So, you’ve seen some of the greatest low pass flybys and sonic booms captured on video, now check out something geeks can actually own and use from these fighter jets on a daily basis: ejection seat office chairs. For those who aren’t familiar with how these work, these seats basically are “propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rocket motor, carrying the pilot with it.” Continue reading to see more.
5. Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
This was the first model on the supersonic Mach 2 F-104 that fired upward.(1960-1968). The seat comes as a true show piece of Vintage Jet Fighter Aviation in fully mirror polished finish. This version has also a vertical leather back cushion and 2 leather covered adjustable armrests, in order to make a truly comfortable seat. You can sit in this one in a million seat for hours, it can turn around, is adjustable in height and has a relaxing backward tilt mode for long telephone calls.
4. British Fighter Jet
England; mid 20th century; British fighter jet pilot ejector seat in polished aluminum with yellow flotation device. A collector’s item, designed by the Martin Baker Aircraft Company of England, manufactured in 1976 and mounted on a free-standing stainless steel base.
3. Royal Navy Strike Aircraft
This unique device is said to come from the real deal – a Royal Navy strike aircraft, but I guess the ejection function no longer works. How nice it would be if the pressure from the top management gets unbearable, and with a push of the button, you can send your immediate superior flying through several floors up – or out through the window.
2. F-4
Break the sound barrier without ever leaving your office with the F-4 Ejection Seat. Our low riding F-4 chair has a custom fabricated aluminum base that is powder coated wrinkle black, with double wheel casters. The seat bucket is designed with either a racing red upholstery or your favorite color to match your decor. The authentic F-4 bucket seat has been left in original condition to reflect this Vietnam era bird.
MotoArt’s F-4 Ejection Seats are also available in a “mirror polish” finish. Over a hundred hours per chair is required for the painstaking task of polishing this highly intricate chair. Every mechanism is completely disassembled, stripped, sanded, polished and reassembled to perfection.
1. B-52
MotoArt technicians strip the seat of all old material, then repair, grind, sand, and polish the frame to a high gloss aluminum finish. High performance vinyl is standard, as shown, but leather and other materials are also available. The base plate and seat frame can also be powder coated with any of an array of colors.
MotoArt’s B-52 Ejection chair comes from the B-52 Stratofortress. It was built to carry a payload of 60,000 pounds and is the largest bomber in U.S. Air Force history. That just may explain why these seats have what it takes to support you through a brutal meeting or two.
Bonus Videos
Pilots have successfully ejected from underwater in a handful of rare instances, after being forced to ditch in water. Documented evidence exists that Pilots of the US and Indian Navies have performed this rare feat. As of June 20th, 2011 – when two Spanish Air Force pilots ejected over San Javier airport – the number of lives saved by Martin-Baker products was 7,360 from 93 air forces. The company gives survivors a unique tie and lapel pin. The total figure for all types of ejector seats is unknown, but may be considerably higher.
A zero-zero ejection seat is designed to safely extract upward and land its occupant from a grounded stationary position (i.e., zero altitude and zero airspeed), specifically from aircraft cockpits. The zero-zero capability was developed to help aircrews escape upward from unrecoverable emergencies during low-altitude and/or low-speed flight, as well as ground mishaps. Before this capability, ejections could only be performed above minimum altitudes and airspeeds. Zero-zero technology uses small rockets to propel the seat upward to an adequate altitude and a small explosive charge to open the parachute canopy quickly for a successful parachute descent, so that reliance on airspeed and altitude is no longer required for proper deployment of the parachute.
[Sources 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6]
