Lifting the canopy - Bolts that are filled with an explosive charge are detonated, detaching the canopy from the aircraft.An underseat rocket motor provides the force that lifts the crewmember to a safe height, and this force is not outside normal human physiological limitations, according to documents from Goodrich Corporation, a manufacturer of ejection seats used by the U.S. These leg restraints are designed to protect the crewmember's legs from getting caught or harmed by debris during the ejection. As the seat rides up the guide rails, a leg-restraint system is activated. Pulling the ejection handle on a seat sets off an explosive cartridge in the catapult gun, launching the ejection seat into the air. The exact amount of time depends on the seat model and the crewmember's body weight. Ejecting from a plane takes no more than four seconds from the time the ejection handle is pulled. When a crewmember lifts the pull handle or yanks the face curtain down on the ejection seat, it sets off a chain of events that propels the canopy away from the plane and thrusts the crewmember safely out. Zero-zero ejection - This is an ejection on the ground when the aircraft is at zero altitude and zero airspeed.Vernier rocket - Attached to a gyroscope, this rocket is mounted to the bottom of the seat and controls the seat's pitch.Underseat rocket - Some seats have a rocket attached underneath to provide additional lift after the catapult lifts the crewmember out of the cockpit.Rocket catapult - This is a combination of a ballistic catapult and an underseat rocket unit.Recovery sequencer - This is the electronic device that controls the sequence of events during ejection.This curtain also holds the pilot's head still during ejection. Face curtain - Attached to the top of some seats, pilots pull this curtain down to cover his or her face from debris.Environmental sensor - This is an electronic device that tracks the airspeed and altitude of the seat.Egress system - This refers to the entire ejection system, including seat ejection, canopy jettisoning and emergency life-support equipment.Others may be less than 2 feet (0.6 m) in diameter. A drogue parachute in an ACES II ejection seat has a 5-foot (1.5-m) diameter.

Drogue parachute - This small parachute is deployed prior to the main parachute it designed to slow the ejection seat after exiting the aircraft.Catapult - Most ejections are initiated with this ballistic cartridge.Canopy - This is the clear cover that encapsulates the cockpit of some planes it is often seen on military fighter jets.Bucket - This is the lower part of the ejection seat that contains the survival equipment.These hatches blow just before the ejection seat is activated, giving crewmembers an escape portal.Ī pilot prepares to pull down the face curtain that will launch the ejection seat up the track of the ejection-seat trainer. Those that don't will have escape hatches built into the roof of the plane. 'Egress' means 'a way out' or 'exit.' Another part of the overall egress system is the plane's canopy, which has to be jettisoned prior to the ejection seat being launched from the aircraft. These seats also double as restraint systems for the crewmembers both during an ejection and during normal operation.Įjection seats are just one part of a larger system called the assisted egress system. In some models, the rocket and catapult are combined into one device. In the event of an ejection, the catapult fires the seat up the rails, the rocket fires to propel the seat higher and the parachute opens to allow for a safe landing. At 20 Gs, a pilot experiences a force equal to 20 times his or her body weight, which can cause severe injury and even death. The force of ejecting at those speeds can reach in excess of 20 Gs - one G is the force of Earth's gravity. Following six days of evading capture and eating insects for survival, O'Grady was rescued.Įjecting from an aircraft moving at speeds greater than the speed of sound (mach 1: 750 miles per hour / 1,207 kph) can be very dangerous. Soon after, his parachute deployed and, like 90 percent of pilots who are forced to eject from their aircraft, O'Grady survived the ejection from his F-16. After a loud bang caused by the canopy separating, O'Grady was blasted into the air along with his seat. With the plane disintegrating around him, O'Grady reached down between his knees and grabbed the pull handle of his ejection seat. Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady was helping to enforce the no-fly zone over northern Bosnia on June 2, 1995, when a Bosnian-Serb surface-to-air missile (SAM) struck his F-16.

Fighter jet g force