How ejecting works on 2 or more seater planes?

[Godzila]

I always wondered how ejecting works. Is it synchronised? I mean if one of the crew pulls the handle will both (or more) eject, or every seat works for itself.

 

I couldn`t find anything smart by google, try searching for "How ejecting works" :megalol:

[Neon67]

depends of the aircraft , but normally it's separated

[guitarxe]

It is? What if a crew member is injured/unconcious and is unable to eject themselves?

[joey45]

For bigger [more then 2 seats] planes only the pilots have ejecter seats, as they are the last ones out. For 2 seaters it's normaly seperated but I believe it could be synced......maybe?.

[G00dnight]

in the hawk for instance, the crew will each make ready then one of them normally the captain will initiate the ejection for both crew, all this can take literally sec's.

[Ktulu2]

I know the F15E is separated (or D maybe??)

he wouldnt have told his navigator to eject if it was synced I guess (and theres other videos of similar events)

2cd edit XD Also see the F15 pilot who survived supersonic ejection

Edited July 9, 2014 by Ktulu2

[Emu]

For some reason this triggered memories of one incident when a Tornado navigator fell through the canopy during a roll because his seat wasn't properly secured. Not exactly ejecting though.

[Aginor]

There were certainly planes where it wasn't synchronized. Chuck Yeager recounts a story where two test pilots (in a F-104 IIRC) had a crash landing. The guy in back ejected (he would have been killed otherwise) and the pilot didn't (he would have been killed otherwise).

 

About the Tornado: I think I read somewhere that it was synchronized. And I _think _that's the more common case.

 

EDIT:@Ktulu2: I think he just told him so that he was prepared. That's important to not hurt yourself during ejection. I can hardly believe the F-15 would allow one of its pilots to sit in a jet without a canopy, where a guy with rockets on his butt just flies out in front of you.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Aginor

[Sceptre]

Ka-52 is synchronised :)

[Emu]

About the Tornado: I think I read somewhere that it was synchronized. And I _think _that's the more common case.

Daily Mail but the story actually is pretty accurate.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1322184/Tornado-navigator-fell-450mph-plane-died-fliers-unaware-safety-checks.html

[Scrim]

I think he just told him so that he was prepared. That's important to not hurt yourself during ejection. I can hardly believe the F-15 would allow one of its pilots to sit in a jet without a canopy, where a guy with rockets on his butt just flies out in front of you.

 

Would certainly make sense. I can't imagine that you'd fare too well in an ejection if you're still grasping your stick and throttle, clicking buttons, etc.

 

On the other hand though, when I read Robin Old's biography, he did mention how one of his friends was killed in S Vietnam flying an F-4 IIRC, where the GIB ejected before him and he remained.

[Aginor]

Daily Mail but the story actually is pretty accurate.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1322184/Tornado-navigator-fell-450mph-plane-died-fliers-unaware-safety-checks.html

 

As you said before: He didn't eject. So that story isn't an indication whether there is anything synchronized or not. Poor guy. :(

 

EDIT: @Sceptre: All helis that provide ejection seats are (I guess). There isn't any sense in leaving somebody in a helicopter which had its rotor blades blown off a second ago.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Aginor

[whiteladder]

It depends on the aircraft, for example on the Phantom there was 3 ejection sequences, Dual from the front seat, and from the rear seat Dual or Single (i.e. only the rear seat) which was selectable via a valve.

 

In the dual mode the rear seat was ejected 1.39 seconds before the front seat.

 

The f14 had a similar system in both cases not matter what the pilot did it always performs a dual ejection.

Edited July 10, 2014 by whiteladder
update info

[Aginor]

It depends on the aircraft, for example on the Phantom there was 3 ejection sequences, Dual from the front seat, and from the rear seat Dual or Single (i.e. only the rear seat) which was selectable via a valve.

 

In the dual mode the rear seat was ejected 1.39 seconds before the front seat.

 

The f14 had a similar system in both cases not matter what the pilot did it always performs a dual ejection.

 

I remember that as well. I just have no clue from what source.... Perhaps the book "Palace Cobra" by Ed Rasimus?

