I did the drawings to install the plumbing and wiring on those cabin air turbo compressors. 707 -120 series. No engine bleed air was allowed in the cabin then. Shows the early sound attenuation engine exhaust system.
A friend of mine recently sent me this photo of a nose-wheel door from F-111F 74-0179 with my name on it. 0179 was lost during an approach to RAF Leuchars, Fife, Scotland on 11 September 1982. Both crewmembers survived the capsule ejection. The aircraft belonged to the 492 TFS, to which I belonged from January 1980 to October 1983 and again in 1991 during Desert Storm. This was one of the easily recognizable surviving pieces. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I didn’t realize the F-111 had a capsule ejection system. Its an impressively complicated (and heavy) system, even going so far as to automatically fire chaff after ejection. Here is a awesome video on it.
Affirmative, and with a 3000 lb capsule and 30,000 lb rocket, up to 10 Gs were seen on ejection. Landing was pretty rough, too, and most survivors lost a half inch or so of height.
As soft and gentle as landing on a pillow <edit out> strapped to your azz, and you jump off of the roof</edit>
Jag, Kurt- Described by those who ejected from F-111s that the landing was like being dropped in a straight back chair from a second story window. I have the same number of take-offs and landings, so glad I did not get to try it.
A very good book about the wingtip coupling programs: https://www.amazon.com/Flying-Aircraft-Carriers-USAF-Coupling/dp/0578031868/
