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78-685: Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Limited is a British manufacturer of ejection seats and safety-related equipment for aviation. The company was originally an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection seats. The company's headquarters are in Higher Denham , Buckinghamshire , England, with other sites in France, Italy and the United States. Martin-Baker supplies ejection seats for 93 air forces worldwide. Martin-Baker seats have been fitted into over 200 fixed-wing and rotary types with

156-414: A Martin-Baker ejection seat. The company also partnered with Bremont to produce a limited-edition wristwatch for members of the club. The watch must be purchased privately, though Martin-Baker does subsidize its cost. As of 2019, there are now over 6,000 registered members of the club since it was founded in 1957. In 2011, Red Arrows pilot Flt. Lt. Sean Cunningham was ejected from his Hawk T1 jet on

234-556: A family-run business, run by the twin sons of the late Sir James Martin since Autumn 1979. The factory for building aircraft was established in 1929 by James Martin and "Martin's Aircraft Works" was founded at Denham by James Martin and Captain Valentine Baker with financial help from Francis Francis. The company was building a prototype aircraft, the MB 1, using the design patents for aircraft structures held by Martin. On 17 August 1934,

312-654: A handful of instances, after being forced to ditch in water. The first recorded case was Lt. B. D. Macfarlane of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm when he successfully ejected under water using his Martin-Baker Mk.1 ejection seat after his Westland Wyvern had ditched on launch and been cut in two by the carrier on 13 October 1954. Documented evidence also exists that pilots of the US and Indian navies have also performed this feat. As of 20 June 2011 – when two Spanish Air Force pilots ejected over San Javier airport –

390-567: A large variety of shapes, and whose use in the workflow depends on the part to be machined. CNC machines are becoming the standard due to their speed, precision, flexibility, repeatability, and reduced downtime while changing jobs. Production runs consisting of large numbers of parts are more cost effective and commonly referred to as production work in the trade. Conversely, small production runs are sometimes referred to as prototype or jobbing work. Production engineers use blueprints and engineering drawings to produce detailed specifications of

468-449: A number of aircraft. In 1944, the company was approached by the Ministry of Aircraft Production to investigate ejection systems enabling pilots to bail out safely from high-speed fighter aircraft. Martin-Baker investigated ejection seats from 1934 onwards, several years before Germany and Sweden proposed similar systems in 1938. The company concluded that an explosive-powered ejection seat

546-783: A practical application by a British pilot involved the Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 flying wing experimental aircraft in May 1949. Martin-Baker was a pioneer in expanding the operational envelope of the ejection seat to enable it to be used at low altitudes and airspeeds, leading eventually to development of the " zero-zero " capability in 1961. Martin-Baker Mk.1 Martin-Baker Mk.2 Martin-Baker Mk.3 Martin-Baker Mk.4 Martin-Baker Mk.5 Martin-Baker Mk.6 Martin-Baker Mk.7 Martin-Baker Mk.8 Martin-Baker Mk.9 Martin-Baker Mk.10 Martin-Baker Mk.11 Martin-Baker Mk.12 Martin-Baker Mk.14 NACES (SJU-17) This ejection seat

624-415: A rear-mounted engine (of the twin engines powering the design) powering a pusher propeller located at the aft end of the fuselage presenting a hazard to a normal "bailout" escape—and a few late-war prototype aircraft were also fitted with ejection seats. After World War II, the need for such systems became pressing, as aircraft speeds were getting ever higher, and it was not long before the sound barrier

702-422: A safe landing speed. Thus, prior to the introduction of zero-zero capability, ejections could only be performed above minimum altitudes and airspeeds. If the seat was to work from zero (aircraft) altitude, the seat would have to lift itself to a sufficient altitude. These early seats were fired from the aircraft with a cannon, providing the high impulse needed over the very short length on the cannon barrel within

780-426: A saw cut length of stock or a casting . Producing a part will often require several steps and more than one machine tool. Each machine tool plays a specific role in cutting away excess material. When large numbers of parts are needed, production planning is required to plan the most logical workflow through a series of machines. Computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines are computer-driven tools that can machine

858-484: A solid propellant charge to eject the pilot and seat by igniting the charge inside a telescoping tube attached to the seat. As aircraft speeds increased still further, this method proved inadequate to get the pilot sufficiently clear of the airframe. Increasing the amount of propellant risked damaging the occupant's spine, so experiments with rocket propulsion began. In 1958, the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger

