Ferrari Mailing List: 512 vs 575 and jet ejections

[Doug & Terri (dnt]

Before my 80+ y/o retired AA pilot passed he would regale us with his stories about training ex-Wehrmacht Luftwaffe majors etc. in the mid 50’s how to fly F104’s.  Tiny little problem with early F104s . . . pilot ejects downward.  REALLY bad for moral if there is a flame out on takeoff and Heinz doesn’t get his sled inverted or at least somewhat sideways.  After a while the engineers came up with a sort of half JATO bottle strapped to the seat.  First time it was used Heinz ended up 2 inches shorter but the seat and passenger did clear the tail.  Lynn said the ejection boost was eventually adjusted.  Bet that was more than 5G’s

:  )

Doug

 

From: Ferrari [mailto:ferrari-bounces+dnt=dock.net [at] ferrarilist.com] On Behalf Of Erik Nielsen
Sent: Friday, May 24, 2019 12:24 PM
To: DOUG <dnt [at] dock.net>
Cc: The FerrariList <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] 512 vs 575

 

The ground briefing really did involve how to open the canopy and the line “now throw your keys and your phone out with your left hand, unstrap the top buckle with your right hand, now follow your phone”…

 

You could fly it inverted for just under two minutes without oil starvation issues.

On May 24, 2019, at 2:20 PM, Clarence Romero Jr. <clyderomerof4 [at] gmail.com> wrote:

 

He had nothing to live for !

Hence go for it

The chute would have failed as well !

 

 

 

     RF4-4EVR