Ejection... Cutting it fine

[NutLoose]

Large photo of its final moments.

http://theaviationist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Crash-at-D%C3%ADa-de-la-Aviaci%C3%B3n.jpg

The trainer was only 4 months old,

The image was taken by Erwin Fuguet Gedde at Maracay-El Libertador airbase, Venezuela, where the Venezuelan Air Force was celebrating its 92 Anniversary with the Día de la Aviación.It depicts a Hongdu K-8 Karakorum (a two-seat intermediate jet trainer and light attack aircraft designed in China) about to crash into the ground near the airport, moments after the two pilots onboard had safely ejected from the doomed jet.

Engine failure and trying to get it back to the field?

Film here, gets interesting about the 1 minute mark, both crew survived but one of the chutes does not appear to fully deploy before he touches down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln_J-1mYJ8E&sns=em

The Cougar scrambled to rescue the K8 crew also went in but the crew of that survived as well

Plane, Helicopter Crash During Venezuela Air Show | World | RIA Novosti (http://en.rian.ru/world/20121128/177786487.html)

They also lost a pair of Broncos practicing for the same show sadly killing one of the pilots and injuring 3 a week earlier at the same place..

[P6 Driver]

Impressive stuff, ejecting that low!

[Onceapilot]

Glad if they survived!
Reminds me of the old (modified) "eject in time" poster....Wimp, Good decision, Unlucky!


OAP

[NutLoose]

Appear to have and seen reports that they did

ASN Aircraft accident 27-NOV-2012 Hongdu K-8 Karakorum (http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=150901)

Bloody good advert for the seats.

[ORAC]

High key, screwed it it up....

[NutLoose]

Photographer posted this on Facebook

I took this photo today in the afternoon when Venezuelan Air Force was celebrating its 92 Anniversary. I saw the aircraft flying over the vertical of the airbase in a low flight pass. I guessed that the plane had a mechanical failure and I started to followed with my camera, as soon as the pilots ejected I took the photo.... — with Carlos Bethencourt.

[dead_pan]

Intrigued to know whether the actual ejection caused the violent pitch down of the K-8?

[500N]

dead pan

It certainly looks that way in the video (2nd Ejection seat firing).

[Warmtoast]

There's a higher definition still photo here:
Today's Photos, Wednesday - November 28th, 2012 - Page 2 (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?220443-Today-s-Photos-Wednesday-November-28th-2012/page2)
(Post No. 25)

[Sir George Cayley]

The RAF poster I saw at Valley said - Lucky, Dead Lucky, Dead:hmm:

SGC

[Buster Hyman]

The trainer was only 4 months old,
That's too young to fly, let alone train someone else! :=

[MightyGem]

Impressive stuff, ejecting that low!
"OK Bloggs, we're in the poo. Don't eject yet. Wait for my call, it'll look dead impressive" :E

[dead_pan]

Intrigued to know whether the actual ejection caused the violent pitch down of the K-8?

Would it be desirable for an a/c to fly on (providing it can) once ejection has taken place e.g. if the pilot points the a/c away from a built-up area prior to ejecting?

[ShyTorque]

Probably close to the stall when they ejected, and probably why they ejected.

[Madbob]

Good job it did pitch down; if it had glided just a little further the crew would have been caught in the fireball.....:eek::eek::eek:

MB

[Wallah]

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTzC9bOaXJksrg-0sPGxGZJfM4LOs--Co2TcRQjHVQU0p_HktNpXg

You still have to go a long way to beat this.

[Courtney Mil]

Did the double ejection cause the aircraft to pitch down? Interesting answers there. Of course it did. Newton's Third Law of Motion.:rolleyes:

[P6 Driver]

"OK Bloggs, we're in the poo. Don't eject yet. Wait for my call, it'll look dead impressive" :E

Well it was an airshow!
(Once an entertainer, always an entertainer)

[Fareastdriver]

Newton's Third Law of Motion.

