My Fing ID Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Not saying I wouldn't want one if I was actually flying the copter. I most certainly would want one! However, most engagements of mine are under 100m. It seems that by the time I've taken the hit and realize that I'm not going to recover from it, I'm either upside down or sideways or I've already hit the ground. I will say the last time I ejected was a good one, and one that makes me appreciate the zero/zero capabilities of the system. I was hit hard, slowly drifted from about 20 meters down. My right engine was on fire and it was just getting worse. So, from belly on the ground (no time for gear), I ejected. Copter blew up a few seconds later, and my pilot was just standing there, the AAA that got me in plain view now. Anyways, thoughts, great ejection stories? I mean I'd post more but most my stories are sad cases of being rocketed head first into the ground from 30m.
Frazer Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Well, the ejection system saved my life pretty (too) often :D If you have a big bank....yeh, then you are doomed but heck, no ejection system can save you (helo or jet) if you are at 30 meters up side down right? Forum | Videos | DCS:BS Demo1 / Demo2 | YouTube Channel [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
My Fing ID Posted January 20, 2010 Author Posted January 20, 2010 True but that goes to the point, you're flying low in a helo. It seems almost pointless to have it. Again I wouldn't want to fly without, I mean knowing it's there would be a huge comfort, but in my experience it seems almost pointless. Then again maybe I'm just flying too low.
Unicorn0578 Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Well, the ejection system saved my life pretty (too) often :D If you have a big bank....yeh, then you are doomed but heck, no ejection system can save you (helo or jet) if you are at 30 meters up side down right? You got me interested in inverted ejection seats ! :pilotfly: The early F-104 Star Fighter had an upside down that was later changed but this link is worth a read. http://www.916-starfighter.de/Evans_EjectionSeat.htm Dunno if this would save you upside down at 30 meters though.... :helpsmilie:
element1108 Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 True but that goes to the point, you're flying low in a helo. It seems almost pointless to have it. Again I wouldn't want to fly without, I mean knowing it's there would be a huge comfort, but in my experience it seems almost pointless. Then again maybe I'm just flying too low. If you're lower you stand more of a chance to survive. Chopper pilots are taught to land a wrecked bird so hopefully you can auto rotate your way out. Easier said than done of course. If nothing else it's nice to know you have the option. ;).
EtherealN Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Yeah, basically what you'll want to do is learn to do a very quick damage analysis. TrackIR helps here in giving you a quick look around the cockpit to see how severe the damage is. Good SA (Situational Awareness) also helps, since you want to know beforehand if you have terrain ahead of you that allows an autorotation emergency landing. As long as these are in place, your seat will save you a lot of times. I can't recount how many times my virtual behind has been saved by that ejection seat through me having a quick look around, deciding that I can not perform a safe landing, and ejecting. If necesary, it is actually possible to get yourself right-side-up even with several blades lost just to get your zero-zero seat aiming you in the right direction. And remember, even a single rescue from that seat means that you've evaded the loss of several million rubles spent on years of training. It is definitely useful both from a personal and from a strategic level. The trick is to know, as a pilot, what maneuvers you can perform in a stricken bird to ensure that the ejection seat allows you to live instead of just dying outside of your ship as opposed to with it. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Daniel "EtherealN" Agorander | Даниэль "эфирныйн" Агорандер Intel i7 2600K @ 4.4GHz, ASUS Sabertooth P67, 8GB Corsair Vengeance @ 1600MHz, ASUS GTX 560Ti DirectCU II 1GB, Samsung 830series 512GB SSD, Corsair AX850w, two BENQ screens and TM HOTAS Warthog DCS: A-10C Warthog FAQ | DCS: P-51D FAQ | Remember to read the Forum Rules | | | Life of a Game Tester
StrongHarm Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 I was an ejection seat mechanic for some years. My favorite is the Martin Baker MKGRU7a in the F14 (of course, I'm too old to have seen the F22 ACES2). Look it up and check it out. The ejection seat is the most complex mechanical device ever created. Most aren't electrical. It's all fired by small pyro devices that provide a pneumatic burst to valves and actuators. The actuations have to be within a 1/10th of a second tolerance during testing to complete a full cycle of 1300 steps to get the seat safely 200 feet out of the cockpit, with full shute deployment, within three seconds. A lanyard/stabilization system ensures the seat travels in the vertical. I don't remember what the minimum inverted ejection altitude is, but I'm sure it's surprisingly low. The ejection seat is so powerful that each time you eject it compresses your spine. US Pilots are grounded or reassigned to transport aircraft after two ejections as their spine can't take another. It's a good thing that this is Early Access and we've all volunteered to help test and enhance this work in progress... despite the frustrations inherent in the task with even the simplest of software... otherwise people might not understand that this incredibly complex unfinished module is unfinished. /light-hearted sarcasm
EtherealN Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Fun (but irrelevant) fact: I learned a lot of that from reading Tom Clancy novels as a kid. :D I took extra enjoyment from the sat pics of Soviet installations included in the edition of Red Storm that I read. Rumor has it that he ended up questioned about his sources for that one. :P [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Daniel "EtherealN" Agorander | Даниэль "эфирныйн" Агорандер Intel i7 2600K @ 4.4GHz, ASUS Sabertooth P67, 8GB Corsair Vengeance @ 1600MHz, ASUS GTX 560Ti DirectCU II 1GB, Samsung 830series 512GB SSD, Corsair AX850w, two BENQ screens and TM HOTAS Warthog DCS: A-10C Warthog FAQ | DCS: P-51D FAQ | Remember to read the Forum Rules | | | Life of a Game Tester
element1108 Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 I was an ejection seat mechanic for some years. My favorite is the Martin Baker MKGRU7a in the F14 (of course, I'm too old to have seen the F22 ACES2). Look it up and check it out. The ejection seat is the most complex mechanical device ever created. Most aren't electrical. It's all fired by small pyro devices that provide a pneumatic burst to valves and actuators. The actuations have to be within a 1/10th of a second tolerance during testing to complete a full cycle of 1300 steps to get the seat safely 200 feet out of the cockpit, with full shute deployment, within three seconds. A lanyard/stabilization system ensures the seat travels in the vertical. I don't remember what the minimum inverted ejection altitude is, but I'm sure it's surprisingly low. The ejection seat is so powerful that each time you eject it compresses your spine. US Pilots are grounded or reassigned to transport aircraft after two ejections as their spine can't take another. +1 :book: I've always thought about ejection seats but never bothered to read up on them all that much! Thanks for that info strongarm!
