Jump to content

F-105 Ejection seat and aircraft T.O.s


toadboy65
 Share

Recommended Posts

I am in the process of finishing the restoration of a F-105 seat to 1971 specs. I have been generously helped by JPAC and the USAF. If anyone here needs the information, I have copies of the T.O.s and flight manuals for the Thud up to 71, and a few later. 6000 plus pages of T.O.s .Also some spare parts and raw materials. I will probably ask postage for the data, and trade for the parts. Please don't ask for the T.O.s if you plan to sell them on ebay. Here is my Thud seat last week... ( I am aware that the green cushions are too dark. The covers are leather, and I will probably re-dye them to the correct shade. )

post-154154-0-76159900-1410317010.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

TrenchfootJoe66

Wow, nice work Toad !! Kinda timely as Im currently trying to buy a seat from an A-1 Skyraider. Its in pretty bad shape. Im not sure what I will do with it but you have definitely inspired me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This seat is one that my Dad flew in combat. he had always complained that he had never been comfortable in a seat, except the Thud. Once I got older, I have kept my eye out for a Thud seat for his old age. It took about 10 years of looking. This one had been on the range, and was badly damaged. Lots of TIG welding and riveting. I have pretty good Museum and USAF connections, so I was able to get official help with T.O.s and some parts. I chose to do the seat as 1971, because I wanted wartime configuration, which differs significantly from the postwar configuration, when the mission changed. For instance, there was a custom-made thermos mounted behind the seat during the war, with a camelbak type tube and bite valve routed to the pilot's harness, designed to release from the bottle during man/seat separation. There are a hundred little details like that. I have made some changes. cushions, arm and headrests are leather. There is an audio chip wired into the helmet connection that plays a six-hour loop of mission audio when you plug the helmet in. The pyrotechnics are inert but will look correct. I have a rolling stand which will put the seat at the correct height and angle. I have been at this for two years, and i am getting to the point where I can see the final goal, even though there are plenty of details to deal with. Of course there are several assemblies ready but not yet on the seat. I have been invited to go down to florida by the USAF to learn to properly pack the parachute, which I will be doing soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
northcoastaero

Nice ejection seat restoration project. I had an early war F-105D seat at one time, before the modification of the leg restraint line/garter assy., thicker cushion, lap belt, etc. Some items that you need for your seat include:

 

-Communications cable with plug for the oxygen hose.

-Anti-g suit hose with connector.

-Vent suit hose with connector.

-Leg restraint lines with garters.

-Seat kit cushion with raised curved front edge made from olive drab cloth.

-Possibly a BA-24 parachute assy. with PCU-10/P Personnel Lowering Device. Maybe a ballistic spread

parachute assy.

 

The book The Parachute Manual Vol. 1 by Dan Poynter shows how to pack a BA-18/BA-22 parachute assy. Good luck with the project.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I do have almost everything I need to finish the project. I just installed a NOS g-suit hose, and the wiring harness. I have a BA-22 parachute pack and chute. I have the original leg restraints, but will be fabricating new ones from the correct materials. I have some items still on my want list, in particular-

 

Man/seat separator reel assembly

Parachute deployment gun and cable assembly

drogue chute container

seat adjustment motor

AN/PRC-90 Survival Radio for the survival vest. I already have an AN/URT-33 for the chute pack

If anyone has these items, let me know, you can be my new best friend. -t

Link to comment
Share on other sites

northcoastaero

I believe in 1971 that one or two AN/URC-64 radios were carried possibly with spare batteries in the vest. I guess that AN/PRC-90 is possible?

Try flighthelmet.com and magnum-aero.com for parts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

TrenchfootJoe66

I wish I had a PRC 90 for you. Ive had them before. I would love to be able to contribute to this project. Just too cool.

If I can come up with one Ill let you know. But you will probably locate one pretty soon. Not too hard to find.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Admittedly, the AN/PRC-90 is the easiest item on the list to find. I know I can buy one from Flighthelmet.com, but shopping there is so expensive ( $75.00 for a two-foot O2 hose!). I am sure I will see one at a fair price eventually. The information I have is that they were used from 68 until I think the 80s. I looked up the AN/URC-64, which is a four channel version that I did not know about. So now I have to talk to the egress guys again. I will post the results. The biggest thing is the man/seat separator reel assembly. Nobody else seems to have one of these on their seat, but the goals established for this project require it. I have measured drawings of it, but I would be happier if it was functional, not just milled out of aluminum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

first, I want to apologise to the mods about complaining about image imbedding before I figured out about "more reply options". That being said, I want to add some images of the seat- here is the back, showing the shoulder strap inertial reel and the empty space where the Man/seat separator is supposed to be.

post-154154-0-57168600-1412732675.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is the right side armrest area. The initiators are being anodized as we speak. I have been putting off striping the yellow handles, but I need to get on that.

post-154154-0-14971800-1412733081.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

here is the last image for now, to save bandwidth. It is a "before" image. This aircraft spent some time as a target on a gunnery range, so the first year was mostly about riveting and TIG welding. And accumulating manuals. I also spent way too much time rebuilding the internals of the inertial reel, which realistically will not be flown, as there are no present flying examples of this aircraft.

post-154154-0-42027400-1412733948.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great work on your project, and good luck with the finishing parts of it!