It reminds me of the technique for recovering from the stall in the Gloster Javelin. With a delta wing and high tail one could get to a situation where the tailplane was blanked off by the mainplane. If a normal recovery didn't work you ejected the navigator. The recoil of the high powered seat would pitch the nose down and normal flight would be recovered.
That was a case where navigators were really useful.

[BOAC]

I trust you told the nav where he was before you punched him out?:)

[Marcantilan]

That was a case where navigators were really useful.

:D:D:D:D:D

[BOAC]

Back on track.............
Did the double ejection cause the aircraft to pitch down? - I suggest it far more likely that the 4 year old trainer was pulling back on the stick like no tomorrow to 'stretch that glide, man' and strange things happen when you let go to pull the handle. Not forgetting, of course, probably rocket seats.

Out of passing interest, my BoI calculated I had 1/2 second left when I pulled the handle. Thought I was a gonner, guv.

[ExAdvert]

"The RAF poster I saw at Valley said - Lucky, Dead Lucky, Deadhttp://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/yeees.gif

SGC"

I remember this poster... it was either "Eject in time" or "Abort in time" with 3 pictures of a Hawk getting progressively closer to a cloud-covered mountain. The first had the aircraft aborting nice & early, the second quite late & the third not at all. The captions were "Dead Easy", "Dead Lucky" & "Dead....." to which some smart*rse had added ".....Punchy"

Funny but...... :ooh:

Oddly enough the FSO didn't see the funny side.

[galaxy flyer]

I know how you feel, BOAC!. I got out of the flaming bundle of wreckage of an A-10 at about 400'. My margin was also measured in tenths of a second.

GF

[Agaricus bisporus]

Any word on what happened to he helicopter?

4 crashes for one airshow...is there something the Venezuelans are't doing right?

[SOSL]

It has been done. Wyton, Canberra, Primary school - and many others all good aviators.

Rgds SOS

[John Farley]

Did the double ejection cause the aircraft to pitch down? Interesting answers there. Of course it did. Newton's Third Law of Motion

Sorry young man I can't agree with you there. The force from the seats is only applied for very small fraction of a second so the nose down velocity resulting from the acceleration would not be measurable. Hardly time for Mr N to realise he was involved.

I would expect the aircraft was probably out of trim nose down when they let go of the stick but even if it wasn't loosing the canopy would cost a lot of lift from the front end.

JF

[Ewan Whosearmy]

BOAC and Galaxy Flyer

Do tell us more!

[BOAC]

Sorry, don't have the time....................:)

[Courtney Mil]

The force from the seats is only applied for very small fraction of a second so the nose down velocity resulting from the acceleration would not be measurable.

The time for which the force is applied is short indeed, but the force is huge. Huge enough to propel the seats and occupants out of the aircraft very quickly. Impulse=force x Dtime. The impulse isn't trying to accellerate that whole aircraft downwars (in this case) it is just applying a derotational force to two points well forward of the c of g - quite a long moment.

Therefore, a bag-seat will impart sufficient force to the aircraft to cause it to pitch down. If the force act long eonugh to accellerate the seats, it has time to act on the aircraft too. Newton never sleeps. Old Chap.

[BOAC]

Do we know if they were rocket seats? If so, the force is not that big.

[Courtney Mil]

Agreed, BOAC. Rocket only seats behave very differently. Biggest pitch down from a pure bang seat, less from banng and rocket, virtually none from rocket only.

The two ejection gun barrels sticking out of the aircraft suggest there is a bang involved, backed up by my belief that it's fitted with a variant ofthe MB Mk10.

So the Third Law would apply. Twice.

[BOAC]

Indications are that the seat is an 'HTY-7A rocket ejection seat' - 'rocket-assisted'. (I still believe my and JF's explanation for the pitch down is the most likely - ie trim.)

