Dr Alisdair Wood FRAeS takes over as RAeS President

Above: Dr Alisdair Wood FRAeS, President of the Royal Aeronautical Society 2025-2026.
Courtesy RAeS

The President provides leadership of the Council and of the Society in pursuit of its objectives. They uphold the values and reputation of the Society as well as the interests of the members. The President is an ambassador of the Society representing it at key engagements, influencing the global standing of the Society in furthering the advancement of aeronautical art, science and engineering.    
    
Dr Alisdair Wood said: "It is an honour and privilege to have been elected as President of the Royal Aeronautical Society for 2025-26. I am looking forward to a busy year, meeting members and attending as many events as I can over the year.

"In my year as President my themes will focus on: Safety as an enabler – developing a path for safety and risk management to enable boundaries to be extended further and reduce the cost, time and trouble bring innovation to market; by understanding and mitigating the risks we can go further, faster.

"Developing skills for the future – developing our young people with the skills for the challenges our sector faces. With increased focus on defined competencies in an environment of rapid innovation and technology advances, we need to equip our people through learning and Continuous Professional Development.

"Finally, supporting the Society’s continued engagement in central activities such as the sustainable aviation debate.

"I look forward to engaging with you all over the next year."

David Edwards FRAeS, RAeS Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to welcome Dr Alisdair Wood, FRAeS as the new President of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Alisdair brings to the Society a wealth of invaluable experience through a distinguished career in military and civilian aerospace engineering platforms, most notably within Rotorcraft and Aviation Safety and Risk.

"Alisdair has been an advocate for safety, innovation, collaborative working, and supporting learning and development across the sector. We very much look forward to developing these themes further during his Presidency.”

Dr Alisdair Wood FRAeS serves on the Board of Trustees and as President of the Society. He was educated at Strathallan School, Perthshire and graduated from the University of Bristol with a Bachelor of Engineering degree with Honours (1987), Master of Science degree (2003) and an Engineering Doctorate (2012), specialising in Health and Usage Monitoring.

Alisdair has extensive experience in complex systems for their full life cycle, from concept to disposal, and is often consulted as an expert in his field. As Bid Manager and Technical Lead for the groundbreaking Merlin support contract, he was awarded an innovation award from the Minister of Defence Procurement, Lord Drayton. He has presented papers in technical forums such as the European Rotorcraft Forum and aviation safety conferences. A particular passion has been the development of early careers people. Alisdair was a founder member and has chaired the Reggie Brie Trust for over 20 years, providing vital professional skills and experience.

After graduation Alisdair joined British Aerospace in the detailed design team for the A330/A340 wing before joining Westland Helicopters as a Flight Test Engineer. With over 500 hours airborne primarily on development helicopters, Alisdair has been at the forefront of envelope expansion and ‘first offs’ including first flights. During this time Alisdair logged an emergency parachute descent following a mechanical failure and loss of control of the aircraft.

Subsequent roles in Westland Helicopters, now Leonardo Helicopter Division, included Project Engineering on the RTM322 engine development and installation, Merlin in-service support, material planning defining the company’s £150 million spares order book and leading the In-Service Engineering team across the worldwide fleet of military platforms. Currently, Alisdair leads the company’s safety management system, chairs the executive safety reviews, chairs the international operators Flight Safety Working group and manages the company’s aviation safety risk, along with being a Post Holder for both military and civil products.
 
Alisdair has been a long-term supporter of the Society, having served on the Branches Committee, served on the External Affairs Board, been vice-chair of Learned Society Board, chaired the Membership Services Board, chaired the Education and Skills Committee, served as an elected member of Council and appointed to the Board of Trustees. Alisdair is chair of the Yeovil branch.    

The Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) is the only global organisation serving the entire aviation and aerospace community as both a learned society and a professional engineering institution. As such, the RAeS is independent, evidence-based and authoritative, relying on a body of knowledge going back more than 150 years.