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936-586: A test pilot. The purpose of an ejection seat is pilot survival. The pilot typically experiences an acceleration of about 12–14 g . Western seats usually impose lighter loads on the pilots; 1960s–70s era Soviet technology often goes up to 20–22  g (with SM-1 and KM-1 gunbarrel-type ejection seats). Compression fractures of vertebrae are a recurrent side effect of ejection. It was theorised early on that ejection at supersonic speeds would be unsurvivable; extensive tests, including Project Whoosh with chimpanzee test subjects, were undertaken to determine that it

1014-491: A thousandth of an inch – or 0.0025 mm) for specialty operations. A machinist deals with all facets of shaping, cutting and some aspects of forming metal, although forming is typically a separate trade. The operations most commonly performed by machinists are milling , drilling , turning , and grinding . There are other more specialized operations that a machinist will less frequently be called upon to perform such as honing , keyseating , lapping , and polishing , to name

1092-643: A tubular steel fuselage. It used the Griffon engine driving contra-rotating propellers. Martin-Baker manufactured aircraft components, including retrofit improvements to the ammunition belt feeds for the Hispano Mk II autocannon and armoured seats for Supermarine Spitfires , throughout the Second World War. James Martin also designed and manufactured explosive bolt cutters fitted to bomber wings to cut barrage balloon cables that were fitted to many aircraft and saved

1170-421: A well-developed mechanical aptitude, the ability to correctly use precision measuring instruments and to interpret blueprints, and a working knowledge of the proper parameters required for successfully utilizing the various tools commonly used in machining operations. CNC (computer numerical control) is the modern manufacturing method in which machinist use a form of programming called G-code to make components for

1248-414: A wide variety of industries. CNC programming is a highly skilled position. Programmers are usually machinist as well. A CNC programmer creates programs using software called CAM (computer aided manufacturing). The programmer must be proficient in math, speeds and feeds, machine tooling, work holding, and the different ways various materials react to stress and heat in the machining process. The machine trade

1326-481: Is also used in the T-6 Texan II and F-35 Lightning II . Through-Canopy Penetration is similar to Canopy Destruct, but a sharp spike on the top of the seat, known as the " shell tooth ", strikes the underside of the canopy and shatters it. The A-10 Thunderbolt II is equipped with canopy breakers on either side of its headrest in the event that the canopy fails to jettison. The T-6 is also equipped with such breakers if

1404-595: Is an extremely broad field with a wide variety of workplaces, job duties, and types of work. Most machinists work in machine shops and factories where they operate machinery that produce precision component parts. In general, the occupation is exacting, and requires extensive knowledge of the tools and processes in order to achieve the tight tolerances and surface finishes that these parts specify. Many machinists make mass-produced parts using highly automated computer numerical control machines which are common today, but still require such professionals to set up and calibrate

1482-433: Is designed to safely extract upward and land its occupant from a grounded stationary position (i.e., zero altitude and zero airspeed ), specifically from aircraft cockpits. The zero-zero capability was developed to help aircrews escape upward from unrecoverable emergencies during low-altitude and/or low-speed flight, as well as ground mishaps. Parachutes require a minimum altitude for opening, to give time for deceleration to

1560-512: Is equipped with the NPP Zvezda K-36DM ejection seat and the pilot is wearing the КО-15 protective gear, they are able to eject at airspeeds from 0 to 1,400 kilometres per hour (870 mph) and altitudes of 0 to 25 km (16 mi or about 82,000 ft). The K-36DM ejection seat features drag chutes and a small shield that rises between the pilot's legs to deflect air around the pilot. Pilots have successfully ejected from underwater in

1638-571: Is of no use on or near the ground if aircraft is in level flight at the time of the ejection. Aircraft designed for low-level use sometimes have ejection seats which fire through the canopy, as waiting for the canopy to be ejected is too slow. Many aircraft types (e.g., the BAE Hawk and the Harrier line of aircraft) use Canopy Destruct systems, which have an explosive cord (MDC – Miniature Detonation Cord or FLSC – Flexible Linear Shaped Charge) embedded within

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1716-530: Is one who is called on to fix a problem with a part or to create a new one using metals, plastics, or rarely, wood. Depending on the company, a machinist can be any or all of the titles listed above. Other related fields include Millwrights , quality assurance , and mechanical engineers . In Australia, a related profession is a fitter and turner . A fitter and turner is the tradesperson who fits, assembles, grinds and shapes metal parts and subassemblies to fabricate production machines and other equipment. Under