[Courtney Mil]

Well, I suppose if the pilot wasn't a QFI the aircraft MAY have been very slightly out of trim, which could ADD to the ejection pitch-dow.

[BOAC]

He was only 4 years old - give him a break!

[Arcanum]

This in cockpit video of a hawk ejection from a few years ago shows the nose being forced down during ejection. Still had about 140-kts on the HUD at ejection time.

Bird Strike and Ejection in a Hawk Jet - YouTube

[John Farley]

I must remember to ask MB why it does not happen with their test Meteor. Or for that matter why it did not happen with the test Canberra of SME Flight at RAE in the 50s (talk about a gun). 'Spect they will say we did not fit the canopy and the gun barrel is/was only pressurised for a terribly short time. Hey ho.

[Fareastdriver]

In that case why does a .45 pistol hurt my wrist so much when I pull the trigger.

A 170lb pilot leaving an aircraft on a Mk 3 seat leaves the end of an 8 foot gun at 80 ft/sec. That is a 25G acceleration. 25X170 lbs is a 4,250 lbs force at the front of the aircraft. That is 2 tons hitting it in 1/10th of a second. It used to, as has been proved, moved Javelins.

Fly something like a B25 Mitchell and have a 4,000lb bomb inadvertantly land on your cockpit. You would certainly notice that.

MB , and others, had the advantage of expecting it

[rigpiggy]

cause your limpwristed. :p

[wiggy]

That is 2 tons hitting it in 1/10th of a second. It used to, as has been proved, moved Javelins.

On the other hand there are certainly plenty of instances of aircraft continuing to fly some considerable distance after a crew member has ejected, even using a pure gun seat (e.g. The "Tintagel Hunter" and the Lightning that had to be abandoned off Valley with a gear problem at Valley in ?'79), so perhaps at reasonable air speeds the pitch down is not as pronounced as one would think - best I leave the theory behind that to the likes of JF.

OTOH a gun/rocket seat firing certainly produces a jolt and a lot of noise but doesn't always produce a large pitch down.

MB , and others, had the advantage of expecting it

Well FWIW I wasn't .......:oh: even so the aircraft didn't dramatically didn't pitch down..and in fact it kept going for several miles.

[wiggy]

To be fair though, given the mental distractions and existing priorities at the actual moment, I'll bet that universally after a couple of martini's that's just naturally the first question that comes to mind....

"By the way, did it pitch down?"

Maybe but if you are involved in such an event every millisecond is imprinted on your memory forever - so even after 30 plus years if somebody askes me "did it pitch down?" the answer is - no. Was there a "jolt"? - yes.

[newt]

so even after 30 plus years if somebody askes me "did it pitch down?" the answer is - no. Was there a "jolt"? - yes.

I have to agree with wiggy! After 30 years plus I remember it like yesterday and I left the aircraft at 73 feet above the ground. As the seat fired I clearly remember seeing the aircraft as I shot away from the cockpit so expect my head was somewhere between my knees!!

The most memorable experience is the total silence after the ejection!:ok:

[Lightning Mate]

The most memorable experience is the total silence after the ejection!

Me too Newt - me too.

[Fareastdriver]

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee224/fareastdriver/Lightningcrash.jpg

This is the classic illustration. Low speed, minimal pitch stability. If the aircraft had been in that attitude before or during the ejection there is no way that he would have survived the ejection.

[Lightning Mate]

Except that it was in that attitude upon ejection.

[BOAC]

Actually, chaps, inferring ANYTHING like that from a still shot automatically enrolls one in the 'armchair' club.

Regarding "Did it pitch down" - the answer is I didn't:-
a) Care
b) Hang around to find out.

See To be fair though, given the mental distractions and existing priorities at the actual moment, I'll bet that universally after a couple of martini's that's just naturally the first question that comes to mind....

