Ejection seats in the S3 are not deactivated by WOW (Weight On Wheels: a switch in the landing gear that shuts off systems that really shouldn't be used while the bird is on deck, like the Radar or RadAlt). They might be needed while the aircraft is rolling across a carrier deck. The safety is a "head knocker" which moves into the position that would be occupied by the pilots head when sitting in the seat. This is so that the pilot will for damn sure enable the seat when sitting in the aircraft (Navy pilots tend to be.... well that is another thread ) When the aircraft lands and the pilots leave, there is a long list of people who are supposed too make sure those safety levers are down to prevent the seat from being accidentally activated. They have two activation handles, one over the pilots head and one between the legs. They are rocket powered and produce about 10g's. They are built to work even when the aircraft has been damaged and have been known to rip free of mangled tracks, crash through solid steel, and sometimes the ejectee even survives the ride (not kidding) usually permanently disabled by back injury. Enough background. The "old timers" are always spouting off with little admonitions to younger guys to do thing a certain way. Sometimes they come with a story about why you should or what happened to some other guy. Most of the time, its just "don't do this" or "do it this way". After a while (as the new guy) you get sort of tired of hearing this. After the 1500th "don't put tools in your pockets" I stopped listening. I needed a screw driver and was going to wiggle up the tight space between the entry hatch (just below and in front of the rear passenger side ejection seat) and the rear passenger side station to get at the console while other work was going on in the passageway. I stuck the driver in my front pocket, reached up and grabbed the side of the seat and the console and started pulling myself up. I felt something tug at my pocket, looked down to see the screwdriver nicely hooked on the ejection seat activation handle and then (after sliding back down a bit) looked up to see the head knocker pleasantly retracted thereby enabling the seat. I had pulled the activation handle out about half way so it was within fractions of an inch from firing that seat (and about half of me) through the canopy and into the roof of the hanger. After I secured the seat and stopped shaking, I went back into the shop and ask my supers to review with me all the little do's and don'ts they had been telling me. Kids, there is just one moral here... the guy who is telling you how to do it... is still alive... think about that before you wonder why he is telling you something. When I got new people into my shop (later in my hitch) who didn't seem to be listening, I used to say that... --- James Newton (PICList Admin #3) mailto:jamesnewton@piclist.com 1-619-652-0593 PIC/PICList FAQ: http://www.piclist.com or .org -----Original Message----- From: pic microcontroller discussion list [mailto:PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]On Behalf Of Ken Webster Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 17:08 To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU Subject: Re: [OT] Re: Fire in the Hole!!! Importance: Low James Newton wrote: >Some day I'll have to tell you my ejection seat story. Eh? This sounds good. Please tell.