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From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Safe upside-down ejection
Message-ID: <1991Feb5.040315.4061@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 5 Feb 91 04:03:15 GMT
References: <1991Jan27.112624.29486@cbnews.att.com> <1991Jan28.040434.9658@cbnews.att.com> <1991Feb4.052409.15206@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker)
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
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From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
>From: urbanf@yj.data.nokia.fi  (Urban Fredriksson)
>>With a modern ejection seat, the chances that you will survive without
>>serious injury during a 'normal' ejection (not upside-down-low-altitude...
>
>  In fact, you CAN eject upside-down-at-low-altitude quite
>  safely, PROVIDED the velocity vector points above the horizon.

Actually, even that isn't necessary with the best modern seats.  The latest
Martin-Baker seats can land you safely from an ejection in level flight,
upside-down, at 100 feet!  Note also the MiG-29 seat that landed Anatoly
Kvotchur bruised but intact after ejecting in a near-vertical dive at
under 200 feet during the Paris Air Show.
-- 
"Maybe we should tell the truth?"      | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
"Surely we aren't that desperate yet." |  henry@zoo.toronto.edu   utzoo!henry