My Fing ID Posted January 20, 2010 Author Posted January 20, 2010 Fun (but irrelevant) fact: I learned a lot of that from reading Tom Clancy novels as a kid. :D I took extra enjoyment from the sat pics of Soviet installations included in the edition of Red Storm that I read. Rumor has it that he ended up questioned about his sources for that one. :P reminds me of one of the first F22 sims. I heard they generated their own cockpit thinking about how the f22 would be and there were asked if they had some leaked info.
StrongHarm Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Navy Pilot at Nellis workups: Finish that Ejection Seat inspection? My Friend: Yeah it's good to go. Pilot: So you're sure it will work? My Friend: If it doesn't, bring it back and we'll give you a new one. Pilot had to eject over the desert that day. He gave my fellow AME two hugs and a bottle of jack. 2 It's a good thing that this is Early Access and we've all volunteered to help test and enhance this work in progress... despite the frustrations inherent in the task with even the simplest of software... otherwise people might not understand that this incredibly complex unfinished module is unfinished. /light-hearted sarcasm
Bucic Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Navy Pilot at Nellis workups: Finish that Ejection Seat inspection? My Friend: Yeah it's good to go. Pilot: So you're sure it will work? My Friend: If it doesn't, bring it back and we'll give you a new one. Pilot had to eject over the desert that day. He gave my fellow AME two hugs and a bottle of jack. :) F-5E simpit cockpit dimensions and flight controls Kill the Bloom - shader glow mod Poor audio Doppler effect in DCS [bug] Trees - huge performance hit especially up close
element1108 Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Navy Pilot at Nellis workups: Finish that Ejection Seat inspection? My Friend: Yeah it's good to go. Pilot: So you're sure it will work? My Friend: If it doesn't, bring it back and we'll give you a new one. Pilot had to eject over the desert that day. He gave my fellow AME two hugs and a bottle of jack. Time for a book deal my friend! Stop giving them away for free ;)
walker450 Posted January 20, 2010 Posted January 20, 2010 Does anyone know if the ejection seat in the real KA-50 actually shoots the pilot upwards if he ejects upside down or tilted to one side? In videos I've seen of MIG/SU ejections, the ejection seat almost instantly turns and rockets upward if the plane is tilted to one side or the other. The game just shoots you out in a straight line no matter how you are positioned. Speedpad for Inputs | My Simpit | Joystick Damper Mod
Boneski Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Unlike a game where you are looking at stuff on the screen to let you know you are in an unrecoverable situation... In real life you feel. smell and taste when you have a sick bird... The First Second... You fall back on your training and the hours of egress practice... You know and You decide... The Second Second.... You Check the Checklist... Item #1 - If Checking this Checklist... Eject! You pull your own pins for a reason! Navy Pilot at Nellis workups: Finish that Ejection Seat inspection? My Friend: Yeah it's good to go. Pilot: So you're sure it will work? My Friend: If it doesn't, bring it back and we'll give you a new one. Pilot had to eject over the desert that day. He gave my fellow AME two hugs and a bottle of jack. My mission is to fly, fight, and win. o-:|:-o What I do is sometimes get a tin of soup, heat it up, poach an egg in it, serve that with a pork pie sausage roll.
Wags94 Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 US Pilots are grounded or reassigned to transport aircraft after two ejections as their spine can't take another. Are you sure about that? I was reading the book Scream of Eagles by Robert K. Wilcox (A book about the air war in Vietnam and the mistakes the U.S. made that led to the eventual establishment of the Navy Air Warfare school "Top Gun."). Some of the first instructors that were experimenting in finding the F-4 Phantom's 'flight envelopes' ended up ejecting many, many times. I think the most was 5 times. I don't have the book with me, but I'm sure if I took the time to find it and look through it, I could cite some lines from it. Though, don't take this as I'm denying what you've said. Maybe these instructors were lucky? I personally don't know if they have any back issues, maybe they did. I'd imagine getting your spine compressed twice would be enough to harm you. "Don't tell mom I'm a pilot, she thinks I play piano at a whore house."
StrongHarm Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 Yeah I knew a F14 pilot who was flying T39s (basically lear jets for Admirals) because he ejected twice. He missed the 14s so much that he tried to do a barrel role in the T39 and lost his wings hehe (from his chest not his plane). It's a good thing that this is Early Access and we've all volunteered to help test and enhance this work in progress... despite the frustrations inherent in the task with even the simplest of software... otherwise people might not understand that this incredibly complex unfinished module is unfinished. /light-hearted sarcasm
Wags94 Posted January 23, 2010 Posted January 23, 2010 Yeah I knew a F14 pilot who was flying T39s (basically lear jets for Admirals) because he ejected twice. He missed the 14s so much that he tried to do a barrel role in the T39 and lost his wings hehe (from his chest not his plane). Heh, I'd miss F14's too. Heck, I don't even fly them and I miss them! :P "Don't tell mom I'm a pilot, she thinks I play piano at a whore house."
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