[whiteladder]

Also in the F14 as well as there being a short delay between the ejection of each seat, the rocket nozzles on each one are canted in different directions, so that one seat goes to the left and the other to the right.

[Python]

Interesting discussion, I've always wondered if it was optional to eject individually or not, I figured if the guy in the front pulls, both would be ejected but possibly not if the rear guy gets out.

[Jona33]

F-15E is synchronized I think, in the book "Strike Eagle, Flying the F-15 in the gulf war" I think a navigator described thinking "I better put a mayday call out" but was up the rails before he had a chance as the other guy pulled the handles.

[Python]

For some reason this triggered memories of one incident when a Tornado navigator fell through the canopy during a roll because his seat wasn't properly secured. Not exactly ejecting though.

 

I've never heard of this incident, the Pilot is from my home town also and the victim close by. Poor guy.

[ff4life4]

 

IIRC, GIB was on a joyride, and when flipped upside down, paniced and grabbed first thing he could find

Edited July 10, 2014 by ff4life4

[ff4life4]

http://www.vfp62.com/F14_RIO.html

 

Story

[whiteladder]

 

IIRC, GIB was on a joyride, and when flipped upside down, paniced and grabbed first thing he could find

 

 

There is almost an exact same Tornado story, a sergeant who was just about to retire from the RAF was taken on a checkflight, he initiated a accidental dual ejection and the aircraft was lost.

[Pepec9124]

Not exactly a good source but few years back I was watching JAG it was shown there that you can eject RIO from front seat and so on.

 

F-14

[Milli]

In the Tornado, there is a Command Ejection lever in the rear navigators cockpit. It can be set to BOTH or REAR.

 

When set to BOTH, either the pilot or the navigator can initate an ejection, resulting in both crew members being ejected. The navigator is ejected a fraction of a second before the pilot, regardless of who initiated the ejection.

 

When set to REAR, both pilot and navigator will be ejected if the pilot initiates the ejection,(again, navigator first followed by the pilot). BUT, if the navigator initiates an ejection, only he/she will be ejected, leaving the pilot in the plane.

 

As far as I know, its standard operating procedure to set it to REAR. This is because, as has happened in the past, it prevents the navigator ejecting both aircrew accidentally. During a sortie, while the navigator had his head in the office, the pilot initiated an extreme manoeuvre, at low altitude, to avoid a mid-air collision, (with an A-10 funnily enough). The navigator thought, wrongly, that the aircraft was out of control and immediately ejected. As the command ejection lever was set to BOTH, both pilot and himself were ejected. They left a perfectly flyable, multi-million pound war plane to to crash into the ground. Both aircrew were ok, but it was a bit of a cockup.

 

Regards,

Milli

[xaoslaad]

Surprised no one mentioned the accident that killed one of the first female Tomcat pilots. The 0.4 second delay it took for her to eject after the RIO was ejected was enough to kill her as the plane became inverted in that amount of time:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Hultgreen

 

After aborting the approach, Hultgreen selected full afterburner on the remaining engine, causing an even greater asymmetry. This, combined with a high angle of attack, caused an unrecoverable approach turn stall and rapid wing drop to the left. The radar intercept officer (RIO) in the rear seat, Lieutenant Matthew Klemish, initiated ejection for himself and Hultgreen as soon as it was apparent that the aircraft was becoming uncontrollable. First in the automated ejection sequence, the RIO survived. However, by the time Hultgreen's seat fired 0.4 seconds later, the plane had rolled past the horizontal and she was ejected downward into the water. She was killed instantly. The entire event unfolded in less than 20 seconds.

[Aginor]

Not exactly a good source but few years back I was watching JAG it was shown there that you can eject RIO from front seat and so on.

 

F-14

 

I'm pretty sure that's just how the TV guys roll. I don't know any system that allows one crew member to eject the other but not himself.

(doesn't the same thing happen in some movie where the guys fly some bomber?)

But hey, James Bond also ejected from a Tiger helicopter, which doesn't even have an ejection system in real life AFAIK. :D