mashjax Posted December 7, 2015 Share #1 Posted December 7, 2015 After a long search I was able to obtain a MK 92 under seat rocket motor for my Martin baker MK H7 Ejection seat. This seat flew in the F-4 Phantom. After I put the lock wires on the motor I will install it on the seat. The motor weighs just about 21 lbs. The tubes are empty so it is inert. Originally it contained 6.5 lbs of solid rocket fuel which made it weigh 27 lbs before it was shot out of a jet during an ejection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashjax Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share #2 Posted December 10, 2015 I added the lock wire to the rocket motor today. I have to wait until it is under the seat to wire the leg guards. The left and right leg restraint cords must be slipped down between tubes 1 & 2 and tubes 9 & 10 first, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northcoastaero Posted December 11, 2015 Share #3 Posted December 11, 2015 Nice USAF F-4 ejection seat and hard to find rocket motor. What is the tail number on your seat? Is it a fwd or aft seat? The seat looks to be in 1980s-1990s configuration. The earlier MK-H7 seats had a cable firing assy. on the under seat rocket motor instead of gas. The MK-H5 seat was replaced by or upgraded to the MK-H7 in 1968. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashjax Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share #4 Posted December 11, 2015 Hi - Thanks - The tail number is 66-7635 and this was the FWD seat in this F-4D. On the web I found this info, "The designation EF-4D was given to four F-4D's modified for the Wild Weasel IV/V SAM suppression role. 66-7635 and 66-7647 served as test beds for the AN/APS-38 warning and attack system developed by McDonnell Douglas and later adopted for the F-4G. F-4D-30-MC s/n 66-7635 Upgraded to EF-4D 1975: Bailed to General Dynamics for use as a chase plane USAF 35th TFW 1979: USAF 430th TFS (474th TFW) 1980: USAF 308th TFS ( 31st TFW) Minnesota ANG 179th TFS 4/1990: Put into storage at AMARC bone yard 6/1999: Salvaged I purchased the seat about 7 years ago from a TSgt who worked at Eglin AFB. He said it sat in his dad's bar for a few years. Over the years I added some missing parts the biggest being the cat tube and now the rocket motor. I would like to find the two little brackets that the leg restraint cords attach to. These would have been bolted to the aircraft floor. The top latch plunger and spring were missing but I found one and it is on the way to me. I have the brass top latch hand wheel tool so now I will be able to attach it correctly. Three months ago our last manned QF-4 here at Tyndall AFB was flown to Holloman AFB. The last 2 unmanned QF-4's were flown out over the gulf and one was intercepted by a jet from Homestead and shot down and another jet from Eglin did the same for the other drone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leartest81 Posted December 21, 2015 Share #5 Posted December 21, 2015 I just re-claimed my fully restored Navy/Marine version H-7 ejection seat from an unnamed aviation museum where it had been on loan for 22 months. While it was there, my pristine MK92 rocket pack seemed to have grown legs and walked off the premises! I'm dying to know - where on earth did you score such a perfect MK92 in the original shipping case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashjax Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share #6 Posted December 21, 2015 That's really bad for a museum not to protect something on loan. I'll bet you were sick when you saw that missing. I hope they can help you replace the motor. My motor came from a friend in Tucson AZ who purchased it from AMARC in the early 90's. It was unpainted and had a few tubes dented from a hard landing. I did the body work to fix the tubes and then painted it with PPG automotive urethane products. The decals are copies of ones done by another enthusiast. The shipping box came from the same friend. While visiting the egress shop at Davis-Monthan he spotted a couple of the boxes in the dumpster and was allowed to retrieve them. It makes a cool display for the motor. Here are a couple of photos of the motor when I received it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leartest81 Posted December 21, 2015 Share #7 Posted December 21, 2015 Thanks for getting back with me. I lived in Tucson for nearly 30 years and that's where I restored my seat along with two others and two F-4 front instrument panels (F-4C and F-4S). Chances are that I know both your rocket source friend and the guy who did your stickers. I'd post some shots of my seat and panel but the files are too big for this site. If you're in the mood to chat about this stuff in more detail, [email protected]. Thanks again. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leartest81 Posted December 22, 2015 Share #8 Posted December 22, 2015 Here's a shot of my first restoration, the aft seat from F-4G 69-7207. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashjax Posted December 23, 2015 Author Share #9 Posted December 23, 2015 Bob - That's a really nice seat and a great stand. Thanks for posting. I dream that someday I can put together a F-4 front instrument panel like yours. A little afraid to take the plunge mainly knowing that it could become a very expensive project. Do you have any wild guess on what I could expect to spend on a panel like that? Can they be built so the gauges illuminate? Thanks, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leartest81 Posted December 23, 2015 Share #10 Posted December 23, 2015 Bob - That's a really nice seat and a great stand. Thanks for posting. I dream that someday I can put together a F-4 front instrument panel like yours. A little afraid to take the plunge mainly knowing that it could become a very expensive project. Do you have any wild guess on what I could expect to spend on a panel like that? Can they be built so the gauges illuminate? Thanks, Mike Thanks, Mike. Naval panels – F-4B/N and F-4J/S are very difficult to find. They generally were not surplussed out after de-mil like Air Force seats, panels and whole fuselages. Ebay lists F-4C and D panels from time to time in various states of completeness. The most difficult parts to find are the radar scope/sight and the center section of the fiberglass glare shield. This entire business has gotten more difficult post 9/11 when they started running nearly everything either through a giant Cuisinart or in the case of seats, the cutting torch. Yes, getting the lighting to work is possible. For starters, see www.topflightimaging.com. Henry’s website has a wealth of information and he’s quite the artist/technician. Expect to spend a lot of time and 3 to 7 thousand dollars to do a panel right depending on your luck and scavenging ability. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leartest81 Posted December 23, 2015 Share #11 Posted December 23, 2015 Thanks, Mike. Naval panels – F-4B/N and F-4J/S are very difficult to find. They generally were not surplussed out after de-mil like Air Force seats, panels and whole fuselages. Ebay lists F-4C and D panels from time to time in various states of completeness. The most difficult parts to find are the radar scope/sight and the center section of the fiberglass glare shield. This entire business has gotten more difficult post 9/11 when they started running nearly everything either through a giant Cuisinart or in the case of seats, the cutting torch. Yes, getting the lighting to work is possible. For starters, see www.topflightimaging.com. Henry’s website has a wealth of information and he’s quite the artist/technician. Expect to spend a lot of time and 3 to 7 thousand dollars to do a panel right depending on your luck and scavenging ability. Bob Try my regular email and I can send you lots of photos of my seats and panels which you may find helpful/interesting - file size too big for this site and a pain to re-size.. Still nothing re my missing rocket. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomfixer Posted December 25, 2015 Share #12 Posted December 25, 2015 thanks for posting pics of the ejection seats guys.. and excellent restorations....nice to see the pin bag on yours lear.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obviousman Posted February 3, 2023 Share #13 Posted February 3, 2023 Very nice. How do you get the parachute container to look in such good condition? Shiny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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