retirement "gift" goes so wrong--eject eject eject!

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,684
14,935
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Lol hope he was wearing diapers. Who the hell thought sticking a 65 year old in a fighter jet without asking is a good idea?
 

kage69

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
26,968
35,584
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Was going to say that's a hell of a way to lose a perfectly great fighter, but the other seat malfunctioned? Nice! Landed "al fresco" heh

Loved this excerpt:

"Well, mistakes were made. Lots of them. Since this treat was to be a surprise, the recipient didn't get much of a briefing on what to expect. His g-suit pants weren't on correctly, his seat harness wasn't tight, and his helmet—and oxygen mask—were unbuckled as the plane taxied to the runway at Saint-Dizier 113 air base. He was so nervous that his heartbeat was around 140 beats per minute just from climbing into the plane. Our reluctant Goose did get medical clearance from a doctor, but only four hours before the flight, and with an important stipulation: no negative g's. The way the rest of this was unfolding, do you want to guess whether there were negative g's? Mais oui."


Haha. Just toss those pants man. Don't even try.
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
12,974
7,891
136
Wow. That did not go well.

I was thinking it could have gone a hell of a lot worse. He only suffered minor injuries, and, from that account, it was only good-bad-luck that the front seat didn't fire and the pilot wasn't ejected as well, which presumably would have meant the total loss of the aircraft (and whatever it eventually landed on?).

Oh, and plus they presumably also discovered about the defect in the double-ejection system. He did them a favour, stress-testing the system. (Perhaps like Trump and the Constitution)

Always look on the bright side of life...


(Does the Oval Office have an ejector seat?)
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
12,974
7,891
136
If so, make sure it's marked with a huge sign saying 'Mr President, do not press this button'.
 
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ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
37,734
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Lol, it all reads like a goof ball movie. I just picture Mr. Bean stumbling into a fighter right before take off
 
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BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
62,679
11,023
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I especially liked this line:

"Apparently the quick and dirty safety briefing failed to properly emphasize the fact that the black-and-yellow striped loop in the middle of the seat, between his legs, was not a grab handle but the trigger for the ejection seat."
 
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UNCjigga

Lifer
Dec 12, 2000
24,802
9,004
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Somewhere, a well-deserved Darwin Award is still collecting dust on a shelf...
 

tweaker2

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
14,478
6,901
136
I think there's a whole lot of adrenalin junkies that would pay good money to eject themselves out of a perfectly operating fighter aircraft for the rush.

As well, I think there's a whole lot of entrepreneurs out there that just had a fantastic idea for a profitable novel use of that proven safe ejection seat.

Voila, a case of supply and demand in action.
 
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cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
23,049
12,719
136
Holy crap.
So ... on the high HIGH of this dudes panic attack ... he pulls the eject handle. I mean. Damn.
.......... im not a good person, this is entirely too funny... either he came down forever a broken man with a world record level of ptsd -OR- he met god up there and is now forever a true messenger of the lord.
 
Last edited:
Jun 18, 2000
11,114
688
126
Holy crap.
So ... on the high HIGH of this dudes panic attack ... he pulls the eject handle. I mean. Damn.
.......... im not a good person, this is entirely too funny... either he came down forever a broken man with a world record level of ptsd -OR- he met god up there and is now forever a true messenger of the lord.

No telling what kind of person he is. Either he's waking up with nightmares of falling, or he has one of the best stories anybody has ever had to tell (or both).
 

Thump553

Lifer
Jun 2, 2000
12,651
2,394
126
Personally I would have loved a fighter jet ride as a retirement gift-if they included the negative gs (to an extent). But not as a surprise, and certainly not without adequate briefing and preparation.
 
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