"By the way, did it pitch down?" :)

[ORAC]

ALgV4zwRTp0

YcUvtnL5p4Y

[dead_pan]

Blimey, I wish I never asked - 'twas only an observation

ORAC - that Harrier pilot deserves a chestful of medals for sticking with the wreck for so long. He only stepped out when flames were licking around the cockpit. For fear of getting another kicking from those far more experienced than I, did I spot an unused Paveway on the outer pylon? ;)

[Flap62]

Runway length would have allowed the brakes to stop it had they not been punched up into the equip bay!

[5Uniform]

Deadpan,

You did indeed squire.

Madbob,

Did you actually watch the video or are you trying to let everyone know how much Harrier knowledge you have?

My point:

At 6sec into the video, you will see that the main landing gear ceases to be attached to the airframe. At 10secs, the nose-wheel ceases to be. Hence your comment...:

"Easy to say after the event, but had he stop-cocked the engine after landing and not used power (against the braking stop) to slow down he might not have ended up ejecting. Runway length was sufficient to stop on wheel brakes alone....."

...is utter tripe. Sorry.

"The flames only appeared after he had selected nozzles to the "braking" stop."

Is this factually correct or your armchair opinion? Seems like the latter to me. Why/how did the flames appear then? On what basis do you make that comment?

Again, if you watch the video with maybe 1 eye open, I suspect the airframe, including fuel tanks, stores and a pod dragging along the KAF runway has more to do with it than your theory (which also includes the wheels still being attached btw).

Madbob, apologies for being harsh. I rarely post on this forum, but people posting factually incorrect information and (whether intentionally or unintentionally) stating it as fact is a dangerous game and too often it ends up in the press.:=

Done.

5U

[Lightning Mate]

Nicely put 5U.

LM (Martin Baker Club).

[500N]

LM


Agree. I was wondering how Mabob's brakes worked when the wheels
were no longer attached !

I was also going to point out the landing gear separating
but then decided if he couldn't see the LG flying off, not
much hope.

[500N]

LM

What is the real story with the Lightning ejection photo posted above.

A link is fine if it has already been described.

[Lightning Mate]

It was test pilot George Aird and a Lightning F1. He ejected at an incredibly low altitude in Hatfield, Hertfordshire 13th September 1962.

He was on finals for an emergency landing at Hatfield, following a double reheat fire warning which occurred about 15 miles North East of Hatfield.

George was making a normal powered approach, unfortunately he had to position for runway 06 as the wind was from the northeast. His approach to Hatfield was from the NE. The runway was short by Service standards so the manually operated barrier had been erected at the northeast end of 06. At about 10 seconds from touchdown, at about 100 ft, the aircraft suddenly pitched nose up and, since there was no response to the controls, he ejected.

The aircraft crashed on the airfield, broke up and caught fire.

I have photos of the wreckage if you wish.

[500N]

LM

Thanks

I know we have seen a few very low ejections over the last few years
but that was just a really interesting photo I hadn't seen explained
on PP before.

Hope he survived.

[Lightning Mate]

Yes he did.

He sustained several fractures and was flying again six months later.

[RetiredBA/BY]

Was the chute FULLY inflated at the point of touchdown, looks to me like it was not quite full. As he had some airspeed at ejection this does not seem to bode well for a 0/0 ejection. Just curious!


Any news on the Scampton involuntary ejection ?

( MB. Ejectee no.447, Mk 4 seat, face blind hid any sight of pitch down but I do remember the tumbling before drogue chute deployment and the bloody sharp stop after the main chute deployed about a minute later!!)

[Lightning Mate]

Just.

George and the seat went through the roof of a greenhouse.

edit - what did you jump out of then?

Any news on the Scampton involuntary ejection ?

Do you mean the red Hawk?

[RetiredBA/BY]

JP4, XP635 April 1963.

[Lightning Mate]

Jaguar XX828 I June 1981.

