Ejection Seat
First Mk2 ejection was on 15th July 1952
332 lives saved using a Mk2 ejection seat
Ejection Seat
First Mk2 ejection was on 15th July 1952
332 lives saved using a Mk2 ejection seat
Mk2 Ejection Seat
Experience with the manually operated seats had shown that a number of fatalities had occurred, due to unconsciousness after ejection, inaction due to circumstantial stress, or lack of time to carry out the necessary manual operations when ejecting at low altitudes. Accordingly, effort was concentrated on producing a simple, yet effective, fully automatic ejection seat, capable of being produced in quantity, reliable in service, and designed to permit the retrospective conversion of most of the existing manually operated seats already installed in service aircraft.
In the design of the first automatic seat, it was decided to house the personal parachute in a container in the back of the seat and the dinghy pack in the seat pan, to facilitate the use of the drogue to effect deployment of the parachute. It was also necessary to devise some means of disconnecting the drogue from the seat at the correct time and transferring its pull to the parachute, and simultaneously a means of releasing the occupant complete with his parachute and dinghy pack from the seat.
On the Mk1 seats, the drogue had been attached to the top of the seat by a solid shackle. This was now replaced by a “Scissor Shackle”, capable of being opened automatically at a pre-determined time.
New Seat Installations & Retrofits
Looking to install a new seat into your aircraft? Let us help you find your perfect solution – check out our New Seat Installations & Retrofits page for more information.
Mk2 Ejection Seat
- Operating Ceiling: Unknown
- Minimum height/Speed: Unknown
- Crew boarding mass range: 70.4 to 101.7kg
- Crew size range: 5th to 95th percentile
- Maximum Speed for ejection: 400+ KIAS
- Parachute type: Irvin I 24
- Parachute deployment: Automatic
- Drogue parachute type: 24 in. Later versions 22 in. controller drogue and 5ft stabiliser drogue
- Drogue deployment: Drogue gun. Initiated by 1 sec clockwork time-delay, tripped by short static line Harness type Type 1 to 4 Ejection seat operation type
- Ejection gun: Ejection gun; Early version – two cartridge, 60 ft/sec; Later versions – 50 ft/sec Later versions – 80 ft/sec
- Ejection initiation: Face screen firing
- Barostatic time-release unit: Yes
- Manual override handle: No, but provision for manual separation
- Timers: Time-release unit for man/seat separation
- Seat adjustment: Up/Down
- Arm restraints: No
- Leg restraints: Integral thigh guards and foot rests
- Oxygen supply: Bottled oxygen
- Personal survival pack: Liferaft pack
- Aircrew services: No
- Command ejection: No
Mk2 Ejection Seat
Featured in:
- Canberra
- CF-100
- Hawker Hunter
- Hawker
- Supermarine Attacker
- Westland Wyvern
- Hawker Sea Hawk
- Meteor
- Venom
- Supermarine Swift
- Saunders Roe
Mk2 Ejection Seat
- The pilot pulls the face screen seat firing handle
- Two cartridge ejection gun fires and the seat moves up the guide rails
- Emergency oxygen tripped
- As seat rises, static line initiates time-delay which fires drogue gun after 1 second
- As seat rises, static line initiates time release unit
24/22 in. dia then 5 ft dia drogues stabilise and slow the seat down
Above 10000 ft
- Barostat prevents operation of time-release mechanism
Below 10000 ft
- 5 seconds after initiation of time-release unit, plunger releases scissor shackle to separate the drogue from the seat
- Transfer pull to canvas apron positioned between parachute and its container release face blind
- Canvas apron tautens and tips pilot forward out of seat
- Parachute withdrawal line, attached to apron, pulls parachute pack closure pins and apex of parachute from pack
- Parachute deploys, drogue and apron still attached
- Normal descent
- In the event of failure of time-release unit, aircrew pulls D ring on parachute harness. This pulls slide disconnect pin which disconnects withdrawal line from parachute pulling D ring also removes canvas flap from second D ring
- Aircrew pulls second D ring to operate parachute
Mk2 Ejection Seat
Experience with the manually operated seats had shown that a number of fatalities had occurred, due to unconsciousness after ejection, inaction due to circumstantial stress, or lack of time to carry out the necessary manual operations when ejecting at low altitudes. Accordingly, effort was concentrated on producing a simple, yet effective, fully automatic ejection seat, capable of being produced in quantity, reliable in service, and designed to permit the retrospective conversion of most of the existing manually operated seats already installed in service aircraft.
