Frosty, apart from fashion, the B58 had individual modules, the F111 was going to be near mach at nought feet and a module was thought better.

One went in off Tain in the 70s - a long time ago. The crew remained buttoned up in the module and climbed into their immersion suits. A fishing boat came along side and once secure and suited they opened the hatch and boarded the boat.

At least one then took his used-once, never wet, suit off and presented it to the crew.

If it worked what would you rather?

The British Air Ministry looked at escape modules for the at least 2 of the V-Bombers the Valient and Victor. Where the entire crew cabin would be jettisoned from the aircraft. The extra expense and technical requirements put pay to the idea. Ejector seats for the flight deck, parachutes for the rear crew the not entirely fair compromise reached in at least one case

I believe that the very capsule employed at Ohakea is the same one that has been a travelling exhibit for the RAAF at airshows etc ever since. Tilted at an angle it gives a very good look in the cockpit.

With the two crashes in NZ, and presumably others in Australia, 'NZ Wings' came up with this little ditty:

A daring young pilot named Kevin
Took off in an F-111
He left with a roar at 6:44
And crashed at a Quarter to Seven

JT

An ejected crew module is also used as a "Sim" at RAAF Amberley to test all new additions to the aircraft (Hardware & Software) ;)

With the Victor, the whole nose section was supposed to detach, freefall down to 10,000' then a parachte deploy. The nose was collapsable allowing shock absorbtion. A quarter scale model of the nose was attached to a glider for a trial. A long cable was to supply power to the unit while it freefalled, however, just before the trial an electrictian saw all this 'spare' cable and shortened it. On the trial, the unit fell to the ground without the parachute opening, the Air Ministry lost interest, the pilots got ejector seats and the rearcrew parachutes. A decision which probably cost many of them their lives.

The section behind the cabin was known as the 'plenum chamber'. it was the area where the capsule parachute was to be stored. In the Mk2 it housed a lot of the electric gear.

Fascinating subject - could I humbly suggest http://www.ejectionsite.com/f111restore.htm

And to think that I thought a 'Pig' was a Valetta - just shows my age I guess!

Sorry,

looked at the thread title and thought someone had come up with a device for teleporting oneself from the boudoir of a crocodilly-moose-pig's bedroom after a heavy night out.

My mistake. And disappointment

I flew in the F-111 just once, but remember a chain or lanyard running fore-aft in the cockpit roof between the seats, which was something to do with the escape system, can't for the life of me remember what though. Anyone know?

(It was an RAAF aircraft, Oz Bi-Centenniel year, 1986?).

Gainsey,

That would be the string connecting all the safety pins together so when you took them out, they would remain together in the Navs G Suit (unofficially) - or in the 'stowage place' so that the fire dept could get them with 'standardisation'. Somewhere in the string would be a red flad with 'remove before flight' embossed. The Pins are 2 for the Ejection Firing Handles, (one each between the pilot and nav - near your knees), and three above your head (one) for severance and floatation (the 'alternative method'), one for Chute deploy and one for chute release (Note Warning about pullinjg this one before module landing). The alternative method has never been used successfully, as a failure of the primary ejection handles would possible not be discovered prior to aircraft/terrain impact..

it was a 1988

And there's me thinking a Pig was a Varsity....

Thanks for the answers, another memory cell or two replenished.:)

Oh and incidentally, if you are in the UK and really curious, The Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum has one...:8
http://www.dumfriesaviationmuseum.com/collection13.htm
Open in the Spring..