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The zero/zeros are great.......
Designed to allow you to 'walk away' on landing, ie get you high enough for the 'chute to deploy fully and get a number of swings before landing.
The overhead blind mechanism was to protect the face of the pilot and 'force' him to assume the correct position.
Also remember early seats were literally 'explosive' charges like a cannon cordite load.
Current seats are rocket seats, comprising several stages of burning to allow exit from tha a/c, a boost to get you away depending on height etc. All this as well as a way to 'slowly' build up G foreces to avoid neck snapping and other injuries....
As speeds and agility increased then reaching over head became a big problem, hence the between the legs hoop and side handles.
But with the advent of the electronic seats which have motorised belts, leg and arm restaints which pull all the limbs in the overhead curtain has been deleted.
As a general rules the a/c designed in Europe (Harrier, T-45 Goshawk, Mirages etc) have MDC embedded in the canopy and will use non penetrative seats....
Russians similarly have MDC enabled canopies. Russian seats have had a great press in the past because of a couple of well published accidents at airshows....Mig -29s and Su -27 colliding etc.
for the Su accident the pilot ejected from and a/c with 90 degrees plus of bank angle, you can see the seat fire outwards and begin to climb before 'chute deployment....Pretty nifty rocket work.
US a/c tend to discard the canopy before ejecting the pilot....
Both have advantages and disadvantages, remember Top Gun when Goose goes into the canopy when ejecting....no fun and it has happened.
All users of the MB seats get to join the 'Caterpillar Club' named after the silk spinning caterpillar (I thought it was a worm!) get a tie, a certificate etc. They hold reunions every year to celebrate their survival. Numbers are currently 5000+.
Great pic. I do hope its real, if the pilot left his a/c going in any other direction at that level he's going kill the crowd...
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