Helicopter ejection
 

Hi, anybody any experience of the helicopter ejection seats as installed on I believe on at least two models of the Russian KA helicopters?

You'll probably get more responses if you post this in the 'Ukraine War' Forum, sub-forum 'Former Russian Helicopter Pilots'.

You can look up Sikorsky RSRA on line for something similar.

The Russians did trial a system that blew the blade roots sequentially to separate the blades, and then the final charge was the seat initiation, so all happening rather quickly. I would imagine the Flight Reference Card entry for "Inadvertent Initiation of Blade Severance Charge Sequence" was fairly short.

I guess the KA50/52 is getting a good workout in Ukraine right now - would be interesting to know the ejection success rates.

Sikorsky had designed a system that might be offered if the S-67 had entered production. Basically, there were two modes: If flying independently, the system would blow off the rotors all at once, followed by canopy separation and ejection initiation. If flying in formation,a different mode was selected. A strong blade would rise up in the rotor hub at the 3 o'clock position which would have the result that each blade would be thrown forward. One all were gone, the ejection sequence would commence.

As a minor, somewhat irrelevant side note, a Tilt-Rotor, regardless of mode would just use a conventional ejection seat. Nothing special is required.

Bell AH-1 Cobra Crew Escape System
 

Although it never made it into production, Bell developed a crew escape system for the two blade AH-1 Cobra. The most unique feature was the main rotor blade separation system. The system pyrotechnically severed only one blade at the cuff, and relied on the resulting rotor imbalance to rip the mast off the gearbox.

CTR: very interesting, I've never heard of this particular 'feature'. I can imagine the massive imbalance would rip the mast off the gearbox (or the entire gearbox off the airframe) in fairly short order, but what would it do to the crew's necks in the tenth or half second it took? I'm sure some smart Bell engineers considered this, perhaps why it never went into production.

Actually, the mast was severed by a second explosive charge. In the film I saw of a test on a rocket sled the severed blade immediately “crashed”, while the blade/hub/mast assembly flew down range toward one of the documenting cameras as a balanced assembly. Funny to see the spectators with that camera run for their lives as the rotor got nearer and eventually flew over them.

The Cobra ejection system did not use seats, but a modified Skyraider “Yankee” system, This system used a rocket to yank a crew member out by a bungee cord. Never went beyond the full scale sled with dummies.

Escape Capsule tests.

Not much fun for the 20 troops in the back!

Which is why the seats were not included in the V-22.

Similarly, I heard that when the S-3 Viking was carrying the Admirals in the back, the pilots were not permitted to take the pins out of their seats.

Why so AC? They're all sitting on bang seats, wouldn't have the pin in option open to them in a F-18 I venture.

And oddly enough the Americans were developing a fighter aircraft ejection seat during the Vietnam war era that convered into a helicopter so the pilots could fly away from the crash site.

https://www.aviadejavu.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft21622.htm

Thanks for all the responses, reason for the original question was that a mate reckons that he saw a video of a KA52 being brought down in Ukraine and the crew ejected, despite searching I was unable to find the video.
I was aware that testing had been carried out on these systems but I wasn’t aware that they were in production helicopters.
I also was not aware the extent of the testing that had been carried out.

Here's some test video for Kamov:

You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!..........:)