Salute!
What's funny is they eject thru the canopy, more or less, in the F-35. The Harrier folks demanded a very quick system, and it was easier to put primacord all around the bottom several inches of the canopy and blow it at the same time as the seat blows. That was what the maintainer told me when I had one of the close up tours. The primacord or whatever it is is clearly visible and there are warning notes all around the canopy.
In any case, the first ejection was from a Bee (USMC) and worked like a charm.
Gotta tellya that I was very comfortable in the Viper with that ACES seat, and the infamous T-Bird ejection at Mt Home is proof positive. As a matter of fact, my deputy flight commander punched out in a family model when the motor quit pulling off a low altitude drop. Looked like the Snowbird except he didn't turn/stall and he asked the front seat student to initiate the sequence so he would know the student was gonna follow shortly. Didn't even lose the pencils on his shoulder pocket.
Gums sends...
Last edited by gums; 20th May 2020 at 01:46.