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You can't make this stuff up: Crazy stories ripped from the headlines

James

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This is something. Guy didn’t know his friends got him a ride in a jet fighter as a surprise retirement gift. Then when the plane took off at a 47 degree angle he panicked, accidentally pulled the ejection seat. It’s unclear why the pilot wasn’t ejected also as it’s suppose to work in pairs.

27103396-8212305-Then_he_shot_out_at_high_speed_losing_his_helmet_that_had_not_be-m-66_1586705211247.jpg


 

dbostedo

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This is something. Guy didn’t know his friends got him a ride in a jet fighter as a surprise retirement gift. Then when the plane took off at a 47 degree angle he panicked, accidentally pulled the ejection seat. It’s unclear why the pilot wasn’t ejected also as it’s suppose to work in pairs.

27103396-8212305-Then_he_shot_out_at_high_speed_losing_his_helmet_that_had_not_be-m-66_1586705211247.jpg


Hmm... the canopy generally flies off when someone ejects... so the wind/buffeting remaining for the pilot must have been intense.
 

James

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Hmm... the canopy generally flies off when someone ejects... so the wind/buffeting remaining for the pilot must have been intense.
27103600-8212305-image-a-67_1586705318785.jpg

I think the canopy is split, but don’t know.
 

Jim McDonald

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I don't know about current-generation tactical fighter aircraft, but I don't see why it would've changed:
As of the F-4 Phantom generation: when the pilot ejects, the GIB is automatically ejected; vice isn't versa, the GIB ejects solo and the pilot chooses to eject or not.
There's a strong odor of hoax about this story. Unless the birthday boy was blindfolded, he had to know he was in a high-performance fighter jet. The photo? YGBSM! That's some amazing timing by someone in a chase plane who had camera in-hand and angled just right to capture that fleeting instant while the Raf was still visible -- I doubt it's even possible.
 

Jim McDonald

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:roflmao:
 

T-Square

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27103600-8212305-image-a-67_1586705318785.jpg

I think the canopy is split, but don’t know.

Whole thing went. Only the windscreen was left. The pilot flew it back with the wind in his hair.
 

James

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I don't know about current-generation tactical fighter aircraft, but I don't see why it would've changed:
As of the F-4 Phantom generation: when the pilot ejects, the GIB is automatically ejected; vice isn't versa, the GIB ejects solo and the pilot chooses to eject or not.
There's a strong odor of hoax about this story. Unless the birthday boy was blindfolded, he had to know he was in a high-performance fighter jet. The photo? YGBSM! That's some amazing timing by someone in a chase plane who had camera in-hand and angled just right to capture that fleeting instant while the Raf was still visible -- I doubt it's even possible.
The plane took off at a 47 degree ascent. That’s like taking an intermediate to the same angle going down. Freak out. Apparently, the flight surgeon had said any maneuver should be under 3g’s, but the pilot didn’t get the message. I doubt he exceeded that anyway.

There were three planes all together, so likely one of the other planes’ cameras took it. It was not a one off joy ride. Pilot has a switch for ejection mode and the circuit didn’t function in the dual setting it was in.

Happened last year!

The incident which happened in March 2019 near Saint Dizier, France had led to a part of the FAF Rafale fleet being grounded.

 

Jim McDonald

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While the aircraft seats have individual levers to initiate ejection, the pilot has a switch to select either single or dual ejection. On the day of the flight the switch had been set to dual ejection. Yet only the rear seat ejected, preventing what would have been a major accident.

This seems weird, maybe an inexperienced reporter not understanding what he read in the report, or not expressing himself well (or an inept copyeditor screwing it up).
But read it again, it's talking about the pilot's selector switch, not the GIB's.

Fair enough, I was a bit sloppy in my earlier comment: the GIB ejects solo and the pilot chooses to eject or not
To be more precise, as I recall, the GIB's selector is eject only the GIB (the checklist default) or eject both (in case the pilot is incapacitated). The pilot's selector is eject both (the checklist default? I'm not sure), or only the GIB.

In case of dual ejection, the GIB's seat goes out first, followed a fraction of a second later by the pilot's (to prevent the blast from the pilot's seat frying the GIB).

Perhaps the French do it differently, but this sounds like a monumental screwup in which for some unfathomable reason the GIB's selector was set in dual ejection mode and this wasn't checked and confirmed reset to single mode before takeoff (with a civilian ride-along :eek: ) and then the system (fortunately) also failed?

Inconcevable! -- unless that word doesn't mean what I think that word means.

OK, I can buy the photo given new info that it was a three-aircraft simultaneous takeoff (with plane cameras rolling) and the ejection came within seconds.

No ex-fighter jocks on PugSki to give a genuinely informed comment?
 

Jim Kenney

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That's a tall 5 year old if he could reach everything.

Happened in Ogden, made big news out here yesterday :) He drove two miles onto an interstate. Was weaving all over and going only 32 MPH. But successfully pulled over for the cop and there was no damage to car. They think it wasn't his first joy ride.

Kid is big for his age (5). A person with a real Lambo came by his house today to give him a safer joy ride.
merlin_2776270.jpg

merlin_2776278.jpg
 

oldschoolskier

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I don't know about current-generation tactical fighter aircraft, but I don't see why it would've changed:
As of the F-4 Phantom generation: when the pilot ejects, the GIB is automatically ejected; vice isn't versa, the GIB ejects solo and the pilot chooses to eject or not.
There's a strong odor of hoax about this story. Unless the birthday boy was blindfolded, he had to know he was in a high-performance fighter jet. The photo? YGBSM! That's some amazing timing by someone in a chase plane who had camera in-hand and angled just right to capture that fleeting instant while the Raf was still visible -- I doubt it's even possible.
A parent friend from the swim world got eject from an F-4 as a civilian. He volunteered when he was 16.

Apparently though not well know the US Air Force tests its ejector seats, the plane goes up with no canopy and the victim (volunteer) is ejected at the pilots command. Reason it is done this way is to protect the subject and Pilots are only allow to eject twice upon which they are retired because of spine compression (pilots are expensive to train so volunteers are used). Yes there are a lot more details he shared. If he is on this group, cheers.

If it was a training aircraft likely the dual eject from the non-pilot seat was de-actived for just such a reason. Despite all initial training for new jet jockeys, one does not know how they will react to the forces on the first flight.
 
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Jim McDonald

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I didn't know about the volunteer testing, very interesting.
I remember hearing pilots say you lose an inch of height (spin compression) on each ejection.
 

oldschoolskier

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I didn't know about the volunteer testing, very interesting.
I remember hearing pilots say you lose an inch of height (spin compression) on each ejection.
Thats what I thought, until he told how it all happened. Considering the source I’d mark this up as true, told by someone else most likely not.
 
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John Webb

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here in Minnesota we say hold my beer and listen to this.
We have two towns in Northern Minnesota called Fertile and just down the road is Climax.
There was a story in a local paper that read. Fertile woman dies in Climax. You just can't make this stuff up.
 

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