Events

Join Our Events

RAeS events deliver expert content, insight and networking across the breadth of technical, engineering and business subjects affecting aerospace professionals.

Our annual calendar of around 20 events of lectures, technical visits, competitions and field trips are designed to support your professional development and industry knowledge.

Development of the Iconic 747

24 September 2025

The 747 has a long history in Hong Kong, pioneering long travel for Cathay Pacific Airways back in 1980s.  We have been privileged to have Joe Sutter, the Father of the 747, presenting here in Hong Kong

We are now able to bring this lecture to our present members, presented by Boeing’s Capt Gottshall, who is Chief Pilot 747, 757, 767.

Come hear about this very special aeroplane.

Captain Gottshall is the Engineering Chief Pilot of the 747, 757 & 767 in the Boeing Test & Evaluation Flight Operations organization. His responsibilities include working with the 747 and 767 Chief Project Engineers on all commercial flight - related engineering, production, and sustainment activities for these three aircraft in the Boeing Commercial fleet including all out of production models. He also leads a Flight Crew Training IPT in Product Development for the FFD product study.

He previously served Boeing as the 747 Chief Technical Pilot and Lead Technical Pilot for the 737 MAX Return to Service. Prior to joining Boeing he worked as a chief pilot, consultant, international airline captain, contract pilot, flight and simulator instructor for several different operators, predominantly in Asia. (including a short time as a Cathay Pacific 777 Simulator Instructor). Captain Gottshall holds Airline Transport Pilots Licenses in three different countries, holds type ratings on the 737, 747 Classic, 747-400/-8, 757, 767, 777, CE-500, DC-10 and currently actively flies the 737, 747, 767, KC -46 and 777 in addition to GA aircraft and has accumulated over 12,000 hours of flight time.

Curt received a bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Science in 1996 and is currently pursuing his master's degree in Engineering Management both from Embry -Riddle Aeronautical University. He lives in Seattle with his wife Ekaterina, two boys Cole
(10) Clark (7) and baby girl Chloe (2). He enjoys sharing his appreciation for the outdoors with his family through activities like camping, dirt biking, boating, hiking, hunting, fishing, baseball and general aviation flying.

Date: 24 September 2025
Time: 6pm
Venue: Cathay City, Scenic Road, Hong Kong International AirportLantau .

Anatomy of Lunar Regolith: The Moon’s Surface Material

28 August 2025

Space is a rare lecture topic, but Hong Kong plays a role in the netional programme.

Dr Zhao, of the Hong Kong PolyTechnic University, will discuss their research on lunar soil samples returned by the Chinese Chang’e-5 mission. To analyse these samples, they used advanced 3D X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning combined with machine learning techniques. This allowed them to examine over 700,000 lunar soil particles and determine their physical and mineralogical properties in a non-destructive way. The analysis revealed that the Chang’e-5 soil grains are generally smaller and have more complex shapes compared to samples collected by earlier US and Soviet missions. By processing the CT images, we determined the approximate composition of the lunar soil: about 46% glass and plagioclase, around 50% pyroxene and olivine, and roughly 5% ilmenite. Based on these findings, they developed a high-fidelity lunar soil simulant called PolyU-1. This simulant closely matches the real lunar samples in both grain size distribution and mineral composition. Using PolyU-1, they conducted tests to measure key mechanical properties of lunar regolith, such as friction angle and cohesion. Understanding these properties is crucial for predicting how lunar soil will behave during landing, drilling, excavation, and other engineering activities on the Moon. Lastly, Dr Qi will discuss potential ways to use materials found on the Moon to support future missions and infrastructure.

Dr. Qi Zhao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). He obtained his PhD from the University of Toronto and subsequently worked as a postdoctoral researcher at both the University of Toronto and UC Berkeley before joining PolyU. He is a recipient of the Leopold Müller Award from the Austrian Society for Geomechanics and the Dr. N.G.W. Cook PhD Dissertation Award from the American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA). In 2021, he was selected as a Future Leader of ARMA. Dr. Zhao is a founding management committee member of the Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations (RCDSE) at PolyU. His research focuses on developing novel geomechanics and geophysics solutions for sustainable urban development and deep space exploration. He is currently participating in the Chang’e-8 project, developing a probe for in situ measurement of the dielectric constant of lunar regolith at the south pole of the Moon.

Date: 28 Aug 2025
Time: 6pm to 8 pm
Venue: Hong Kong Polytechnic University, QR610