Originally Posted by
RetiredBA/BY
Just got the book, superb and brought back many memories of my own ejection 60 years ago ( (JP4 XP 635) training over Northumberland as mentioned in the early pages.
Still vividly remember the 4,700 feet descent in the seat, in cloud, before the chute opened just as I was about to start the manual separation ! 1 Chute panel tore ( it opened with a hell of a bang after the freefall) resulting in slight spin making PSP release impossible. But, thank you MB, and the real heroes, who did the early live testing, you delivered me to the ground in one piece.
A great read, must finish it this evening !
Thanks for the kind comments RetiredBA. I think the long descent 'waiting' for seat separation must certainly be one of the most worrying few moments!
One of the stories I cover is Ron Guthrie - the first combat ejection after being shot down in Korea. Ron came out at 38,000 feet (summer flying kit, WW2-style goggles, flimsy oilcloth helmet & mask!). He was in a Mark 1 seat so totally manual - he had to unstrap, push the seat away, go into freefall then pull the D-ring. He was under the parachute at 35,000 feet so had around a 25 minute descent ...... into a very brutal captivity. Great guy to chat to, sadly gone now.