JK Swire Annual Dinner & Lecture, Spirit of Innovation

10 Nov 2023

It is that time of the year for our most prestigious event and we were pleased to welcome back Phill O’Dell after he broke the electric plan air speed record in Accel. 

The event was a sellout and made possible by the kind donations from our sponsors Airbus, Boeing, CASL, Cathay Pacific AIrways, GE, HAECO, HAESL & Rolls Royce.

Over 100 guests and members at the New World Millennium Hotel listened to Phill O’Dell talk about his life in aviation, from his time in the military, through to his role as Chief Test Pilot and then Director of Flight Operations for the engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce. The highlight was the ’Spirit of Innovation’, the all-electric aircraft that propelled the joint team from Electroflight and Rolls-Royce to becoming the world record holders for all-electric flight. 

He went on to share the team dynamics intermixed with the techncal aspects of the project.  The world record capped an extraodinary career before retiring from Rolls Royce.