Air Force conducts first test of Russian-built ejection seat
Released: Jul 30, 1998
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by Bobbie Mixon Jr.
Aeronautical Systems Center Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) -- It's a humdinger of a ride; a heart-pounding, sweaty palm, life-flash-before-your-eyes ride. Oh yeah, sudden ejection from a high-performance military jet is a real scream.
Those who've done it, don't recommend it for fun. The dangers are simply too great.
Fortunately for pilots, who daily face the risk of ejections, there's a never-ending effort to reduce the perils of such hairy, fast-paced and often unexpected bailouts. To underscore the military's commitment to air crew safety, a rare, joint Air Force/Navy test was conducted July 10 at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., of a Russian-designed and built K-36D-3.5A ejection seat developed in Russia to meet U.S. requirements.
The test was the first of six planned tests under a unique agreement in which ejection seat experts at Air Force Research Laboratory's human effectiveness directorate at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, will evaluate K-36-3.5A performance.
The agreement calls for six seats to be designed and built by the Zvezda Design Bureau, Tomilino, Russia, and delivered through IBP Aircraft Ltd. to the United States under a contract with Boeing North American. The seats will be studied for potential use in U.S. aircraft.
The first U.S. test of the K-36D-3.5A, a lighter seat, was a 0-0 test. Zero-zero refers to the speed and altitude of the seat at the time of the ejection. In this case, the seat was straight, level and motionless when the test engineers initiated the ejection sequence.
"The test went very well," said AFRL's crew escape technologies program manager, Maj. Tim Wieck. "We're looking forward to the remaining tests which will demonstrate the seat's capabilities at adverse attitudes and very high speeds."
According to Wieck, the seat, occupied by a data collecting mannequin, achieved an altitude of 250 feet. Both items were recovered under full parachute after traveling 100 feet.
The newer K-36D-3.5A seat weighs 58 pounds less than the previous version, making it comparable to the improved ACES II seat, which is standard for the Air Force's new F-22 fighter.
All U.S. testing of the lightweight seat will occur at Holloman's high-speed test track, and overseen by Capt. Tiffany Smith, the 846th Test Squadron test manager for K-36D-3.5A.
Areas that will be evaluated include the K-36D-3.5A's low-speed, adverse-attitude performance; smaller headrest and parachute box designed to assist over-the-shoulder vision; and ADAM and LOIS manikin response to seat adjustment alterations for expanded aircrew sizes and weights.
A 218-pound ADAM (advanced dynamic anthropomorphic mannequin) gathered data in the 0-0 test. Later tests will incorporate LOIS, for lightest occupant in service, mannequins to measure seat response for pilots who weigh only 103 pounds.
Engineers and scientists from AFRL and the U.S. Navy's Air Warfare Center, Patuxent River, Md., and the Navy's Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, Md., first evaluated the K-36D in 1993 as part of a foreign comparative test program, comparing data from its performance with U.S. ejection seats.
Tests were conducted in Russia using Russian test facilities and platforms to include: a windblast facility, a vertical tower, a sled track, and a modified, MiG-25 flying-ejection-seat laboratory.
The K-36D was ejected three times from the sled track in Russia at speeds up to 730 knots equivalent air speed and from the MiG-25 eight times at speed and altitude extremes of Mach 2.5 and 56,000 ft.
"The results showed significant reduction in injury risk over current U.S. ejection seats," said Larry Specker, AFRL's crew escape technologies director.
Six follow-on tests of the same seat were conducted at the Holloman sled track to demonstrate performance at low speeds and adverse attitudes. These tests also demonstrated better performance of the K-36D.
The integration of stabilization and life-protection features provide the K-36D its excellent life-saving performance. For example, the K-36D deploys stabilizing booms to give the seat inherent stability immediately from the time it leaves the aircraft. Zvezda also designed other, passive, pilot-protective features for the K-36D such as leg lifters and arm-and-leg restraints that are activated during the ejection sequence to prevent limb-flail injuries because of windblast.
The five remaining tests are scheduled to be conducted over the next several months culminating with an ejection at 700 knots equivalent air speed, or mach 1.05 at sea level. (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)