1794-480: Is similar to that of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft; however the main rotors are equipped with explosive bolts to jettison the blades moments before the seat is fired. The only commercial jetliner ever fitted with ejection seats was the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 . However, the seats were present in the prototype only, and were only available for the crew and not the passengers. The Tu-144 that crashed at

1872-749: Is used by the US Navy and is often designated Martin-Baker NACES (Naval Aircrew Ejection Seat) SJU-17 with a suffix letter for the different variants. Martin-Baker Mk.15 Martin-Baker Mk.16 Martin-Baker Mk.17 Extremely compact and lightweight ejection seat designed with minimise mass and maintenance. Most lightweight ejection seat in Martin-Baker inventory. Martin-Baker Mk.18 The Martin-Baker company uses its own airfield, Chalgrove Airfield , in Oxfordshire for operational testing of ejection seats. In 2016, ejection tests were carried out at Cazaux Air Base ;

1950-518: The Convair F-106 Delta Dart . Six pilots have ejected at speeds exceeding 700 knots (1,300 km/h; 810 mph). The highest altitude at which a Martin-Baker seat was deployed was 57,000 ft (17,400 m) (from a Canberra bomber in 1958). Following an accident on 30 July 1966 in the attempted launch of a D-21 drone , two Lockheed M-21 crew members ejected at Mach 3.25 at an altitude of 80,000 ft (24,000 m). The pilot

2028-604: The Lexan polycarbonate canopy used on the F-16. Soviet VTOL naval fighter planes such as the Yakovlev Yak-38 were equipped with ejection seats which were automatically activated during at least some part of the flight envelope. Drag Extraction is the lightest and simplest egress system available, and has been used on many experimental aircraft. Halfway between simply "bailing out" and using explosive-eject systems, Drag Extraction uses

2106-576: The Advanced Concept Ejection Seat model 2 (ACES II), perform both functions as a single action. The ACES II ejection seat is used in most American-built fighters. The A-10 uses connected firing handles that activate both the canopy jettison systems, followed by the seat ejection. The F-15 has the same connected system as the A-10 seat. Both handles accomplish the same task, so pulling either one suffices. The F-16 has only one handle located between

2184-447: The MDC fails to detonate. In ground emergencies, a ground crewman or pilot can use a breaker knife attached to the inside of the canopy to shatter the transparency. The A-6 Intruder and EA-6B Prowler seats were capable of ejecting through the canopy, with canopy jettison a separate option if there is enough time. CD and TCP systems cannot be used with canopies made of flexible materials, such as

2262-486: The Martin-Baker Aircraft Company was formed to continue the work of aircraft development. Martin and Baker designed an unconventional, two-seat, low-wing monoplane design in the early 1930s as the MB 1. This was powered by a de Havilland Gipsy engine mounted in the fuselage behind the seats and driving a fixed pitch propeller through a shaft running horizontally between the pilot and passenger. The project

2340-541: The Paris Air Show in 1973 was a production model, and did not have ejection seats. The Lunar Landing Research Vehicle , (LLRV) and its successor Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV), used ejection seats. Neil Armstrong ejected on 6 May 1968, following Joe Algranti and Stuart M. Present. The only spacecraft ever flown with installed ejection seats were Vostok , Gemini , and the Space Shuttle . Early flights of

2418-463: The Space Shuttle, which used Columbia , were with a crew of two, both provided with ejector seats ( STS-1 to STS-4 ), but the seats were disabled and then removed as the crew size was increased. Columbia and Enterprise were the only two Space Shuttle orbiters fitted with ejection seats. The Buran-class orbiters were planned to be fitted with K-36RB (K-36M-11F35) seats, but as the program

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2496-478: The acrylic plastic of the canopy. The MDC is initiated when the eject handle is pulled, and shatters the canopy over the seat a few milliseconds before the seat is launched. This system was developed for the Hawker Siddeley Harrier family of VTOL aircraft as ejection may be necessary while the aircraft was in the hover, and jettisoning the canopy might result in the pilot and seat striking it. This system

2574-471: The aircrew to escape at airspeeds and altitudes high enough to otherwise cause bodily harm. These seats were designed to allow the pilot to control the plane even with the clamshell closed, and the capsule would float in case of water landings. Some aircraft designs, such as the General Dynamics F-111 , do not have individual ejection seats, but instead, the entire section of the airframe containing

