"Civilianized" Aircraft Ejection Seats

Depends on country and their civil air regulations.

Australia has several airworthy ex-military jets fitted with ejection seats. As I understand it the rules require they be fully operational and maintained to manufacturers specifications *OR* disabled entirely. Of course, this isn't easy for seats which are no longer in use and usuable spares are drying up.

Some years ago a MiG-15 was lost along with the pilot, apparently the ejection seat had been disabled becuase (despite best efforts) he couldn't get it approved. He couldn't eject and thus had no chance of survival.

There is also a MiG-21 which used to be airworthy but is now grounded, the story is that it's a matter of getting replacement explosive bolts for the canopy. The current bolts are time expired. Given that MiG-21's are flying in numerous quantities around the world you would have thought this wasn't an unobtainable part. Recognising it's not going to be easy (lots of 21 variants and at least four canopy variants) I would have thought it would be still flying.

I believe the various ejection seat equipped ex-military jets typically have their seats operational. Even as a civil pilot in an ex-military aircraft, if the aircraft came equipped with ejection then it would be best to keep it operational. It's gives you an option should things get messy....

Regards

What are the regs here in the us of a?I'd think the pilot would need some kind of training or certification to fly it wouldn't he?

Probably not, as most civilian jets (and warbirds in general) are flown under the "Experimental" or "Limited" categories...though it would be wise...

Hard part is maintenance - the rocket motors and various other items in the seat are maintained on a time-based schedule. Getting hold of the pyrotechnics would be extremely cost prohibitive, if not outright unlawful...I'd think fitting a WWII aircraft with de-milled .50 cals and paying the yearly transfer tax would be cheaper than maintaining a live ejection seat.

The transfer tax on live NFA weapons is a one-time thing, not annual. But if one doesn't actually want to fire the weapons on the WWII aircraft, there are plenty of nonfiring replicas available, and they aren't subject to the tax. In fact, the better replicas are made with real parts, except for the critical receiver piece that's considered the gun for regulatory purposes.

The transfer tax is $200, the same as it was in 1934 when the NFA was passed. The amount was supposed to have been prohibitory then, but now when the market price of live, registered .50 cals is around $25,000, it's a drop in the bucket.

That's what I figured, but there is still a hoop to jump through with the FAA over just having empty, open gun ports on a warbird. Or any aircraft, for that matter. Probably even worse hoops after 9-11, I'd speculate.

Used to know a guy who owned a P-38 with a full suite of real, de-milled .50s in the nose. Truely a thing of beauty. I'd wager $25K (each...) is a drop in the bucket compared to the maintenance and operational costs of a P-38. Not to mention what I hear he went through to recover the aircraft.

In fact, this is the airplane I'm talking about:

my mg buddy in pahrump says that demilling is usually some clumsy government clod with a cutting torch cutting the reciever. claims a cpmpetent welder can repair most easily. also states he has never and will never do so, even though he is a liscensed mg dealer. ymmv.

As was stated previously, it depends on the situation and the time. The F-100 Super Sabre here in Fort Wayne IN has hot seats.

Why would one want an operating .50 cal machine-gun anyway? I humped one (except for the tripod which my A-gunner humped) on one patrols and used it in anger on two stationary OPs in Vietnam. While it was a wonderfully hard-hitting long range weapon, what would a civilian (who is not a terrorist) do with one except to pretend and "wanna-be" with it?

"Bill Woodier" wrote in news:Qrbee.1637$8e4.878@trnddc09:

Because this is America and it ain't about "need" it's about want and can. If you can afford to buy it and you can afford to feed it so long as you don't bother your neighbors I don't care what you do.

And frankly if you can afford it you probably ain't really a danger and if you intend bad things you can get one on the black market. And I thought everyone was worried about those Barret .50s single shots and bolt actions shooting down airplanes.

I was never so pissed as when I saw the Coors collection of armor and saw how they had all been defaced to satisfy some dickless coward of a bureaucrat.

Frank

Yup - that's about the size of it in most cases.

I LOVE to have a Barnett Commando or some such - not full auto, but a .50 cal, semi auto, mag fed, scoped rifle...just to keep the noise level in the neigborhood down...

...and the cat population.

ma duece is my friend.

The Barrett is a good weapon for long range sniping (and even more deadly at shorter ranges) but what would you do with it? We used them to good effect in the first Gulf War and in Somalia.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-gun and own a couple vintage military rifles and pistols and a couple modern ones as well (including the .45 Sig that I carried in the first Gulf War and Somalia). Commonsensically, however, I still not can't see any place for a Barrett, M-2 Browning, or any other machine-gun or sub-machinegun in the civilian community -- it certainly isn't a very practical or cost-effective varmint gun or plinking weapon.

I don't know what you're referring to with Coors thing, Frank, but it does sometimes boil down to a need-want thing and I think it was the Rolling Stones said it well with "Ya can't always get what you want....."

Isn't this kinda like asking "why do people build models?"...

To each his own.

Because it's fun?

Because it's fun!!!!!!!!! Besides, haven't you ever shot trap with an MP-5SD...no fair loading more than 5 in the mag.

i always thought you can't always want what you get? rufus, going to v-ville any time soon? i feel a need for ride.

i got to fire a long belt threw my friend's 50. we had a new old refridgerator to play with. after 30 seconds, it was GONE! and everyone was pissed that i had shot up the day's fodder. had to go find an old swamp box to appease them. but man, was that coolness.