Russia Unveils Ejector Seat for Light Planes

Russian space and pressure suit designers have come up with a one-of-a-kind ejector seat for light aircraft.

MOSCOW, January 28 (Sputnik) – The cutting-edge ejector seat developed by the Zvezda R&D firm is meant for light one-or-two-seater aircraft and ensures a safe exit from stalling and nose-diving planes.

Because traditional ejector seats are too heavy for small planes, pilots and passengers often wear bulky parachutes on their backs and find it hard to bail out of the cabin, forced to rely on their physical strength and speed to stay alive.

“A pilot may find it hard to leave the cabin of a stalling plane because he would have to first unbuckle the harness, remove the canopy, get out and push himself away from the hull. It all takes time. Our system does it all in less than a second,” a Zvezda spokesman told RT.

The newly-developed seat (KS-2012) weighs a mere 16.5 kilos. It uses a telescopic metal pole, operated by a pneumatic cylinder, to eject the pilot high enough to avoid hitting the tail, and comes complete with a custom-tailored parachute.

According to Zvezda representatives, the new system was developed with virtually all existing types of small planes in mind.

It was first unveiled at a light aviation expo in Germany last year and will be showcased at the MAKS air show in Moscow this summer.

NPP Zvezda, based just outside Moscow, has over 60 years of experience. The Orlan spacesuits used by Russian cosmonauts for spacewalks from the International Space Station are their creation.