The Ejector Seat

_Tombstone_

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150521-the-rocket-powered-life-saving-seat

With a bang and a roar, ejector seats in planes have saved thousands of lives. Paul Marks charts their remarkable development.

arubex

The Martin-Baker rocket-sled test track is at Langford Lodge, former airfield a few miles from Belfast International.

The company's King Air is a frequent visitor.

b757

It didn't save Goose!

Growler!!!

Saved a well known flight instructor in Cork

marketty

I follow Martin Baker on LinkedIn, they regularly post stories from ejectees about their ejections, and every ejectee gets a number. Their seats have saved 7472 lives. Great bit of kit.

Tenger

marketty wrote: »

I follow Martin Baker on LinkedIn, they regularly post stories from ejectees about their ejections, and every ejectee gets a number. Their seats have saved 7472 lives. Great bit of kit.

They get lifetime membership in " The Martin Baker Club"
I read their website a couple of months ago. All the stories from the ejectee's. I think 2-3 guys are actually double members!!

Razor44

Tenger wrote: »

They get lifetime membership in " The Martin Baker Club"
I read their website a couple of months ago. All the stories from the ejectee's. I think 2-3 guys are actually double members!!

And a tie Tenger! Don't for get the tie! I strayed on there a few mths ago,pretty interesting

tricky D

A neighbour of mine got his membership, though his instructor landed it.

http://www.martin-baker.com/_pdfs/escape_magazine.pdf

pg 4

Alaba320

Growler!!! wrote: »

Saved a well known flight instructor in Cork

Who? Was it TB?

pepe the prawn

Alaba320 wrote: »

Who? Was it TB?

GH I would think

Nforce

Alaba320 wrote: »

Who? Was it TB?

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=55539

Growler!!!

Alaba320 wrote: »

Who? Was it TB?

If it was TB he's telling you porkies:D

Pepe is correct, if you ask nicely he'll tell you about it. Or at least the bits he remembers I think it was Flameout, load bang, cold wind and pressure on his harness.

Alaba320

Growler!!! wrote: »

If it was TB he's telling you porkies:D

Pepe is correct, if you ask nicely he'll tell you about it. Or at least the bits he remembers I think it was Flameout, load bang, cold wind and pressure on his harness.

Ah I thought it would be between them two.

Fratton Fred

I had a job interview once at their factory in Denham. They have a sign in reception with a running total of the number of lives their seats have saved. They are incredibly proud of what they do.

Difficult place to get in to as well, people don't often leave.

_Tombstone_

PUNCHING OUT: THE STORY OF EJECTOR SEATS

_Tombstone_

F-35 Ejection Seat Fears Ground Lightweight Pilots

Concerns about increased risk of injury to F-35 pilots during low-speed ejections have prompted the US military services to temporarily restrict pilots who weigh less than 136 pounds from flying the aircraft, Defense News has learned.

During August tests of the ejection seat, built by Martin-Baker, testers discovered an increased risk of neck injury when a lightweight pilot is flying at slower speeds. Until the problem is fixed, the services decided to restrict pilots weighing under 136 pounds from operating the plane, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, F-35 integration office director, told Defense News in a Tuesday interview.

Thargor

tricky D wrote: »

A neighbour of mine got his membership, though his instructor landed it.

http://www.martin-baker.com/_pdfs/escape_magazine.pdf

pg 4

What a story, cant believe I never heard that before...

triggermortis

Slightly OT but I remember years ago, when I was in the Air Cadets in UK, we got a cockpit section of a Venom. It was parked up on a trailer and a mate and I were messing in it and he pulled one of the handles on the seat I was sat on. Some mechanical timer whirred and we both jumped out each side in total panic. Nothing else happened as the seat had been deactivated, but it was one time in my life I was genuinely afraid for my life, and everyone else thought this was hilarious. Went on to join the RAF as a technician, but never got to work on anything with bang seats on apart from the old trainer aircraft in basic training ( Canberra, Lightning, Hunter and Gnat)

Pat Dunne

Thargor wrote: »

What a story, cant believe I never heard that before...

When we were on the Boards A&A Forum tour of Baldonnel in August. I happened to ask to one of flight engineers had anyone from the Air Corps, ever joined the "Martin Baker Club" and without hesitation he told me this very story.

Stovepipe

Trigger Mortis' whirring sound was probably the hood mechanism on the older seats. When the pilot pulled the hood down over his face, the firing sequence started and several mechanical devices operated to pull the pilots' legs back from the pedals, blow off the canopy, start the main ejection gun firing sequence and prepare the parachute drogue for it's deployment. All of this happened in under a second.Most of these mechanical devices used clockwork or rods and gears to actuate and the seats, up to about the 80s, were entirely mechanical, with no computers and very little electronics.