Ejection Seat

n ejection seat is a complex piece of equipment with a sim­ple aim: to save pilots’ lives by propelling them out of airplanes that are damaged and unable to land safely. Ejection seats are used in warfare-they are not found on civilian aircraft. They have saved hundreds of pilots’ lives.

How It Works

Aircraft crew members sit in ejection seats during normal flight. The seat has
the basic parts of bucket, back, and headrest as well as some special features. Ejecting at supersonic speed subjects the human body to forces in excess of 20g (twenty times the force of normal gravi­ty). The seat, therefore, is designed to protect the body from g-force and from debris. Once clear of the airplane, a parachute opens.

A combat pilot may have to eject because of engine failure or a collision with another aircraft, or after being hit by missile attack. The process has to be quick. To activate the ejection seat, the pilot can do one of two things: pull a handle attached to the seat or pull down a small curtain that will protect the pilot’s face. The pilot’s action begins a sequence that removes the canopy from the cockpit and sends the seat (which is mounted on rails) shooting up and away from the airplane. It is catapulted clear by a ballistic cartridge working with a rocket unit fitted underneath the seat. Once clear of the air-

О In 2003, Captain Christopher Stricklin ejected from a Thunderbird aircraft less than a second before it hit the ground at an air show in Idaho. The pilot had miscalculated a maneu­ver and knew he could not save the aircraft. He ejected after guiding the jet away from the crowd of more than 60,000 people and was not himself injured.

plane, a small drogue parachute opens to slow the seat before the main descent parachute deploys. The pilot can discard the seat before landing.