EJECT!

Thunderbird F-16 cockpit video of ejection at Mountain Home AFB crash.

http://www.razorsedgesoft.com/eject.mpg

Dean Wilkinson wrote:
Thunderbird F-16 cockpit video of ejection at Mountain Home AFB crash.

http://www.razorsedgesoft.com/eject.mpg
WOW!

He was really close to the ground when he bailed out. Is there a minimum
altitude to eject? Doesn't look like it. I guess it is better to nurse
some broken bones then die in the wreckage. Thanks.

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL
Student-IA

Dean Wilkinson wrote:

Thunderbird F-16 cockpit video of ejection at Mountain Home AFB crash.

http://www.razorsedgesoft.com/eject.mpg

In article , Jon Kraus wrote:
He was really close to the ground when he bailed out. Is there a minimum
altitude to eject? Doesn't look like it. I guess it is better to nurse
some broken bones then die in the wreckage. Thanks.

I believe the modern Martin-Baker ejector seats are 'zero zero' capable
(i.e. you can eject at zero feet, zero airspeed) and have been for some
time.

Minor name dropping: the Ronaldsway Aircraft Company, just 5 miles from
where I live, makes these for MB. They have some amazing pictures on
their walls inside the plant. My favorite is the one which (from the
photographer's point of view) must have been the result of serendipity:
a nicely framed (photography wise, not what it's mounted in!) picture of
a man on a tractor, looking around behind him in awe. He's looking
around in awe becase an English Electric Lightning (50s era twin jet
interceptor) is pointing _straight down_, maybe at 300 feet or so, with
the gear down, and the pilot ejecting, his parachute just starting to
open.

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"

Actually, the seat in the F-16 is an Aces II, not a Martin Maker. While it
is zero-zero, this does not count for a downward flight vector. As I recall,
the parameters for insuring a good chute are around 2000 feet agl in
controlled flight, and 8-10,000 feet in uncontrolled flight. Also, the most
common cause of fatal accidents is due to delayed ejection.

I have around 60 hours in the back of F-16's as a flight surgeon, and our
recurrent training always emphasized these numbers.

Also, the most
common cause of fatal accidents is due to delayed ejection.

Er, doesn't that go without saying? ;-)

No, not necessarily. The decision to eject may have to be made pretty
quickly and decisevely. If you spend too much time trying a restart or
troubleshooting you could be out of the envelope for a safe ejection. Even
though the Aces II has a great track record, it can be a easy to delay
ejection over water, at night, etc.

As an example, we had a flap light come on while enroute to a range carrying
live bombs. The pilot dropped the bombs over the range, and then we briefed
the emergency procedures in case the plane departed controlled flight. The
area surrounding the home base was very desolate, and certainly not very
inviting. Landing in a river or lake would probably not have been
survivable, and the prospect of a parachute landing in a heavily forested
area was not too appealing either. Luckily, everything worked out fine on
landing, although the emergency vehicles following us down the runway was
pretty impressive.

In article ,
Dylan Smith wrote:

I believe the modern Martin-Baker ejector seats are 'zero zero' capable
(i.e. you can eject at zero feet, zero airspeed) and have been for some
time.

My younger brother, an AF jet mechanic some decades ago, told me of an
accidental/unintentional ejection *inside a hanger* -- pretty horrific
mangling of the mechanic who triggered it.

I suppose this has probably happened more than once . . .

"AES/newspost" wrote in message


My younger brother, an AF jet mechanic some decades ago, told me of an
accidental/unintentional ejection *inside a hanger* -- pretty horrific
mangling of the mechanic who triggered it.

Kinda related: I had a cousin die while trying to safe an ejection seat.
Apparently, he was on the ladder leaning over the edge of the cockpit to
engage the safety. Either as he moved to step down or while he was working
in the cockpit (nobody is quite sure on that point), he somehow engaged the
canopy.

It was a closed casket funeral.

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/tknoFlyer
__________

"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
...
He was really close to the ground when he bailed out. Is there a minimum
altitude to eject? Doesn't look like it. I guess it is better to nurse
some broken bones then die in the wreckage. Thanks.
Most modern seats, are 'zero zero' rated. This means you can eject at zero
feet, and zero mph. However this is degraded when you are descending fast.
What amazes me more, is how low some designs will allow you to eject
inverted!... Some now have an 'any atitude' ejection ability once you are in
excess of a couple of thousand feet. Given the speeds you could be doing,
and the different directions possible, this is really scarey.

Best Wishes

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL
Student-IA

Dean Wilkinson wrote:

Thunderbird F-16 cockpit video of ejection at Mountain Home AFB crash.

http://www.razorsedgesoft.com/eject.mpg