hi-speed ejections

It's not the Mach number but the air blast, measured by indicated
airpeed in the cockpit, that hurts you. It's also known as 'Q' force,
or ram air pressure. FWIW the SR71 Q limit is low enough so serious
injury is unlikely. OTH that's also why a lot of fighter e-seats have
straps to restrain one's legs and prevent flailing. As far as I know
all seats will fire on command; the ejectee takes what conditions
exist when he wants out. FWIW I personally know a man who ejected from
an F104A (lost all hydraulics at 35000 and 1.5) going almost straight
down at 1.3 M at 25,000. The Lockheed C2 seat with its leg and arm
restraints prevented him from receiving serious injury! OTH a lot of
F4 and F105 pilots were seriously injured at high IAS (550+) ejections
prior to the seats being fitted with leg restraints. Now I guess it's
only the crews' arms that get flailed . .i.e. bent back beyond
physiological limits by the high-speed air blast.
Walt BJ

"WaltBJ" wrote in message
om...
It's not the Mach number but the air blast, measured by indicated
airpeed in the cockpit, that hurts you. It's also known as 'Q' force,
or ram air pressure. FWIW the SR71 Q limit is low enough so serious
injury is unlikely.

That's what the SR-71 pilot said. Because of the low pressure
at altitude, it is equivalent to approx. 246 knots at sea level.
So they eject without a capsule - but with a pressure suit
inflated to 4.5 psi. That is the same pressure as in the
cockpit, so it is limp until they eject.

He passed on another interesting tidbit. They warmed
their lunch by holding it against the windshield,
which was about 300 degrees F at speed.

I've been meaning to ask - what good books on the Blackbird would the group
recommend? I'm looking more for personal accounts than statistics.
Thanks,
Steve R.


"WaltBJ" wrote in message
om...
It's not the Mach number but the air blast, measured by indicated
airpeed in the cockpit, that hurts you. It's also known as 'Q' force,
or ram air pressure. FWIW the SR71 Q limit is low enough so serious
injury is unlikely. OTH that's also why a lot of fighter e-seats have
straps to restrain one's legs and prevent flailing. As far as I know
all seats will fire on command; the ejectee takes what conditions
exist when he wants out. FWIW I personally know a man who ejected from
an F104A (lost all hydraulics at 35000 and 1.5) going almost straight
down at 1.3 M at 25,000. The Lockheed C2 seat with its leg and arm
restraints prevented him from receiving serious injury! OTH a lot of
F4 and F105 pilots were seriously injured at high IAS (550+) ejections
prior to the seats being fitted with leg restraints. Now I guess it's
only the crews' arms that get flailed . .i.e. bent back beyond
physiological limits by the high-speed air blast.
Walt BJ

On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 05:10:31 GMT, "Steve R."
wrote:

I've been meaning to ask - what good books on the Blackbird would the group
recommend? I'm looking more for personal accounts than statistics.
Thanks,
Steve R.

Probably the best personal account is Brian Shul's "Sled Driver".

Here's a link to Amazon, but the book is apparently out of print and
the one used copy available seems to be priced with either a typo or
bound in rare Corinthian leather.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

Brian was with me at Holloman flying the AT-38. He's a dynamic and
courageous guy who was badly burned in SEA in a T-28 accident in Laos.
He's written several books and an Amazon inquiry on his name will turn
them up.

Check your library for Sled Driver and explore Inter-Library-Loan to
maybe find a copy.



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8

Ed Rasimus wrote:

On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 05:10:31 GMT, "Steve R."
wrote:



I've been meaning to ask - what good books on the Blackbird would the group
recommend? I'm looking more for personal accounts than statistics.
Thanks,
Steve R.



Probably the best personal account is Brian Shul's "Sled Driver".

Here's a link to Amazon, but the book is apparently out of print and
the one used copy available seems to be priced with either a typo or
bound in rare Corinthian leather.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

Brian was with me at Holloman flying the AT-38. He's a dynamic and
courageous guy who was badly burned in SEA in a T-28 accident in Laos.
He's written several books and an Amazon inquiry on his name will turn
them up.

Check your library for Sled Driver and explore Inter-Library-Loan to
maybe find a copy.



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ategory=11 27

At the moment, one third of what Amazon wants.

Cool, thanks everybody. )
Steve R.


"Ed Rasimus" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 05:10:31 GMT, "Steve R."
wrote:

I've been meaning to ask - what good books on the Blackbird would the
group
recommend? I'm looking more for personal accounts than statistics.
Thanks,
Steve R.

Probably the best personal account is Brian Shul's "Sled Driver".

Here's a link to Amazon, but the book is apparently out of print and
the one used copy available seems to be priced with either a typo or
bound in rare Corinthian leather.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...075567940/sr=1
-5/ref=sr_1_5/104-3382927-1689542?v=glance&s=books

Brian was with me at Holloman flying the AT-38. He's a dynamic and
courageous guy who was badly burned in SEA in a T-28 accident in Laos.
He's written several books and an Amazon inquiry on his name will turn
them up.

Check your library for Sled Driver and explore Inter-Library-Loan to
maybe find a copy.



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8

Both Blackbird Rising, 1999, ISBN 0-9673327-0-2, 1999 and SR-71, "The Secre
Missions Exposed' 2000 (paperback), ISBN1-84176-098-6 are some pretty good
reading for what your looking for.
Toby
9th AMS EMR/ECM
Beale AFB/Kadena AB
1972-1975

"Steve R." wrote in message
...
I've been meaning to ask - what good books on the Blackbird would the
group
recommend? I'm looking more for personal accounts than statistics.
Thanks,
Steve R.