 

I am curious on the stand you have for it... Is it custom built only for your seat or do you think it's something which could somewhat readily be modified to use with other seats?

 

I have a T-33 seat (for sale very reasonably if anyone is intersted) and also a seat from an A-4, but they of course sit so low without a stand that they are not something anyone can really readily sit in or on. I am not the metal fabricating sort, so I have been interested in seeing people's stand designs in order to get ideas or to find out if others like you would make additional stands.

 

Also, can you tell us a bit about your dad's combat history?

 

Thanks!

MW

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello,

 

amazing job ... it's full scale modeling !!

 

When I was in modeling in the 80s, I always thought ejection seats were the most interesting part of the jets.

 

Regards, E

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have made a wheeled frame, which could be used on any seat. The F-105 seat mounts on a rail in the cockpit, and I am fabricating one of those now. The rail in the aircraft is at a fixed angle, and the height adjustment system allows the seat to ride up and down on the rail. (FYI- the adjustment is not about comfort, it is about sitting with the top of your helmet the proper distance from the canopy for safe ejection).post-154154-0-44280400-1412808163.jpg My rail has some slight angle adjustment, centered on the in-flight seat angle, and will have height adjustment based on measurements I took from the chair in my office, which seems at a comfortable height. the main issue with ejection seat stands is that they need to be fairly robust, and they need to take into account that the seat wants to tip backards. I made mine out of square tubular steel with very heavy castors. I will try to take some pics of the stand tomorrow. In the mean time, here is a diagram of the rail-

post-154154-0-44280400-1412808163.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wish I could edit the last post. One extra image crept in, right in the middle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, here is the stand at this point. The stainless rod will go through the rail illustrated in my last post. I expect the rail sections to be ready to pick up tomorrow. I will have to rivet the rail parts together, which should be interesting. Before i started on the seat, I purchased a bunch of surplus tools from Boeing, and a bunch of Milsurp rivets and other fasteners. I have the USAF manuals on riveting specs, and I practiced until I was consistent and acceptible. Anyway, the rail will swivel on the rod, and will be held in position with a turnbuckle system that I have not built yet. The seat slides on the rail, and is bolted on by a single bolt on fitting #7 in my previous post. Of course if anyone wants the drawings for the rail parts, contact me.

post-154154-0-33141200-1412893109.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One change I have made for this project is mounting the cockpit light on the seat, when it would normally be mounted on a panel near the pilot's left elbow. The bracket, which is a quick release type, is an original new old stock part provided by JPAC.

post-154154-0-55202300-1412893584.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The fabrication of the rail components is finished, so I am ready to begin riveting the seat rail together.

post-154154-0-16076600-1412978157.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have completed the basic rivet job on the rail, and am now working on mounting the rail to the base. There is still some internal structure to mount in the rail, as well as the seat height adjustment assembly, and the rocket which holds everything together.

post-154154-0-25228000-1413242072.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello toadboys,

 

unfortunately it got so absurdly complicated to ship to the US anything more complicated than, say, a book or a packet of photos... I know this, my latest experience dates just a couple years.

If it was different, I could send you a perfect-looking and complete (but inert) AN-PRC90 for $55-60, or something useful to bargain - think it would be OK for you if contemplated as a display-only item?

I got years ago two-three AN-PRC-90s and a couple ACR-RT10s, these latter in great shape and cheap!! here in Italy at some small militaria events, but it was a stroke of luck. Saw some of them for sale in the US but, around $330-350... of course I got them at the time and keep jealously in the survival vest of my two Vietnam-display mannequinns (a RF-101 pilot and a Navy Phantom pilot).

The same for the surviving PRC-90s, but one could pretty well go away to some guys who need, and deserve it.

My best wishes anyway, and compliments for your great job!! A GREAT-looking seat.

 

Greetings - Franco.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Working on too many projects at once, but finished the supports for the rail. There will be an aluminum deck on the stand, but right now, the assembly of the rail and stand weighs slightly under 40 pounds.

post-154154-0-33717000-1413771178.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BlueBookGuy- thank you for the kindness. As far as the radio goes, I am seeking a working model. The standards set for this restoration is that the seat should essentially be flight ready, the exception being no live exposives. That is a pretty hard standard to achieve, but I am trying my best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...