Gizmodo
If you are a hard core combat flight simulator pilot with a spare $15,560, this completely-restored 1957 Mk. 5 ejection seat is a must. Manufactured by legendary Martin-Baker, who started work on ejection seats in 1934, this model can withstand 40 G deceleration loads and includes a canopy breaker for planes like the Grumman 9F-8T Cougar, one of the many air fighter that used it. The only bad thing is that it doesn't come "fully dressed," with cushions and harness, as you can see in the photo of the original seat after the jump.
The British manufacturer Martin-Baker started work on ejection seats before the Germans and Swedes developed them, entering service during World War II. It was Martin-Baker, however, the company that perfected the downward-ejecting systems operated by a spring. Their first test happened in 1946, when a factory fitter ejected from a Gloster Meteor MkIII at 320mph and 8,000 feet over Oxfordshire.
The Mk. 5 seat was installed in the Grumman Cougar, as well as other classic fighter planes like the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, the F-8 Crusader, the Grumman A6 Intruder or the F11 Tiger.
Grumman Cougar
The Mk. 5 used an ejection gun mechanism, obviously not present in this restored seat which comes mounted on a stainless steel base.
And yes, your wife will love you if you get one. But only if you let her put some nice petit-point cushions on it. [Martin-Baker, WIkipedia, 1stdibs via Born Rich]
Comments
Saaaaaaawhhhheeeeet. Not gonna spend 15k but sweet non-th-less.
Hell fixed wing pilot seems to be one of the few places I shine in the FPS games I play that involve vehicles like the BF series.
not wishing to sound like a smart ass, but in one program for the RAF Harrier training system we had to put the deactivated seat in a training vehicle - the price was then close to $1mill. But that was because the unit had to function exactly like the real thing (to save the pilots life) whicch costing more than 5 million+ to train is then of value.
The seat is an actual aircraft - when you think about it. The high Mach escape systems were the most amazing vehicles, XB-70 SR-71, etc.
The technology behind ejection systems is impressive.
Reading about it could take as much time as reading about aviation itself, practically!
The f 104's downward firing system is interesting.
Hell that whole plane is something else...
@strider_mt2k: Yeah I always loved the Star-fighter ever since dad took me to see the Right Stuff when it came out in the theater. Dad was pissed because we went to the late show, and I don't think he realized it was over 3 hrs....
the XB-70 capsule - to stop your face getting ripped off by the air blast...
[www.ejectionsite.com]
If I ever have a kid, that is what his/her car seat will look like.
Oh, and with the actual ejector, just in case junior decides to get too out of control.
This early version of the ejection seat is not the most fun ride you'd ever experience. It shot pilots out of the cockpit at over 9Gs, more than double what modern aviators experience. On top of that, you had to manually blow the canopy first, or you'd be blasted into a big piece of plexiglass that doesn't shatter cleanly. Scary, scary stuff...
@strider_mt2k: That's because Lockheed's Advanced Development Programs Unit made it. ;)
That, and the P-38, P-80 U2, RS-71, F-117, F-22, and the F-35 JSF. Not to mention hundreds of others that never left the design phase, or were canceled otherwise.
Oh, I heart Habu. :)
I know a lot of parents that will consider this as a way of ejecting their ageing chicks from the nest.
Very very cool. Hell I don't play FPS or Flight sims and I want one.
Pricey... you can get used seats far cheaper than that, and more modern ones as well - typically around $5k for a seat with everything minus rockets and shine...
@shenanigans61: All winners in my book too!
(armchair aviation enthusiast)
@DeadWriter: Now it's just a matter of convincing them to sit in that chair.
I thought I recognized that first seat. It's the same one used in the CF100 and the legendary CF105 Arrow.
Good thing it has the canopy breaker, don't wanna be playin MS Flight Sim and end up like Goose.
PS: To close for missiles, I'm switching to guns.
If I am not mistaken, Russians were using system with metal flange in front for ejection from glorious fighter-jet at 900 of your miles-per-hours. Such a system, I am beliving, was for true heroes of revolution. In Russia, plane is ejecting you!
I like it, the only downside is you have to play all flight sim games under a specially installed skylight big enough to fit through in case you're landing in bad weather, or get shot down in a game. Good motivation to improve your pilot skills though.
@Hello_Newman: Rig it to fire you through the skylight and into the pool. Hell, I'd pull the handle all day long.
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