A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the Lancashire factory where a renowned fighter jet flies out of is the setting for the latest episode of an award-winning YouTube series.
The seats for the Typhoon fighter jet, which is flown out of BAE Systems’ Warton air base, are designed and manufactured by aircraft company Martin-Baker.
The seats for the Typhoon fighter jet, which is flown out of BAE Systems’ Warton air base, are designed and manufactured by aircraft company Martin-Baker.
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00:003, 2, 1, FIRE!
00:30Eurofighter Typhoon
00:36Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the safest fighter planes in the world.
00:40But in case you need to eject, it all comes down to one special asset.
00:44The ejection seat.
00:46Today we open the factory gates to the mother of all ejection seats.
00:50The Martin Baker Company in England.
00:53We take a look on how the seats are produced, how they function
00:57and what the test engineers do to ensure that the seats work within milliseconds in case of emergency.
01:03So join me now, this year's The Fighter Show, with Flo.
01:07Ejection Seats
01:26So guys, today it's all about ejection seats and we are here at the famous Martin Baker Company.
01:31Next to me, Steve, he's working here since the last 30 years. Hi Steve, how are you doing?
01:34Welcome to Martin Baker, Flo.
01:36Right now, Steve, Martin Baker producing ejection seats since almost 100 years, is that correct?
01:41Well, the company has existed for 90 years, but we've been continuously developing ejection seats for the last 79 years.
01:47And you've got a pretty well track record in saving lives.
01:51We have saved the lives of 7,720 aircrew to date.
01:58We've got them here, the ejection seats, and let's talk a bit more about it.
02:02They all look a bit like complicated seats with safety belts.
02:05What makes an ejection seat an ejection seat?
02:08Well, the ejection seat is really complex, so it's not just a chair, it also has a ballistic system
02:13because we have to get you out of the cockpit very, very quickly.
02:16We have electronics within the seat to determine the time to deploy the parachute
02:21and in here we have a very large parachute to get you down to the ground.
02:25So that's directly behind your head, right?
02:27Down behind the head pad.
02:28And what you are sitting on, you're also sitting on what we call a survival aids container
02:33and all your survival aids are actually contained within this container.
02:36Okay, that's directly below the cushion where the pilot is sitting.
02:39So after ejection, the survival aids container will drop and you will use the survival aids post-ejection.
02:46Now let's talk about exactly that sequence because this is the magic handle here in yellow and black.
02:52If you pull that, you are launching the sequence to eject.
02:55What's happening after I pull that?
02:57Absolutely, this is no return.
02:59When I pull that handle, the initiation system will begin and that begins a pyrotechnic train.
03:05So you are retracted back into the seat in the posture for ejection
03:10and then the seat will begin to move up the rails.
03:13As the seat begins to move up the rails, the electronics will begin
03:17and they begin the sensing of the outside environment.
03:23The electronics have worked out what is the optimum time to deploy the parachute
03:32and separate you from the seat.
03:34Then after you have inflated the parachute, you will be descending
03:38and four seconds later the survival aids container will drop
03:41and the survival aids container, yourself and the parachute
03:44will come down as an assembly onto land or into the seat.
03:48But that really means the pilot is sitting on a high-tech rocket.
03:52It is, it's a very large rocket motor that you are sitting on.
03:55Now we've got here the original Mark 16A Eurofighter Typhoon seat.
04:01What's special about that ejection seat?
04:04The 16A was very special when it came into service.
04:08It was the first Mark 16 so it had a twin ejection gun
04:12and what that meant for us is we were able to meet the latest physiological requirements of the day
04:16but also we were able to integrate a helmet mounted display system,
04:20a very advanced life support system as well as liquid cooling.
04:24When we talk about the Typhoon as an aircraft, we all know that it will fly well beyond the 2060s
04:30which is quite some time to go now.
04:32Any plans regarding the seat? Because I mean we're talking about upgrading the aircraft.
04:38Absolutely. So next to me here, this is the next generation Typhoon seat.
04:44This is a prototype that introduces brand new features using the technology we developed for the F-35.
04:51So what you see at the top which is a different image is really our airbags.
04:57Airbags, what does that mean in terms of ejection seat?
04:59So we use airbags to stabilize the helmet during ejection so the head and helmet are not unconstrained.
05:06That means stabilizing the neck in a way then when you pull it.
05:11So the pilot is wearing a very large helmet mounted display and there is a higher risk of injury during ejection.
05:16So we use the airbags to actually hold the head and neck during the initial phase of the ejection sequence.
05:24Wow Steve, that's all pretty cool stuff and you're doing that all here on site, right?
05:29So the manufacturing, the parachute packing, you name it.
05:32Yes, we've made 869 seats for the 600 Typhoons here and we should go and take a look.
05:38Absolutely, now let's go.
05:41So Steve, where are we now here?
