whittle, son of Sir Frank Whittle, the man credited with one of the greatest inventions of the modern age, something that changed the world forever – the jet engine. Ian is a pilot himself and flew the Gloster Meteor in RAF service, Britain’s first jet fighter, powered by the very engines his father had invented. James and I had the enormous pleasure of visiting Ian at his Surrey home almost 85 years to the day since the first successful test run of his father’s jet engine. Ian speaks with such passion and enthusiasm, not to mention incredibly detailed knowledge. You don’t get much closer to touching history than this. I hope you enjoy it.

As Ian was so generous with his time, we’ve split the interview into two parts, so here’s part one – keep an eye out on the socials for part two – or it may already be there now.