Dear Santa

That's like doing a Max Biaggi in a jet fighter... amazing

 

certainly is, and I don't normally get impressed by aircraft gubbins.

 

Are they all between the pilot's legs these days?

At least some used to be at either side of the pilot's head - they
were the handles to a sort of protective hood that the pilot pulled
over his head which also activated the eject mechanism.

 

I think the airframe must be made out of whatever material the pilot's
balls are made of.

 

It wasn't when I bought it.

And the version of that story in the book is far less flowery.

 

There used to be options, above and below. ISTR some either side of the
seat as well. This is partly due (I was told) to there being no way of
knowing what the aircraft's attitude would be, and thus whether the
pilot would be able to resist the g to get to a single handle, IYSWIM

--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS 156 V6 2.5 S2 GT 3.2 V6
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

I wonder whether someone has come up with a zero/zero when the
aircraft is inverted. I think you'd just have a second or so to
realise your time was up.

 

Martin-Baker have come close ISTR.


--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS 156 V6 2.5 S2 GT 3.2 V6
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

M-B experimented with downward ejection for helicopters with a squirt
you sideways and then up.

Lockheed and Boeing tried explosive retaining bolts on the rotor head
before ejection.

 

On Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:10:02 +0100, Mick Whittingham

[...]

And Kamov has implemented it in a production machine, Ka-50 (Hokum/Black
Shark).

 

I've seen a film clip of an ejector seat fired upside down: it had a
vectored thrust motor and righted itself and flew above the launch
point in a remarkably short distance.

 

Some early Russian ones at least had a loop between the legs. There
was an incident where a side-by-side two seater had two sticks: one
for the pilot and a shorter one for the copilot/navigator/whatever.

At rest, powered down, the control surfaces drooped to full climb,
i.e. sticks fully back.

Unfortunately, on one occasion, the copilot's ejector handle got
looped over the stick and as the hydraulics powered up, the stick
pulled forward....

There's also the effect of the supersonic slipstream, but modern seats
are designed to produce a shockwave in front of the occupant. They
have aerodynamic devices to keep the seat facing the right way too.

For details about what the force of the airflow can do to an
unprotected human, read about George F. Smith's ejection in 1955 at
Mach 1.05.

 

Except 'drooped' elevators would be in the full nose-down position,
stick forward...

If they were canards it may be different.

 

Or all-moving tailplanes, which all remotely modern jets use. Note I
said 'control surfaces' not 'elevators'

 

I was thinking Skunkworks, but might have to get a copy of that too.

 

Or even tailererons, which , like an all moving taill. tend to have slightly
more weight in advance of the pivot point to aid tailplane stability and
reduce the forces needed to move it in flight. This has the knock-on effect
of making them droop nose down (back stick) when the plane is unpowered and
in its flaccid state.

--
Beav

VN 750
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