2 ms·
"If it says Pratt and Whitney on the engine, it better say Martin-Baker on the seat!" -Unknown (Martin-Baker is an ejection seat manufacturer.)
by NortySpock 6y ago
"If it says Pratt and Whitney on the engine, it better say Martin-Baker on the seat!" -Unknown
(Martin-Baker is an ejection seat manufacturer.)
- mncharity 6y agoI was curious, so... The quote may be from the 1970's, associated with the F-14, its troubled placeholder P&W TF30 engine, and maybe then early TF100 problems.[1] Brief googling does not suggest P&W airline engines are atypically problematic. But the engine technology envelope has historically been an aircraft bottleneck, and therefore pushed hard, with associated failure. Thus the quote. And China's ongoing difficulty manufacturing airline engines. Which remain challenging[2]. > Powerplant makers face conflicting demands for performance, reliability and huge production rates [...] “I’m a little bit irritated that over the years we as an airline, and the industry, have been subjected to the requirements of the propulsion manufacturers, and to an extent the airframe manufacturers, where we are expected to deal with quality-control issues, design issues etc, and operate these aircraft and engines and take whatever consequences there are when they don’t work,” [2](2019) [1] https://www.google.com/books/edition/Storm_Over_Iraq/DqaZBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22If+the+engines+say+Pratt+%26+Whitney,+the+seats+should+say+Martin-Baker%22&pg=PT452&printsec=frontcover https://www.google.com/books/edition/Storm_Over_Iraq/DqaZBwA... [2] https://www.flightglobal.com/strategy/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-6-biggest-commercial-engine-manufacturers-/134678.article https://www.flightglobal.com/strategy/everything-you-need-to...
- kayfox 6y agoThe superstitions of fighter pilots are not always based on hard science...