05:53We're now in the parachute packing department and this is a unique process to ejection seats.
05:59Here we take one of the four different types of parachute we have and we have a special folding technique
06:06to make sure when we deploy the parachute it comes up in a repeatable and controlled manner.
06:12We see those red things lying on the parachute, do you pack that into the container or what is that?
06:19These are tools used by the specialists here to actually fold the parachute in a predictable manner such that we can put it into the container.
06:29And how do you get a parachute like this with that size into a container, into the seat?
06:35Well, we've developed these three ton presses to press the parachute into this container.
06:39So that's a Typhoon container, right?
06:42This is a Typhoon parachute container that looks smaller than the actual volume of a parachute.
06:47So we actually have to press the air out of the parachute to get it into this space.
06:52And how do you manage that?
06:53So once we fold the parachute, we put the parachute container under the press to actually squeeze the air out of the assembly.
07:03So you press with three tons the parachute into that container. How long does it take?
07:08Well, it's about 10 hours of pressing, but the whole process from start to finish is about three days.
07:13And you can't allow any failure, right?
07:15No, it has to be perfect every time.
07:17And we also hear that it's quite silent here. There's no noise. Is that because the packers need to focus on the work?
07:23They need to concentrate and this has to be a low stress environment.
07:26So Flo, we are here on our main manufacturing shop floor and we're just coming up to the machine shop.
07:32Well, it looks a bit like they have a metal fraction here for a good year, right?
07:36Hi, I'm Flo. How are you doing?
07:38Good, thanks.
07:39What do you have here in your hand?
07:41So this is the front cross beam for the seat bucket for the Typhoon.
07:45So that's really in the Typhoon seat?
07:47It really is in the Typhoon. It's manufactured from billet aluminium, so a solid block of metal.
07:53And it's manufactured on our 4-axis CNC machines, so you have an X, Y, Z and a B-axis, which allows it to turn.
08:00So that piece comes out of a real brick of aluminium?
08:04A real brick of aluminium, just about the same size as this.
08:07Can I lift that?
08:08Yes, you can.
08:09Wow, that's a lightweight thing.
08:11It is very light.
08:16Well, Steve, one last question before we are heading off to the test facility.
08:20One last question before we are heading off to the test facility, Martin Baker.
08:24You mentioned something off-camera, which really shocked me.
08:27We all know the Top Gun movies, and you are of the opinion that Goose in Top Gun 1, when he's ejecting his F-14, is not dying at all.
08:37He can't be dead. He's still alive.
08:39Well, the F-14A was fitted with a cast acrylic canopy, and the seat's fitted with breakers.
08:44So the seat can go through canopy in the backup mode.
08:48So, for me, Goose is alive.
08:50That means that is the biggest lie of, well, aviation movies, right?
08:54Very sensationalist in the movie, absolutely.
08:57But I'm relieved, friends. Goose is alive. Thank you, Steve, for this.
09:01Here is your official Fightershow patch. Many thanks.
09:05And we head further on to the Martin Baker test facilities. This is the Fightershow with Flo.
09:19So, guys, we are here at Chalgrove Airfield, the test facility of Martin Baker.
09:23And you know the expression that this is not rocket science.
09:26This here definitely is rocket science, because in a couple of minutes we're going to fire a real rocket motor
09:32that is normally strapped beneath a Martin Baker ejection seat.
09:35And before that, I'm talking to Dan, the godfather of rocket motors, here at Martin Baker.
09:40Hi, Dan.
09:41Nice to meet you. Not bad, thank you.
09:42So you've got a little setup for us here. What do we see?
09:45Yeah, so we start off in the build process. We lay out the hardware on the table.
09:49We put some adhesive on the threads, we fit the end caps, and then we get to this setting fixture.
09:53So this setting fixture dictates the length and the orientation of the nozzles.
09:57Now we've got a fully assembled motor with the igniter cartridge in there.
10:01What you've got inside here is approximately 15,000 horsepower of thrust.
10:05That's incredible.
10:07And that will take the pilot in his seat from the aircraft to 100 meters above in just 0.67 of a second,
10:14with 0 to 100 kilometers an hour of 0.17.
10:17This is incredible, Dan. This is incredible.
10:19From 0 to 100 in 0.17 seconds.
10:25And I think now we are ready to fire our motor.
10:28Thank you very much for the information, Dan.
10:30This is your fighter ship hatch.
10:32Thank you.
10:33And let's go fire it now.
10:37Let's go.
11:08So, guys, we are now outside of the test bunker.
11:11Inside there is Chris with the rocket motor, and in a couple of seconds he will fire it.
11:16And we are waiting now for the big bang.
11:19Wow!
11:35What a wave, guys!
11:37This was our rocket motor, blown away by Chris.
11:40And this is the Fight Show with Flo.
