Somethings not quite right in this pic..

That is an interesting overview, thanks for the link. The really scary thought is that the telscopic tube fitted to most modern aircraft is about 6 foot from floor to tip and the seat/pilot combination accelerates from 0 to about 375mph in that distance. Or the initial acceleration is 0-60mph in 4 inches. A distinct case of ouch I reckon.

Brief History of Ejector Seats

I see, thanks a lot. I do believe one or other of the NF variants was as well

This will give you the info

http://showcase.netins.net/web/herker/ejection/eject_paper.html

Some German aircraft had ejection seats in WW2. though not as we would understand them!

The Do335 or example was fitted with a primitive ejector system.

Bruce

I see, thanks a lot. I do believe one or other of the NF variants was as well

The F.8 was the only Meteor variant to be fitted with a bang seat I believe.

My original thought was one of the Meteor variants but I was thinking possibly Mk4, probably wrong though.

What was the first type of aircraft in RAF service to have an ejection seat fitted?

Meteor F.8 ?

Thanks mate, that kind of begs the question of the first type in squadron service which is what I was really getting at, appologies for not making it more obvious.

Hi Mike,

The first service aircraft was Defiant TT I, DR944.

This was seconded to Martin Baker on 11 December 1944, commenced dummy ejection trials on 11 May 1945.

Later live firing was carried out.

Regards
Ross

This thread has raised a question in my mind so I’ll raise it here in hopes of an answer(intelligent ones only please) What was the first type of aircraft in RAF service to have an ejection seat fitted?

JDK – From memory the Comet Raser fuselage is fairly conventional in construction and
uses little of the Mosquito techniques . The wing does use overlapping laminates but that again isn’t directly related to the fuselage construction of the Mosquito. Whilst the Comet is an inspirational design in relation to the D.H story – I am more than convinced that the trials and tribulations of the Albatross gave D.H far more useful design information.

Ah, the wings seem to be another thing entirely.

Our FB6 has copious amounts of filler on the wings – it seems to be there for aerodynamic purposes!

Bruce

Ollie

Just because its made of wood does not mean it needs filler!

I think you are referring to the fabric covering which is coming away on the IWM example, giving the appearance of filler. This happens over time; the aircraft needs no more than a recover, and all will be well.

If Vampires have been well cared for, there is no need for filler on the fuselage, except for covering screw heads.

Bruce (Vampire owner and restorer…)

When restoration was underway on Vampire F.1 VF301 about 30 years ago we used gallon after gallon of painstripper on the wings, tailsurfaces and booms. After getting through the numerous layers of paint applied whilst a gate guardian at RAF Debden we got down to what was, presumably the original paintscheme. No thoughts in those far off days of recording what was there but I do remember what seemed to be vast quantities of filler – particularly on the wings.

Was this common on all Vampires or did the build quality improve so that it was not needed? Was it also needed on other early jets (and later piston types)?

Roger Smith.

Thank you for the correction there Bruce.

Ollie

Just because its made of wood does not mean it needs filler!

I think you are referring to the fabric covering which is coming away on the IWM example, giving the appearance of filler. This happens over time; the aircraft needs no more than a recover, and all will be well.

If Vampires have been well cared for, there is no need for filler on the fuselage, except for covering screw heads.

Bruce (Vampire owner and restorer…)

Okay. That makes sense now. It also kind of explains the hideous amout of filler on the side of the iwm duxford example

A Vampire is a flying mammal – answer one is correct for them.

A de Havilland Vampire is one of Britain’s first jet powered aircraft. The fuselage pod is not just ‘covered in wood’ but is entirely of wooden sandwich construction; simply put, mould-formed, glued under pressure, with a ply layer either side (inside and out) of a balsa core. (as Guzzineil says, a process pioneered in the Comet Racer, carried through the Dragonfly (DH, not the insect) and Albatross (airliner, not the bird… are we there yet?) to the Mosquito, Hornet and Vampire. (Add your own ‘DH’ please. ~chiz~.

Odd though it seems, the wooden construction is excellent for the job (note that the gun muzzle cover and engine cowlings are metal, as are the wings, booms and tail) and quite well repairable in service; however once it has had a period of bad storage, like a piano, they are a swine to restore and worse to rebuild than to start again.

Cheers

Does the vampire nose pod have a wooden skin?

yep they do, similar construction to a mossie..

Neil.

Is that a serious anser? It was actualy a serious question, i ask as i have a photo of the example at iwn duxford and where the paints peeling off you can see wood.

Does the vampire nose pod have a wooden skin?

Unlikely.Vampires emit a series of supersonic noises through the nose.The man credited with discovering this was Donald R Griffin,in 1940.These noises were used in echo-location and emotion.It sounds like purrs,clicking or buzzing.It was observed that North American Vampires vibrate when at rest.Hope this helps 😉