As a 35 year serving Armament Technician, in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), my early career was highlighted working within our Air Combat Force and the training elements in support of this, operating and maintaining the BAC167 Mk88 Strikemaster “Century Series Fighter” through the late eighties with its (NZ)PB-4 seats and later in the nineties with the Aeromacchi 339C’s fitted with IT-10LK seats. I always took great joy in returning A/C from solo to dual configuration, as I hoped that I was to be the Groundie going for a ride that day. Moving into our Ejection Seat maintenance facility in the mid-nineties. The Mk 10 seats were the pinnacle system to engage with, the modular design and ease of access was a pleasure to work with as was the relationships built in transferring .
Later, I moved into the Quality Assurance and Inspection role, assessing standard of all Explosive and Pyrotechnic materials used within our service, it was always an absolute pleasure to inspect and validate the MB Cartridges and Rocket Packs as the standards of manufacture, packaging and info sheets were superb.
Over my time within the RNZAF our personnel have called upon the services of a number of your Ejection Seats, and on all occasions they have proved to function perfectly within their specifications.
Jake McPhee
RNZAF Armourer