Interesting that there are now four club members on this thread. :)

[BOAC]

The tractor picture

118 Squadron - Personnel 002 George Aird (http://www.rafjever.org/118sqnper002.htm)

[ORAC]

He was on finals for an emergency landing at Hatfield, following a double reheat fire warning which occurred about 15 miles North East of Hatfield. IIRC, the Lightning had a long history of double engine fires caused by fuel pipe failure leading to the accumulation of fuel and fire in the lower rear fuselage.

Several pilots were lost due to the fire burning through the control rods when on finals to land, so the instructions changed so that in the event of double engine fire lights the aircraft was to be held in a safe area until either the lights went and a recovery could be attempted or until fuel exhaustion or loss of control necessitated ejection.

[chute packer]

Another late ejection after running out of options.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yhbBQqbORs

[Ivor Fynn]

Five, Torn GR1, ZA607 (on the ground) 23 Aug 91.

Ivor

[Lightning5]

Indeed many LIghtnings were lost to to reheat bay fires. Main culprit were Frs fuel couplings located in the reheat bays. The control rods were modified from aluminium to stainless steel, giving the pilot a little more time to act before the fire " melted" the rods. Our procedure with any fire, was to climb to an acceptable height to assess the situation, and poop the fire bottles. If the fire was still indicating, MB letdown. The Lightning was notorious for in flight fires.

[Lightning Mate]

The Lightning was notorious for in flight fires.

Was it ever!!

[Monsun]

Yes, it's all in the boo......as they say over on the Flypast forum :)

[Tankertrashnav]

Often wondered who took that Lightning photo. It obviously wasn't taken by an amateur out with his box Brownie - did there just happen to be a professional with a good camera around. Anyone know?

Thanks for the detail of the accident L-M and for the link BOAC, greenhouses seem to be a popular landing spot post aircraft abandonment (see Edward Fox in The Battle of Britain)!

[Drainpipe]

The Lightning photo was taken by a man by the name of Jim Mead. His grandson is a Pprune member but he rarely visits the forum nowadays. Also, Jim's mother was my grandfather's sister. I believe Jim was a very keen photographer who had gone along to the field to take photos of the farmer on his tractor.

JN

[mmitch]

I'm sure someone will be along with a fuller answer, but I read somewhere on the web that the photographer was just starting out as a professional and was asked by the farmer to photograph his new tractor! In those days before quick wind on his next shot was the column of smoke!
mmitch.

Edit: See i knew someone would! :)

[Oldsarbouy]

March 1973 scrambled from Chivenor to Hunter ejection south of the field. The aircraft had hit a supporting guy wire of a 537' high TV mast which severed half a wing taking out the aileron causing the aircraft to roll rapidly. The pilot pulled the handle when the aircraft was inverted and luckily the seat fired when aircraft was upright and, mainly due to the ground falling away quite steeply, as the mast is on a hill, the chute deployed and he landed safely. I found him laying, flat on his back, in an aisle in a nearby grocery store where he had managed to limp to with the local shoppers acting like it was quite normal to have a pilot in full flying gear lying in the store!

[Vzlet]

I can't vouch for the veracity of the source site ;) , but some of the details differ in these accounts:

That Lightning photo [Archive] - PPRuNe Forums (http://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/t-238645.html)

[Drainpipe]

We're not expecting the press to be accurate, are we? ;)

At least when the picture was reproduced in the Sunday Express of 13 May 1979 (I have a copy) they spelt his name correctly.

JN

[Tankertrashnav]

Thanks for the response Drainpipe and Mitch and some interesting comments on your link Vzlet. I like the one about it being a set-up job!

"Now here's the plan. You get ready with your camera, with the tractor in the foreground. I'll get the old crate into a vertical dive and bang out at 200 feet. It'll make a great snap for the papers - oh and don't forget to put a film in the camera!"

Priceless!

[safetypee]

The large number of fine judgements and no doubt many less fortunate incidents suggest that human judgement is stretched to its limit. Is there now a strong case for an auto-eject system near the ground.