2652-441: The airflow past the aircraft (or spacecraft) to move the aviator out of the cockpit and away from the stricken craft on a guide rail. Some operate like a standard ejector seat, by jettisoning the canopy, then deploying a drag chute into the airflow. That chute pulls the occupant out of the aircraft, either with the seat or following release of the seat straps, who then rides off the end of a rail extending far enough out to help clear

2730-420: The best method involved ejection of the seat with the occupant sitting in it, aided by an explosive charge. After ejection, the pilot would separate from the seat and open his parachute by pulling a ripcord in the usual way. At that time there was little information on how much upward thrust the human body could withstand. Data relating to "g" forces in catapult launching of aircraft involved horizontal thrust and

2808-527: The company's Meteor aircraft testbeds were flown from Chalgrove to France for them. Two Gloster Meteor T.7 aircraft, WL419 and WA638 , remain in service with the company as flying testbeds. Another Meteor ( WA634 ), used in early development of ejection seats, is retained at the RAF Museum at RAF Cosford . Martin-Baker also sponsors an "Ejection Tie Club", producing a tie, patch, certificate, tie pin and membership card for those whose lives have been saved by

2886-570: The crew can be ejected as a single capsule . In this system, very powerful rockets are used, and multiple large parachutes are used to bring the capsule down, in a manner similar to the Launch Escape System of the Apollo spacecraft . On landing, an airbag system is used to cushion the landing, and this also acts as a flotation device if the Crew Capsule lands in water. A zero-zero ejection seat

2964-615: The exception of the Kaman design, the pilot would still be required to parachute to the ground after reaching a safety-point for rescue. The AERCAB project was terminated in the 1970s with the end of the Vietnam War. The Kaman design, in early 1972, was the only one which was to reach the hardware stage. It came close to being tested with a special landing-gear platform attached to the AERCAB ejection seat for first-stage ground take offs and landings with

3042-635: The first aircraft to be fitted with such a system was the Heinkel He 280 prototype jet-engined fighter in 1940. One of the He 280 test pilots, Helmut Schenk, became the first person to escape from a stricken aircraft with an ejection seat on 13 January 1942 after his control surfaces iced up and became inoperative. The fighter was being used in tests of the Argus As 014 impulse jets for V-1 flying bomb development. It had its usual Heinkel HeS 8A turbojets removed, and

3120-491: The first operational military jet in late 1944 to ever feature one, the winner of the German Volksjäger "people's fighter" home defense jet fighter design competition; the lightweight Heinkel He 162 A Spatz , featured a new type of ejection seat, this time fired by an explosive cartridge. In this system, the seat rode on wheels set between two pipes running up the back of the cockpit . When lowered into position, caps at

3198-422: The form of guide rails. The seat was propelled up the guide rails by a gun, consisting of two telescopic tubes energised by an explosive cartridge. The guide rails were provided with ratchet stops every 3 in (76 mm) so that the seat was automatically arrested at the top of its travel. Studies were conducted to find the limits of upward acceleration that the human body could stand. The first dummy shot with

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3276-504: The ground at RAF Scampton . The parachute failed to deploy and Cunningham was killed. On 22 January 2018, company director John Martin entered a guilty plea to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 on behalf of Martin-Baker wherein he admitted that the company had been aware of a technical problem with the ejector seat since 1990, but failed to notify the RAF. The firm admitted

3354-545: The hazard of the T-tail . In order to make this work, the pilot was equipped with "spurs" which were attached to cables that would pull the legs inward so the pilot could be ejected. Following this development, some other egress systems began using leg retractors as a way to prevent injuries to flailing legs, and to provide a more stable center of gravity . Some models of the F-104 were equipped with upward-ejecting seats. Similarly, two of

3432-445: The health and safety breach on the basis it had failed to provide a written warning to the RAF about over-tightening a bolt on the aircraft. Ejection seat A bungee -assisted escape from an aircraft took place in 1910. In 1916, Everard Calthrop , an early inventor of parachutes , patented an ejector seat using compressed air . Compression springs installed under the seat were tested. The modern layout for an ejection seat

3510-492: The late 1960s. Three companies submitted papers for further development: A Rogallo wing design by Bell Systems; a gyrocopter design by Kaman Aircraft ; and a mini-conventional fixed wing aircraft employing a Princeton Wing (i.e. a wing made of flexible material that rolls out and then becomes rigid by means of internal struts or supports etc. deploying) by Fairchild Hiller . All three, after ejection, would be propelled by small turbojet engine developed for target drones. With