In the design of the first automatic seat, it was decided to house the personal parachute in a container in the back of the seat and the dinghy pack in the seat pan, to facilitate the use of the drogue to effect deployment of the parachute. It was also necessary to devise some means of disconnecting the drogue from the seat at the correct time and transferring its pull to the parachute, and simultaneously a means of releasing the occupant complete with his parachute and dinghy pack from the seat.
On the Mk1 seats, the drogue had been attached to the top of the seat by a solid shackle. This was now replaced by a “Scissor Shackle”, capable of being opened automatically at a pre-determined time.
New Seat Installations & Retrofits
Looking to install a new seat into your aircraft? Let us help you find your perfect solution – check out our New Seat Installations & Retrofits page for more information.
Mk2 Ejection Seat
- Operating Ceiling: Unknown
- Minimum height/Speed: Unknown
- Crew boarding mass range: 70.4 to 101.7kg
- Crew size range: 5th to 95th percentile
- Maximum Speed for ejection: 400+ KIAS
- Parachute type: Irvin I 24
- Parachute deployment: Automatic
- Drogue parachute type: 24 in. Later versions 22 in. controller drogue and 5ft stabiliser drogue
- Drogue deployment: Drogue gun. Initiated by 1 sec clockwork time-delay, tripped by short static line Harness type Type 1 to 4 Ejection seat operation type
- Ejection gun: Ejection gun; Early version – two cartridge, 60 ft/sec; Later versions – 50 ft/sec Later versions – 80 ft/sec
- Ejection initiation: Face screen firing
- Barostatic time-release unit: Yes
- Manual override handle: No, but provision for manual separation
- Timers: Time-release unit for man/seat separation
- Seat adjustment: Up/Down
- Arm restraints: No
- Leg restraints: Integral thigh guards and foot rests
- Oxygen supply: Bottled oxygen
- Personal survival pack: Liferaft pack
- Aircrew services: No
- Command ejection: No
Mk2 Ejection Seat
Featured in:
- Canberra
- CF-100
- Hawker Hunter
- Hawker
- Supermarine Attacker
- Westland Wyvern
- Hawker Sea Hawk
- Meteor
- Venom
- Supermarine Swift
- Saunders Roe
Mk2 Ejection Seat
- The pilot pulls the face screen seat firing handle
- Two cartridge ejection gun fires and the seat moves up the guide rails
- Emergency oxygen tripped
- As seat rises, static line initiates time-delay which fires drogue gun after 1 second
- As seat rises, static line initiates time release unit
24/22 in. dia then 5 ft dia drogues stabilise and slow the seat down
Above 10000 ft
- Barostat prevents operation of time-release mechanism
Below 10000 ft
- 5 seconds after initiation of time-release unit, plunger releases scissor shackle to separate the drogue from the seat
- Transfer pull to canvas apron positioned between parachute and its container release face blind
- Canvas apron tautens and tips pilot forward out of seat
- Parachute withdrawal line, attached to apron, pulls parachute pack closure pins and apex of parachute from pack
- Parachute deploys, drogue and apron still attached
- Normal descent
- In the event of failure of time-release unit, aircrew pulls D ring on parachute harness. This pulls slide disconnect pin which disconnects withdrawal line from parachute pulling D ring also removes canvas flap from second D ring
- Aircrew pulls second D ring to operate parachute