IIRC such a system has been contemplated, even tested; and perhaps in service somewhere?

[BOAC]

Is there now a strong case for an auto-eject system near the ground. - err....no!

You mean like the French 'auto barrier' that pops up when something crosses the sensors at speed? Proved VERY interesting on a low level runway beat up.

Just imagine settling down at 3'6" and going just a touch lower and.whoops! Another tie.:)

[500N]

"Is there now a strong case for an auto-eject system near the ground."


You can imagine a few little happenings as aircraft go through
the Mach Loop or on a low level bombing run !!!

[Stratofreighter]

Ejection Decision - A second Too Late! (1981) - YouTube



Ejection Decision - A second Too Late! (1981)


Department of Defense
PIN 52563
EJECTION DECISION - A SECOND TOO
LATE
DEVELOPED FOR AIRCREWS WHO FLY AIRCRAFT

[500N]

Why has Lightning Mate been banned ?

[Skeleton]

was just going to ask that.

[BOAC]

I think if you look at his posting history he seemed to have one of those 'bad turns' on 7 Dec. - maybe the medication needed stepping up?:)

[Skeleton]

or the whisky intake lowering........:D

[Tankertrashnav]

L-M and I were involved with a dispute with the mods when they closed a whole thread which they thought was boring, even though it had several posts a day (cryptic clue thread). L-M told me he sent a PM to one mod accusing him of acting like the Stasi, so I guess he's a marked man. Shame.

[BOAC]

so I guess he's a marked man - he'll be well used to that feeling:D

I'm sure he'll be back.

[Wander00]

Could start a new thread - "Bring Back LM"

I'll get my coat.................

[ancientaviator62]

wander00,
I will second that. There must be room on these forums for all spectrum of opinion subject to the usual caveats of common courtesy and decency.

[BOAC]

subject to the usual caveats of common courtesy and decency. - if you follow my guidance in post #82 you will see that may well be where he 'banged out' when the medication failed. Have you looked?

[newt]

So how long is he banned for? A few days, months or for ever?:confused::confused::confused:

[Tigger_Too]

Interesting that there are now four club members on this thread.

Six! 480 kts; 200 ft descending; roll rate of 300 degrees per second.:ouch:

[Tashengurt]

Come on then all you MB tie owners. How about some tales?

[mickjoebill]

Change in weight and balance with the removal of crew doesn't seem to have an effect??


Mickjoebill

[Jobza Guddun]

[Come on then all you MB tie owners. How about some tales? ]

Completely agree tash. Come on gents (and ladies), lets have another epic running on here!

[wiggy]

Certainly no tails from me today ;), I'll be too busy toasting M-B in an hour or two:ok:

[Pontius]

7 :)

I thought it was compulsory for Bona Mates.

[jimgriff]

One is informed that auto eject is fitted to the F-35. Computer will decide to bang out pilot when in hover mode only!

Edited to add- If it decides it is needed!!

[mmitch]

I can just imagine the lawyers putting small print under the caption. :p
mmitch.

[JimmAttrill]

Of course there was S/Ldr Austin of 4Sqn Harriers in Denmark 1971 who ejected after his engine ran down (a common problem at the time). The ejection wound up the engine again and as he had left the throttle fully open trying to relight the thing went straight up due to no weight in the nose. The eject beeper was going but nobody really believed it. I think an F104G was scrambled to possibly shoot it down in case it landed in East Germany. It eventually did a very nice landing until it ran into an embankment. I think it was XV782 or 3. We had changed the engine the week before so were a bit hacked off. He bought the ground crew a few beers over this one.

I think the aircraft flew for 45 mins without a pilot which was a bit of a record at the time.