3588-503: The losses in men and aircraft in attempts to rescue them. Both services began a program titled Air Crew Escape/Rescue Capability or Aerial Escape and Rescue Capability (AERCAB) ejection seats (both terms have been used by the US military and defence industry), where after the pilot ejected, the ejection seat would fly them to a location far enough away from where they ejected to where they could safely be picked up. A Request for Proposals for concepts for AERCAB ejection seats were issued in

3666-677: The machines. Other more specialised machinists produce custom-made parts for prototyping, repair, or research. A machinist may work on manufacturing something relatively simple like a bracket, or a shaft, or something extraordinarily complex, such as aerospace components accurate to 5 micrometres. Good machinists are highly sought after and respected skilled trades persons and are generally well-paid. In utility, medical, and military use companies, experienced machinists can earn over $ 100 000 per year. Some titles reflect further development of machinist skills such as tool and die maker , patternmaker , mold maker , programmer , and operator . A machinist

3744-596: The machinist title are other specialty titles that refer to specific skills that may be more highly developed to meet the needs of a particular job position, such as fitter (assembles parts), turning hand , mill hand , and grinder . A machinist is usually called upon when a part needs to be produced from a stock material by cutting. Such a part may be unique or may be needed in the thousands. The part could be anything made from metal or plastic, though machined parts are usually ones that require high precision and cannot be produced by other means. Machinists generally start with

3822-701: The meaning of the term suggests the need for specialized handling and/or tooling to machine them effectively. While the foregoing were primarily the materials that a machinist would be cutting, the cutters that the machinist uses must be harder and tougher than the materials to be cut. The materials in the cutters a machinist uses are most commonly high-speed steel , tungsten carbide , ceramics , Borazon , and diamond . Machinists usually work to very small tolerances , usually within 0.010" or 0.25 mm (more commonly expressed as ±0.005" (Plus or minus five thousandths of an inch) or ±0.13 mm), and sometimes at tolerances as low as +/-0.0001" (plus or minus one tenth of

3900-575: The most common materials. Materials that machinists work with occasionally are plastics , rubber , glass , and wood products. Rarely, machinists also work with exotic and refractory metals . The term exotic metals is a general term describing out of the ordinary, rare or special purpose metals. A synonym might be space-age. A list of exotic metals might include, but is not limited to, titanium , beryllium , vanadium, chromium , molybdenum and tungsten , as well as special high-temperature metal alloys like Inconel or Hastelloy ( superalloys ). Very often

3978-508: The most recent being the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II programme. Martin-Baker claimed in 2022 that since the first live ejection test in 1945, a total of 7,732 lives have been saved by the company's ejection seats. Martin-Baker also manufactures what it calls "crashworthy" seats for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. As of 2012, over 20,000 crashworthy seats have been delivered. The Martin-Baker company continues as

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4056-403: The number of lives saved by Martin-Baker products was 7,402 from 93 air forces. The company runs a club called the "Ejection Tie Club" and gives survivors a unique tie and lapel pin. The total figure for all types of ejection seats is unknown, but may be considerably higher. Early models of the ejection seat were equipped with only an overhead ejection handle which doubled in function by forcing

4134-545: The onset of considerable physical discomfort. The first seat was successfully live-tested by Lynch on 24 July 1946, who ejected from a Gloster Meteor travelling at 320 mph (510 km/h) IAS at 8,000 feet (2,400 m) over Chalgrove Airfield in Oxfordshire . The first production Martin-Baker ejection seat, a ' Pre-Mk 1 ', was installed in the Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 prototype. The first use of an ejection seat in

4212-471: The part, especially its geometry (shape), then decide on a strategy to make it. Machine tools are then configured by the machinist and production commences. The machinist works with the quality department to ensure the specifications are maintained in the finished product. Large commercial organizations often staff machinists on site in a maintenance mode to ensure continuing operations of the production machinery. Such machinists can often make replacement parts

4290-527: The pilot to assume the right posture and by having them pull a screen down to protect both their face and oxygen mask from the subsequent air blast. Martin Baker added a secondary handle in the front of the seat to allow ejection even when pilots weren't able to reach upwards because of high g-force. Later (e.g. in Martin Baker's MK9) the top handle was discarded because the lower handle had proven easier to operate and

