On the left side of the first photo is White Sands National Monument. Kind of interesting to go play in a public area set aside in the middle of a missile range and Air Force Base. They ain’t kidding when they say not to approach any wreckage you might find.
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And sometimes for testing targets. Though that’s mostly done on the sister track at Sandia. Yes, they are testing the wall, not the jet, in the first video.
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I’m not sure what the track tests at Mach 8 (missile systems, maybe?) but I don’t think they’re doing any ejection tests at that speed. Ejecting into open air (without an escape capsule) at Mach 1 is usually fatal and always devastating; there’s no point even trying at much higher speeds.
(One man did survive “ejecting” from an SR-71 at Mach 3.18, with major extenuating circumstances. The plane broke apart around him, so the bulk of the cockpit shielded him from the initial deceleration before breaking up completely, and those guys have pressure suits/“spacesuits” rather than ordinary flight suits. His copilot died instantly when the windshear broke his neck.)
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That’s why ejection seats use rocket motors instead of explosive charges now. It “gradually” accelerates the pilot instead of hammering the spinal column with the massive shock from an explosive charge.
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Brick vs brick?
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I’m sure that’s reassuring to some. But there’s a paragraph in the Turnips operating manual that says if it jostles me quicker than I can turn down the corner of the page I was reading then it’s too much.
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There was one pilot who survived an ejection from an SR-71 flying at Mach 3+. Not a pleasant experience…
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The very high altitude (79k feet) would have been a factor here. Pressure at that altitude is about 1/40th of pressure at sea level, so dynamic loads are going to be a lot less.
That video with “people” in an open cockpit at “mach 8” looked totally wrong for many reasons.
Yup. Title should have read “Watch pilots eject 8-track cartrige on joyride in convertible”
Here’s a photo of a test of an ejection capsule designed to be used at multiple mach speed. This was the one designed for the B-70 mach 3 bomber. Notice that it is completely enclosed.
“There are very few missions requiring years of planning and preparation, only to be accomplished in less than six seconds.” - Ah, so then you don’t know about my honeymoon.
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A) those are dummies
B) that isn’t Mach 8. It’s not even supersonic.
The test track has done speeds up to mach 8, and mach 10 is their goal. The writer didn’t listen very closely.
Didn’t Indiana Jones ride down one of these tracks once?
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