F-ZeroOne Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 I saw a programme the other day that featured Martin-Baker, the ejector seat company. It featured an amazing aircraft fact that I'm going to set as a little challenge for the aviation-minded on this fourm... ...what aircraft do Martin-Baker, in the UK, use for low-level ejection seat testing? MB are going to be working on the JSF programme, so must be something pretty advanced, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vespaeda Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Hmmm, tempting... I dunno...a helicopter?! A sailplane or Miles Magister? I bet something goofy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noriko Takaya Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 I've heard of the term "Martin-Baker Fan Club". If you eject from a fighter using one of their seats, you become a member. An official list of members is maintained on all pilots who have ejected using M-B's seats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight26 Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 (edited) THey use either a Gloster Meteor or an F-4 Phantom, I don't remember which. Edited July 21, 2005 by Knight26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellohikaru Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Its the Gloster Meteor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-ZeroOne Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 (edited) Knight26 and HelloHikaru share the honours - its a Gloster Meteor! According to Martin-Baker, its the oldest operational jet fighter known to be in service, and in case you're wondering, its used for low-level ejection seat testing because it has two centifrugial compression jet engines that are highly resistant to bird strikes. This is what we Brits do while waiting for Lockheed to put the JSF on a diet - whats been referred to as "Must Refurbish Canberras Again"... Edited July 21, 2005 by F-ZeroOne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vespaeda Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Great gugga-mugga! A 'Meat-Box'...I had heard that before I think. Sooo many planes, so many possibilities. Boy, did I encounter something very humbling this week. Any of you in the Central CA area who are aviation enthusiastes(most MW'lders) may have seen the news report of 2 S'Hornets lost in a mid-air over China Lake region. 2 crewmen survived, one unfortunately didn't(thoughts of encouragement for his family & squadron). This happened about Sat/Sun. Search crews took a day or so to rescue them and they were hospitalized for a couple days. At about noon in our clinic, one of them came walking in as part of health/recovery check-ups. This poor guy looked as if he had been used as a punching bag about the head & face for an hour by 80's era Mike Tyson!!! Both eyes/sockets were freezer-meat,purple bruises & bloodshot and head area soft tissue were swollen & yellow like Palpatine/Sidious transformation. Otherwise he was very composed & erect in stature. I felt somewhat ashamed because I was in a hatchway(doorway) talking to a coworker and turned to listen for my desk phone ringing when my eyes directly met his face. Not expecting to see him in front of me, my shock at his appearance was fully visible to him; I'm sure he'd been getting it since returning, especially from us mere deck-bound mortals. I've read about & heard "Wings! Ch." testimonials on ejection injuries, but seeing it brought home understanding. All those jaunty action movies(Maverick in the water, Will Smith in ID4,BehindEnemyLns) don't come close to detailing the trauma! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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