4368-556: The pilot's knees, since the cockpit is too narrow for side-mounted handles. Non-standard egress systems include Downward Track (used for some crew positions in bomber aircraft, including the B-52 Stratofortress ), Canopy Destruct (CD) and Through-Canopy Penetration (TCP), Drag Extraction, Encapsulated Seat, and even Crew Capsule . Early models of the F-104 Starfighter were equipped with a Downward Track ejection seat due to

4446-872: The same day. Because of this, the labor cost for this role are significantly lower than costs involved with production shutdowns. Additive machining means 3D printing to create industrial components, prototypes, tooling, and end-use production parts. Additive machining comes into its own in the manufacturing of very small intricate parts, which could not be produced through any other manufacturing process. There are several processes in additive manufacturing which include direct metal deposition: electron beam melting, fused filament fabrication, select laser sintering, and variations of them. The most common materials that machinists make parts from are steel , aluminium , brass , copper , and various alloys of these materials. Other less common materials such as vanadium , zinc , lead , or manganese are often used as alloying elements for

4524-456: The seat from the aircraft, then the under-seat rocket pack fires to lift the seat to altitude. As the rockets fire for longer than the cannon, they do not require the same high forces. Zero-zero rocket seats also reduced forces on the pilot during any ejection, reducing injuries and spinal compression. The Kamov Ka-50 , which entered limited service with Russian forces in 1995, was the first production helicopter with an ejection seat. The system

4602-405: The seat loaded to 200 lb (91 kg) was made on 20 January 1945, and four days later one of the company's experimental fitters , Bernard Lynch, undertook the first "live" ride, being shot up the rig to a height of 4 ft 8 in (1.42 m). In three further tests, the power of the cartridge was progressively increased until a height of 10 feet was reached, at which stage Lynch reported

4680-451: The seat. This limited the total energy, and thus the additional height possible, as otherwise the high forces needed would crush the pilot. Modern zero-zero technology use small rockets to propel the seat upward to an adequate altitude and a small explosive charge to open the parachute canopy quickly for a successful parachute descent, so that proper deployment of the parachute no longer relies on airspeed and altitude. The seat cannon clears

4758-487: The six ejection seats on the B-52 Stratofortress fire downward, through hatch openings on the bottom of the aircraft; the downward hatches are released from the aircraft by a thruster that unlocks the hatch, while gravity and wind remove the hatch and arm the seat. The four seats on the forward upper deck (two of them, EWO and Gunner, facing the rear of the airplane) fire upwards as usual. Any such downward-firing system

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4836-456: The structure. In the case of the Space Shuttle, the astronauts would have ridden a long, curved rail, blown by the wind against their bodies, then deployed their chutes after free-falling to a safe altitude. Encapsulated Seat egress systems were developed for use in the B-58 Hustler and B-70 Valkyrie supersonic bombers. These seats were enclosed in an air-operated clamshell, which permitted

4914-402: The technology of helmets had advanced to also protect from the air blast. The "standard" ejection system operates in two stages. First, the entire canopy or hatch above the aviator is opened, shattered, or jettisoned, and the seat and occupant are launched through the opening. In most earlier aircraft this required two separate actions by the aviator, while later egress system designs, such as

4992-461: The top of the seat fitted over the pipes to close them. Cartridges, basically identical to shotgun shells, were placed in the bottom of the pipes, facing upward. When fired, the gases would fill the pipes, "popping" the caps off the end, and thereby forcing the seat to ride up the pipes on its wheels and out of the aircraft. By the end of the war, the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil —primarily from it having

5070-419: Was abandoned due to financial constraints, although the fuselage and engine installation had been completed. Martin-Baker also constructed an autogyro designed by Raoul Hafner . This, their first complete aircraft project, was later tested by Captain Baker at Heston Aerodrome . In 1935, Martin and Baker designed and flew their Martin-Baker MB 1 , a two-seat light touring aircraft. Their first military design

5148-471: Was broken. Manual escape at such speeds would be impossible. The United States Army Air Forces experimented with downward-ejecting systems operated by a spring , but it was the work of James Martin and his company Martin-Baker that proved crucial. The first live flight test of the Martin-Baker system took place on 24 July 1946, when fitter Bernard Lynch ejected from a Gloster Meteor Mk III jet. Shortly afterward, on 17 August 1946, 1st Sgt. Larry Lambert

