“We were inverted in a USAF RF-4C and had attempted to roll out with aileron to find if the lateral controls had locked or jammed. After momentarily attempting to break them free, I rolled out with rudder which brought us into a very nose low attitude while bringing the aircraft upright.

Getting zero to poor response from the stabilator, low on airspeed and by now well below safe ejection altitude, I pulled the lower handle. I saw the back canopy go, followed by the backseater. After what seemed an eternity, my canopy and seat went as advertised. The experts determined that if I had waited another 6/10ths of a second to initiate ejection, I would have been out of the envelope.

It’s nice to know that when you are between a hard place and rock that the Martin-Baker system worked as advertised for both of us”