Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!clyde.concordia.ca!nstn.ns.ca!news.cs.indiana.edu!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: baldwin@cad.usna.mil (J.D. Baldwin) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Ejection seats Message-ID: <1991Feb6.030358.19257@cbnews.att.com> Date: 6 Feb 91 03:03:58 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 36 Approved: military@att.att.com From: "J.D. Baldwin" bxr307@csc.anu.edu.au (Brian Ross) writes: >> [quoting Alan Hepburn] >> There's been talk recently about the injuries of the Allied POWs being >> caused by the act of ejecting from their planes. Some people have >> said that some planes are designed such that the pilot must eject through >> a closed canopy. It seems to me that a canopy designed to withstand >> air pressures of supersonic flight would be extremely difficult to >> punch through with a slow-moving seat, or head. Does anyone out there >> have any real data on this? Can a pilot survive a punch out through >> a canopy? > > Most modern, high-speed aircraft now have ejector seats which force >their way through the canopy. > [various excellent discussion of methods deleted] Not that it qualifies as "high-speed" by most standards, but the mighty S-3A Viking, carrier-based ASW jet, punches its four aircrew through the canopy. Though the canopy is rigged with "det cord," it is not used in the ejection sequence (it is there only for the purpose of "blowing" the canopy independent of ejection). Instead, the top of the ejection seat is equipped with a "breaker bar" which simply punches a hole in the canopy, about half a millisecond before one's head. I recall that this made me very, very nervous, but I know several men who've done it, and it wasn't an issue. -- From the catapult of: |+| "If anyone disagrees with anything I _,_J. D. Baldwin, Comp Sci Dept |+| say, I am quite prepared not only to _|70|___:::)=}- U.S. Naval Academy|+| retract it, but also to deny under \ / baldwin@cad.usna.navy.mil |+| oath that I ever said it." --T. Lehrer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~