11:44So, it looks a bit like as if we were at the doctor's,
11:47because we got an X-ray of the rocket motor here behind us.
11:50Dale, what is it all about?
11:52Here, we are checking for the correct assembly, make sure everything is in place.
11:55It's the final quality check before our rocket motors go to the customer.
11:58And we need to make sure that they are working perfectly when they arrive.
12:01So, speaking with the doctor's language, you hope that the rocket motor is not sick, right?
12:05We definitely hope it's not sick, and we hope it's in perfect condition and perfect health when it arrives.
12:14So, after firing the rocket motor, we are now at the C-Test department together with Nigel.
12:19Hi, Nigel.
12:20Hello.
12:21And Nick.
12:22Hi, Nick.
12:23Hello there.
12:24Now, Nick, what is the C-Test department doing?
12:30Well, we're doing ejection testing, component and subsystem testing.
12:34Sounds interesting.
12:35And what we see here is the C-Test.
12:38Ejection testing, component and subsystem testing.
12:41Sounds interesting.
12:42And what we see here, Nigel, is a couple of mannequins.
12:46Years ago, I saw films where Martin Baker was testing their seats with real human beings.
12:51Why don't you do that anymore now?
12:53Okay, many years ago, we used to use real people in the testing system.
12:57But now, we use crash test dummies because we want data.
13:02And data is really important to analyse to check the performance of the seat.
13:07And we all know these kind of mannequins from the automotive industry.
13:13Are they the same or do you use different types of mannequins?
13:17These are loosely based on the automotive crash test dummies.
13:20But these are slightly modified with stronger joints in various places and a different shaped head.
13:26So, they can accommodate the pilot's helmet.
13:29Nigel, if I were you, I would worry most about losing my data.
13:34When I'm blowing up the whole mannequin with the seat and you want to have the data,
13:40what do you do or how do you secure the fact that you have the data afterwards?
13:46So, our data acquisition system, which is this system.
13:51So, that's where you store the data, right?
13:53This is the memory and all the transducers.
13:55Some of the transducers are in there.
13:57It's deep in the chest cavity.
14:01Deep in there and it's protected by the ribcage and the flesh that will wrap around it and protect it.
14:07You mean plastic flesh, right?
14:09Yes, that's correct.
14:10Okay, no real one.
14:11Not real one.
14:12And then keep fingers crossed that everything goes right.
14:14That's correct.
14:15What we see here also is two different sizes of mannequins.
14:18I know that you get a couple more on stock.
14:21Why are you testing with different sizes?
14:23Okay, the small and the large.
14:26This represents the smallest pilots and actual dimensions
14:30and this represents the largest dimensions of the largest pilot.
14:33So, that checks the full range of pilots in our seat,
14:37so we get the full data available for each pilot.
14:41That means a Martin Baker seat needs to fit a 50 kg female pilot,
14:46same as a 110 kg male pilot, right?
14:48Exactly.
14:49Now, once we got the mannequin equipped with all the technology,
14:52we enter Nick's business.
14:55Nick, what's happening then afterwards?
14:57Well, once the instrumentation has all been installed and the mannequin is built up,
15:01it's important that we then dress it in the appropriate clothing for the test
15:06that the customer would want.
15:08At the same time we're doing that,
15:10we're also preparing the ejection seat by fitting cartridges
15:13and we're fitting instrumentation so that we can monitor systems within the seat.
15:18But that means there are instruments and sensors in the mannequin itself
15:22and also in the seat, right?
15:24That's correct, yes.
15:25And we connect through to one or the other
15:27and then we're storing all of that data within the mannequin.
15:30Nick, now let's imagine we want to do one of those famous rail tests.
15:35What would happen as the next step?
15:37Well, after we've checked everything on the seat,
15:40we would then take the seat and install it into the test fuselage
15:44and at the same time we've been preparing rockets for the propulsion.
15:48And at 3, 2, 1, somebody's pressing the button and off you go.
15:52And then it's 3, 2, 1, fire.
15:54Let the thunder roll!
15:56How many tests like that did you do on Typhoon?
15:59On Typhoon, I worked on about 70 of those full ejection tests.
16:05And in your whole career?
16:07In my whole career, approximately 4,000 tests.
16:11That's quite huge, quite something.
16:14So you're really experienced in shooting seats up in the air
16:17and you're still enjoying that, right?
16:19Yes, it's a thrill every day.
16:21Thank you very much, Nick.
16:22That concludes our Fightershow here from Martin Baker.
16:26Thank you very much.
16:27This is the official Fightershow patch for you, Nick.
16:30Thank you.
16:31Nigel, that's for you.
16:34And I dare say this was so far the most explosive day
16:37in the history of the Fightershow.
16:39Take care, see you soon, and may the Air Force be with you.
16:51FIGHTERSHOW FIGHTERSHOW
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