UASF Officials Say The Upgrade Will Improve Aircrews' Safety
And Comfort
Representatives from Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Inc. are in the
early stages of installing their new escape systems in all T-38Cs
at Randolph AFB after completing the same project at Laughlin AFB,
TX. Five Air Education and Training Command installations are
scheduled for the upgrade.
One of the greatest advantages of the new seat, called the Mk
US16T, is that it functions well in the situation that accounts for
most ejections, said Rick French, an AETC T-38 program manager.
"The old ejection seat has the least capability in the flight
regime where the most ejections occurred, the low-altitude,
low-airspeed range, because it takes a few seconds for the
parachute to open when you leave the aircraft," French said.
"The best part of the new seat is that it's a zero-zero seat,"
said Rey Gutierrez, a 12th Operations Support Squadron Aircrew
Flight Equipment instructor. "It will eject at zero altitude and
zero airspeed, so the aircrew can bail out on the ground."
French said the new seat provides rapid deployment of the
parachute following ejection. "When the seat clears the aircraft,
explosives deploy the parachute," he said. "It's almost
instantaneous."
A bonus for aircrew members is that they no longer have to carry
their 45-pound parachutes to the aircraft, because each one is part
of the ejection seat, enclosed in a container called the head box.
Their only requirement is to wear a 5-pound harness that attaches
to the ejection seat. The parachute itself, an aeroconical design,
incorporates multiple safety features.
Another feature, the inter-seat sequencing system, which has a
selector box with three options, decreases the possibility of
aircrew collision during ejection and potential aircrew burn,
because the rear seat will always eject first, no matter which crew
member pulls the seat firing handle located on the front of the
seat. Another advantage of sequencing "is that the rear seat ejects
up and to the right, and the front seat ejects up and to the left,
so a collision is unlikely," Mr. Gutierrez said.
The seat decreases the potential of injury to aircrew members,
especially at high airspeed, because its thigh and ankle restraints
keep them more secure. It also expands the population who can fly
the T-38 to anyone from 103 to 245 pounds, because the seat has two
positions, including one that moves it one inch forward. "Now the
seat can better accommodate smaller pilots," Mr. French said. "The
old seat accommodates 58 percent of female pilots; the new seat
brings that percentage up to 87 percent."
The seat's other features include a survival kit with a radio,
flares, a mirror, a first aid kit, water, a flashlight and other
items as well as fittings that allow for a faster release of the
parachute canopy, Mr. Gutierrez said.
The T-38 has been a part of the Air Force's fleet for nearly 50
years.