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This may be a stupid question, but what are the costs and risks of military-style ejection seats in small planes like these? I'm always a little surprised that
by drzaiusapelord 12y ago
This may be a stupid question, but what are the costs and risks of military-style ejection seats in small planes like these? I'm always a little surprised that the wealthy can buy fairly expensive planes but there's no cost room for features that may save their lives during a stall or engine failure one can't recover from.
- freehunter 12y agoIt would make the plan heavier, for one. It would increase the cost and complexity of the aircraft. It would likely reduce the comfort of the aircraft because it would have to have a place where the plane opens directly above the pilot. You could also argue it would make flying less safe if a pilot could easily and safely ditch his plane whenever he wanted to. That plane has to come down somewhere, either in a populated area by itself or in a corn field with a pilot behind the controls.
- chiph 12y agoIf the pilot & passengers eject, you still have the liability of a now pilot-less airplane coming down in a populated area at high speed. Small prop planes can get whole-plane parachutes installed[1], and by all accounts they work very well. They get certified by type, so the owner of one of these Mitsubishis would have to check to see if it was approved for their plane. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_Recovery_Systems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_Recovery_Systems
- evan_ 12y agoMilitary style ejection seats are dangerous and require training to use properly, and even with training they regularly break the limbs of the people who are forced to use them.