Ejection seat aircraft
other
Ejection seat aircraft

Ejection seat aircraft

 

Earlier, we discussed procedure bailout from the aircraft.

Ejection seat - a special device which is intended to rescue the pilot or the crew of the aircraft in complex emergencies. Such seats are operated mainly in sports and military aircraft. Furthermore, the first helicopter in which established the ejection seat was Ka-50.

The most advanced models of chairs provide optimum viability of the pilot at all altitudes and speeds of the aircraft, even if the bailout is committed to the earth. Besides aircraft ejection seats were installed on the spacecraft "Vostok". Their operation was provided in emergency situations and for a touchdown in a regulatory environment where the flight was completed.

Ejection seat aircraft scheme

1 - Header; 2 - anti-roll bar; 3 - pyroechanism of the stabilization system; 4 - belt buckle of the operating mechanism of pulling the shoulder straps; 5 - blade of the hand limiter; 6 - belt buckle of the operating mechanism of belt pulling; 7 - the handle of the mechanism of the operational attraction of waist belts; 8 - the mechanism of operational attraction of waist belts; 9 - armchair; 10 - buttons of the seat adjustment system; 11 - the handle of emergency inclusion of oxygen; 12 - NAZ; 13 - limiter of the foot; 14 - lodgement of shins and legs; 15 - lodgement mechanism of lifting legs; 16 - deflector guard; 17 - the handle of the bailout; 18 - locking the locking system; 19 - fixation system; 20 - the rig; 21 - free ends of the parachute system

There are several schemes disconnecting ejection seat from the aircraft, but the most commonly refers to the firing chair using a jet engine (K-36DM), compressed air (Su-26) Powder charge (KM 1M). After the shot is offline discarded, and the pilot landed on the ground on a parachute. In some embodiments, used rescue cabin (B-1) or capsule (B-58), are lowered by parachute.

Background design ejection seat

Until the second half of World War II, the pilot left the cockpit as follows: you had to get out of the seat, step over the side, get to the wing and jump into the gap between the tail and the wing. This method could be used at speeds of 400-500 km / h. But the aircraft industry did not stand still, and by the end of World War II, aircraft speed limits had grown significantly. Using the same principle of leaving the plane, many pilots died or could not even budge, since a strong air flow was coming towards them.

bailout plane

According to German statistics, for the period from the late 30s and early 40s, in 40% of cases, leaving the aircraft in the above way ended in disaster for the pilot. In the United States, the Air Force also conducted studies that showed that 45,5% of departures in this way resulted in pilot injuries, and 12,5% ​​- in death. There was an obvious need to find a new way to leave the plane. A throw-away pilot seat was a suitable option.

History

Experiments with a forced release of the pilot of the aircraft were carried out back in 20-30-ies, but their purpose is to address the fear of pilots before "jumping into the void." In 1928 in Cologne at the exhibition presented a system that performs ejection of pilots in a chair with a parachute. The release was carried out on 6-9 meters with compressed air.

In 1939 in Germany were first catapult. Experimental Aircraft Heinkel He-176 was equipped with a bow discharged part. A little later catapult began to produce commercially. They began to set on the turbojet Heinkel not-280 and piston not Heinkel-219. In January 1942 years Gelmunt Schenk (test pilot) made the first successful bailout. In addition, ejection seats was set at other German planes. Over the entire period of the Second World German pilots made about 60 bailout.

The first generation of ejection seats were developed with a single mission - to throw a man out of the cockpit. Distanced himself from the aircraft, the pilot had to unfasten the straps to disengage the seat and open the parachute.

Catapult chair

Ejection seat of the second generation began to appear in 50-ies. During the evacuation of the airplane partially participated automatic. All you had to do - pull the lever. Shooting pyrotechnic mechanism threw a chair and injected parachuting stage: first stabilizing and then brake and then the main parachute. Easy Automation has been able to lock height and time delay.

The third generation appeared after 10 years. Chairs began to complement solid rocket motors that work after disconnecting from the seat of the cab. They supplied a new automation. The first chair of this generation were developed in the NPP "Star" and possessed a gun parachute CPA, which connects with the plane 2 pneumatic tubes and tuned to the altitude and speed.

Current models of catapult seats - British Martin Baker Mk 14, the American McDonnell Douglas ACES 2 and Russian K-36DM. December 10 1954, Colonel D. P. Stapp Air Force Base Holloman suffered record overload - 46,2 g. Test pilot D. Smith 1955 for the first time made a bailout at supersonic speed.

The sequence of operations for the bailout.

Click to view.

Almost all aircraft ejection seat drive is supervised by a pilot. But there are some types of aircraft, in which the function of thought forced ejection of the crew commander of the aircraft (Tu-22M). In Russia, there is only one aircraft (VTOL Yak deck-38), equipped with a fully autonomous system bailout. The system itself is watched dangerous regimes during the flight, and if necessary without the desire crewmen throws it.

Manufacturers

To date, the production of ejection seats still involved US companies and McDonnell Douglas Stencil and British Martin Baker. In Russia, such chairs creates only NPP "Star". In practice, the Soviet Union will catapult chair designed by a certain type of aircraft.

Ejection seat airplanes in space

Quite often the question arises - why ejection seats are not installed in airliners. There are several reasons:

Assemblies and components of aircraft

  1. The majority of air accidents occur during take-off and landing, and it was then, when the bailout is not enough passengers or the flight altitude or time.

  2. The military aircraft before the moment of ejection leans cabin windows. While in commercial aircraft would have to drop ceiling.

  3. Ejection seat is ejected by means of a jet engine or a powder charge, whose work often led not only to the injury of neighboring passengers, but also to their murder.

  4. When the body of the pilot bailout subjected to extreme forces that are safe only when the pilot receives the correct posture and the palm rest and head.

  5. At altitude, the air temperature and pressure are much lower than on the ground. Lightning depressurization of an aircraft in such conditions is not only dangerous, but also fatal. Therefore, for ejection, pilots put on special high-altitude helmets and suits and use oxygen masks.

  6. Assume that all of the above points did not affect the health of passengers, but the process of descent with a parachute is quite complex and requires certain skills that are highly practiced in training and specialized training. Also, if the passenger will go down on the trees, the water or the mountains, not the fact that he could stay alive.

  7. The stringent requirements of aviation security led to the fact that the number of serious accidents and accidents compared to successful flights is negligible. Considering the dimensions of the aircraft itself with additional components, the installation of ejection seats is already negated. If for each passenger such seats were mounted, the weight and volume of the aircraft would greatly increase. In turn, this would lead to an increase in the amount of fuel used, and accordingly, to an increase in the cost of the flight itself.       

Blog and articles

upstairs