[SLLC]

I got one of the ties from a Bona jet excursion. I was only informed afterwards that whilst I was pulling the handle with the right hand, I had also gone for a re-light with the left; I had no recollection of that - but that's the sim training for you. I was actually looking at the handle today whilst packing to move house - the pin is bent through 45 degrees as a result of holding onto it so bloody hard as the seat separated. Might account for the slightly sore back at the time. My other recollection is doing the brief descent and (terrible) landing without being able to breath (they reckon due to the fractured spine). That's not in the drills however harsh your survival officer is! Not a great day at work, but better than the alternative - thanks MB. :ok:

[taxydual]

Now there's a first!

Drone Pilot Ejects From Office Chair - The Global Edition (http://www.theglobaledition.com/drone-pilot-ejects-from-office-chair/)

[Kluseau]

Now there's a first!

Drone Pilot Ejects From Office Chair - The Global Edition



“We should have suspected a problem when he [VanWatermulen] showed up for the mission in a lambskin leather bomber jacket and helmet.”

Tempting to wonder whether this story had been on the editor's virtual desk since 1 April...

[taxydual]

Agreed. That's why I thought it a 'first'.

First of April more like.

[mmitch]

What tie will he get? :p
mmitch.

[Baron 58P]

They have some interesting stories at Global Edition. Here is one....

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (The Global Edition) — Due to a lack of funding by major terrorist organizations, a shadowy militant group attempted to take down a U.S. drone by firing out one of its suicide bombers from an actual cannon directly at it, near the capital of Pakistan earlier this week, sources say.

The attempt of a group calling itself the Al-Poorah Front resulted in a complete failure as the marksmen missed the drone and blasted 18-year-old Ashur Abu-Khalid into a nearby building, causing serious injuries to the young Pakistani and a minor damage to the building.

The group issued a statement recorded on a VHS tape and then uploaded via dial-up to their Livejournal page: “This was a message to all the big terrorist organizations out there so they can see our willingness and dedication to fight the infidels,” read a distorted voice, with black text scrolling across a white screen and Islamic chanting playing in the background.

The distorted voice also said that the “terrorist game isn’t really easy for poor countries who don’t have any special outside funding, but they are looking and willing to talk with foreign investors so they can organize proper terrorist attacks like plane takeovers with bomb wired vests, so they don’t have to waste any more valuable men by firing them out of old cannons at silly drones.”

The Al-Poorah Front has claimed past attacks through statements posted on militant websites, taking credits for such acts as “throwing a rock through a window at a NATO base”, “Letting the air out of tires of U.S. soldiers’ vehicles, then scratching them with keys” and most notorious of all “burning an American flag in a dark and deserted alley”.:\:\

[P6 Driver]

Maybe a commemorative thong could be created for Drone Pilot "ejectees" - in matching colours for their 1000+ hours patches*...

:ok:


* It's only a matter of time!

[PFR]

Who do we petition to get LM reinstated? :)

[Kluseau]

They have some interesting stories at Global Edition. Here is one....

The more you look at that site, the more you realise that, for them, every day is April 1...

[Monsun]

Agree PFR, free the Bournemouth one, assuming that he still lives down that way?

[500N]

Kluseau

Some of them are actually quite good.

Including the ejection one.

[hum]

Mine was another :ok: for the sim.. gen fail..div to yeovilton then the engine failed on short finals..(nothing to do with the gen fail).. 0.6 sec in the 'chute. Almost expected to hear dear old Chick K on the intercom with a debrief.. The RN were not impressed.. apparently I took out all their brand new runway lights.. :p

[Pontius]

1986, Hum?

[newt]

Just heard LM should be back by the weekend!!

Please be nice to him:ok::ok::ok::ok:

[PFR]

Out with the bunting :ok::}

[hum]

Yep 17 jun, Wxly & I got engaged the day before (not to each other :}) sadly he was killed 10 days later during a display - sad time.. :(

[ex-fast-jets]

You learn something every day - I did not know that you and Wex were engaged!!

Or have I misunderstood your post??

But you are right - a sad day when Wex went down.