--- title: "11 amazing facts about aircraft ejection seats" description: "Ejection seats may seem like something out of a cartoon, but in the military, they're completely real. Hopefully, no one needs to use them." date: "2022-01-28" modified: "2022-01-28" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/11-facts-about-aircraft-ejection-seats/" categories: - "Air Force" - "Aircraft" - "History" - "Tactical" --- # 11 amazing facts about aircraft ejection seats ![]() Obviously, having to eject from a multi-million dollar aircraft of any kind is the last thing on a pilot's bucket list (and is dangerous enough to actually be the last thing on the pilot's bucket list). The truth is that, as in any military job function, things don't always go as planned, even for the men and women fighting at a few thousand feet above the Earth. --- The technology surrounding the ejection of any pilot is really incredible. After more than a century in the making, ejections can be made at supersonic speeds and at altitudes where there is little oxygen in the air. The canopy blows open, the air rushes in, and in one-tenth of a second, the pilot(s) are on their way to safety. The tech has come a long way since and the chances of a successful ejection are up from 50% in the 1940s. A lot happened in the meantime. Here are 11 things you may not have known before. ### 1. The first successful ejection was in 1910 and was initiated by bungee cord. In 1916, one of the inventors of a type of parachute also invented an ejection seat powered by compressed air. ### 2. The German Luftwaffe perfected the ejection seat during WWII. The first combat ejection was in 1942. ![]() *The Focke-Wulf FW190 Würger testing ejection seat.* Two German companies, Heinkel and SAAB (of the automobile fame) were working on their own types of ejection seats. The pilot of the first ejection bailed out because his control surfaces iced over. ### 3. Some aircraft, like the supersonic F-111, used pods to eject the crews. The B-58 Hustler tested its ejection system by ejecting bears. ![]() *Lt. (j.g.) William Belden ejects from an A-4E Skyhawk on the deck of the USS Shangri-La in the western Pacific circa 29 July 1970.* Because parachutes need time to open, early zero-zero (zero altitude, zero airspeed) ejection seats used a kind of cannon to shoot the pilot out once they cleared the canopy. This put incredible forces on the pilot. ### 5. Before zero-zero seats, safe ejections required minimum altitudes and airspeeds. ![]() *A Royal Air Force pilot ejects from a Harrier at Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan.* Modern zero-zero technology uses small rockets to propel the seat upward and a small explosive to open the parachute canopy, cutting the time needed for the chute to open and saving the forces on the pilot. ### 6. The most common reason ejections fail is aviators wait too long to eject. ![]() *[A recent study found]() the survival rate for ejection was as high as 92%, but the remaining 8% is usually because the pilot waited until the last second to eject.* ### 7. Seats in planes like the B-1 Bomber eject at different angles so they don't collide. ![]() *A two-ship of B-1B Lancers assigned to the 28th Bomb Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, release chaff and flares while maneuvering over New Mexico during a training mission Feb. 24, 2010. Dyess celebrates the 25th anniversary of the first B-1B bomber arriving at the base. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald)* The B-1B Lancer has a crew of four and their seats are designed so that the seats are positioned at different angles and different intervals to avoid mid-air collisions. The B-1A used a capsule for the crew. ### 8. Depending on altitude and airspeed, the seats accelerate upward between 12 and 20 Gs. ![]() *That's just the upward thrust. Pilots have ejected in speeds exceeding 800 miles per hour (the speed of sound is 767.2 mph) and from altitudes as high as 57,000 feet.* ### 9. Ejection seat manufacturer Martin-Baker gives a certificate, tie, and patch to aviators who join the "Martin-Baker Fan Club" by successfully ejecting. ![]() *The first pilot was a Royal Air Force airman who ejected over what was then Rhodesia in January 1957. Since then, over [5800 registered members]() have joined.* ### 10. The interval between ejections in a two-seat plane like the F-14 Tomcat is about half a second. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wCPWniM-GU *The RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) goes first, then the pilot ([Goose]() then Maverick, but in real life, Goose would probably survive.)* ### 11. Ejection seats have saved more than 7,000 people. ![]() *Not Goose, of course. (Should have followed F-14 NATOPS boldface procedures. RIP, shipmate . . .)* ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()