• TopRamenBinLaden@sh.itjust.works
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    11 days ago

    I know this is a joke, but helicopters don’t have ejection seats. If they did, they would just eject the pilot into the rotors and turn them into confetti.

    • JordanZ@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      They exist…just uncommon.

      The Kamov Ka-50, which entered limited service with Russian forces in 1995, was the first production helicopter with an ejection seat. The system is similar to that of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft; however the main rotors are equipped with explosive bolts to jettison the blades moments before the seat is fired.

      • TopRamenBinLaden@sh.itjust.works
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        11 days ago

        Crazy! I had no idea these existed. Thanks for sharing the knowledge.

        I just remember an old airforce pilot telling me that he thought helicopter pilots had more balls than jet pilots, because if something goes wrong, helicopter pilots gotta go down with the ship. So, I figured that they didn’t exist at all.