5226-632: Was canceled, the seats were never used. No real life land vehicle has ever been fitted with an ejection seat, though it is a common trope in fiction. A notable example is the Aston Martin DB5 from the James Bond films , which had an ejecting passenger seat. Fitter (occupation) A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools , and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist should have

5304-648: Was feasible. The capabilities of the NPP Zvezda K-36 were unintentionally demonstrated at the Fairford Air Show on 24 July 1993 when the pilots of two MiG-29 fighters ejected after a mid-air collision. The minimal ejection altitude for ACES II seat in inverted flight is about 140 feet (43 m) above ground level at 150 KIAS, while the Russian counterpart – K-36DM has the minimal ejection altitude from inverted flight of 100 feet (30 m) AGL. When an aircraft

5382-581: Was first introduced by Romanian inventor Anastase Dragomir in the late 1920s. The design featured a parachuted cell (a dischargeable chair from an aircraft or other vehicle). It was successfully tested on 25 August 1929 at the Paris-Orly Airport near Paris and in October 1929 at Băneasa , near Bucharest . Dragomir patented his "catapult-able cockpit" at the French Patent Office. The design

5460-452: Was perfected during World War II . Prior to this, the only means of escape from an incapacitated aircraft was to jump clear ("bail out"), and in many cases this was difficult due to injury, the difficulty of egress from a confined space, g forces , the airflow past the aircraft, and other factors. The first ejection seats were developed independently during World War II by Heinkel and SAAB . Early models were powered by compressed air and

5538-457: Was recovered successfully, but the launch control officer drowned after a water landing. Despite these records, most ejections occur at fairly low speeds and altitudes, when the pilot can see that there is no hope of regaining aircraft control before impact with the ground. Late in the Vietnam War, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy became concerned about its pilots ejecting over hostile territory and those pilots either being captured or killed and

5616-453: Was the Heinkel He 219 Uhu night fighter in 1942. In Sweden, a version using compressed air was tested in 1941. A gunpowder ejection seat was developed by Bofors and tested in 1943 for the Saab 21 . The first test in the air was on a Saab 17 on 27 February 1944, and the first real use occurred by Lt. Bengt Johansson on 29 July 1946 after a mid-air collision between a J 21 and a J 22. As

5694-458: Was the Martin-Baker MB 2 , a Napier Dagger –powered fighter that flew in 1938. It was a private venture to meet Air Ministry Specification F.5/34 for a fighter for service in the tropics. The MB 2 was tested but neither it nor other designs to F.5/34 were adopted. The Martin-Baker MB 5 which first flew in 1944 had started out as the second MB 3 prototype but was extensively redesigned with

5772-456: Was the best solution. In particular, Baker's death in 1942 during a test flight of the MB 3 affected Martin so much that pilot safety became his primary focus and led to the later reorganisation of the company to focus primarily on ejection seats. In 1944, James Martin was asked by the Ministry of Aircraft Production to develop methods for fighter pilots to escape their aircraft. Martin decided that

5850-452: Was the first aircraft to be fitted with a rocket-propelled seat. Martin-Baker developed a similar design, using multiple rocket units feeding a single nozzle. The greater thrust from this configuration had the advantage of being able to eject the pilot to a safe height even if the aircraft was on or very near the ground. In the early 1960s, deployment of rocket-powered ejection seats designed for use at supersonic speeds began in such planes as

5928-473: Was the first live U.S. ejectee. Lynch demonstrated the ejection seat at the Daily Express Air Pageant in 1948, ejecting from a Meteor. Martin-Baker ejector seats were fitted to prototype and production aircraft from the late 1940s, and the first emergency use of such a seat occurred in 1949 during testing of the jet-powered Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 experimental flying wing . Early seats used

6006-399: Was therefore inapplicable to the new problem. Tests would have to be conducted to find out how much upward "g" force a person could tolerate. These were done by shooting a seat up a near-vertical path, loading the seat to represent the weight of the occupant, and measuring the accelerations involved. A 16 ft (4.9 m) test rig was built in the form of a tripod, one of the legs being in

6084-571: Was towed aloft from the Erprobungsstelle Rechlin central test facility of the Luftwaffe in Germany by a pair of Messerschmitt Bf 110 C tugs in a heavy snow-shower. At 7,875 ft (2,400 m), Schenk found he had no control, jettisoned his towline, and ejected. The He 280 was never put into production status. The first operational type built anywhere to provide ejection seats for the crew

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