Salute!
Scary to find a defect in the seat system, huh?
One reason we liked the ACES II setup for our family model in the Viper was two of our options intentionally prevented the front seat from going if the "guest" pulled the loop.
- most of us flew in "NORM" so the guest could eject by hisself, but I couldn't unless he had already departed. If I initiated the process, we both went with him first, then me.
- the "SOLO" mode let each go on their own, and we mainly used that when back seat was empty, as you could cook the guest if you went first. It also cut time for your seat to go .... witness the infamous T-bird ejection at Mountain Home.
- the third mode ejected both in sequence no matter who yanked on the handle. My hero deputy had engine failure after a speedy low altitude drop and he was in front seat. Confirmed backseater had the knob in that position so he would go if backseater pulled the handle. Both went out per the spec and flew a few days later. My position was I would take the risk if backseat went and my seat failed, as it would likely have failed anyway, so flew in "NORM". If he pulled and didn't go, then maybe the routing from my seat would get us both out. Oh well, all is better than it could have been.
Lastly, even on our "zoom" departure for FCF we did not pull 4 + gees just as gear was retracting. I can not believe that is normal training takeoff. And then negative gees? Doesn't add up. And then the poor strap in for a guest. Sheeesh. Where was the personal equipment dude? Or another pilot to help the poor fellow? Make no mistake, I flew many guests such as VIP's, maintenance folks as incentive flights or x-country carrying parts. I even had a high speed taxi run down the rwy with my wife during one of the early year groundings. Extensive pre-flight instructions and such and constant banter from the front ( me ) kept the guest calm.
Gums sends....
Last edited by gums; 9th Apr 2020 at 21:06.
Reason: added