Rescue of passengers. The story of the amazing rescue of passengers from a plane that crashed in Mexico

An engineer from Kyiv has invented a capsule that saves all passengers in a plane crash.
At the end of October, a video appeared in the Street FX Motorsport & Graphics community demonstrating a passenger rescue system in case of an aircraft crash.
The essence of the system is a firing capsule, which is capable of providing practically guaranteed rescue of all passengers and crew in case of an air crash, during takeoff and landing.

The author of the invention is an engineer of the Kyiv Aviation Plant Vladimir Tatarenko
While working at the Kiev Aviation Plant, the engineer traveled as part of the commission on the accident of Antonov aircraft.
According to the inventor, who, on duty, has repeatedly traveled to the crash site of AN aircraft, the human factor very often becomes the cause of disasters. Aircraft designers around the world are trying to improve the reliability of the aircraft themselves, but the human factor is not going away. The engineer decided to find a solution that would cope with this problem.

According to the International Organization civil aviation, about 70% of accidents occur in steady level flight. The solution was a firing capsule, which is attached to the fuselage and can, if necessary, separate from the aircraft in a matter of seconds.
The concept of a capsule with seats for passengers and crew, which Tatarenko came up with, can jump out of the aircraft fuselage through the rear hatch in 2-3 seconds. First, a small parachute is pushed out of the plane, it pulls out a large parachute, which is already pulling out the capsule itself. True, it can only be installed on aircraft models that have a place in the tail section for a hatch through which the capsule passes, i.e. for Boeing or Airbus, it is not yet suitable.
Another point of contention design is the fact that the capsule is not integrated with the cockpit, i.e. they have no chance of salvation.

The capsule can be attached to the fuselage with detachable fasteners, all connections between the aircraft and the capsule (electrical, pipeline, etc.) can also be disconnected (for example, power cables - using detachable couplings). The capsule descends on a parachute system, can be splashed onto an inflatable raft or land on a shock-absorbing platform (see video).
The capsule flies at a speed of 8-9 m / s, the design includes a sensor that determines the distance to the surface. When the distance is reduced, the powder engines turn on, they slow down the container - as a result, it lands at zero speed, says the inventor.

Such a capsule, which can be installed in serial aircraft models, is the first stage of the invention. The second is the creation of new models of aircraft equipped with such capsules from the very beginning. And if in the first case, when the capsule is installed in an existing aircraft model, it becomes heavier, then in the second case, its mass will not change.
The inventor says that the idea is rescue capsule It has been asking for a long time, but only relatively recently have ultralight and durable materials appeared from which it can be produced - carbon fiber.

Estimated cost the first stage - a capsule that can be built into existing aircraft models with a rear hatch - about $ 1,000,000.

By the way, this is not the only such invention.
Here, for example, is the Russian development of APAKS

The author of this development is Hamid Khalidov from Dagestan.
He called his system APAKS - an aviation passenger autonomous rescue capsule - is based on the principle of detachable modules inserted into the aircraft fuselage. In the event of a plane crash, these capsules are first sealed and then ejected. Each capsule is equipped with a special parachute for a soft landing.
"The capsule is made from a modern polymer material, thanks to which it will not burn out or sink. The weight of the modules will be no more than one or two tons, there will be no excessive fuel consumption," Hamid Khalidov assures.
Meanwhile, some aviation experts are skeptical about such devices. They believe that the more different systems in the liner, the more likely their breakdowns. In addition, according to the designer, an additional two tons is too much load for an airship.

Another similar development was invented by the Moldovans. This is the so-called cocoon of Balan

The meaning of Balan's invention lies in the fact that in the event of an accident, the plane, hitting the ground, does not explode, and passengers do not get injured.
The first direction of discovery - the SIAAB1 2013 system - is a special substance, the secret of which lies in its formula. Kerosene is added to a mixture of chemicals of very strong concentration ( aviation fuel for jet engines), changing its chemical and physical structure and turning it into a solid substance similar to green sand. In this case, the ignition of kerosene becomes impossible.

The second direction of the invention is the SIAAB2 2013 system. This is a hybrid liquid and foamy substance (whose chemical formula is also classified), located in special titanium capsules. Eight seconds before the crash, it automatically fills the cabin, turning into foam.
In contact with air, the "magic" substance increases in volume by 416 times and hardens, creating a kind of "cocoon" around the passenger, blocking any movement. This avoids injury when hitting the ground. After 30 seconds, it again turns into a liquid - the impact energy lasts no more than four to five seconds. The substance has a slightly pungent odor, but is harmless to eyes and skin.

According to aviation engineer Alexander Balan on his company's website, by the end of 2016, it is planned to conduct experiments at the test site and create its own laboratory in Switzerland.
He is confident that if the experiment at the test site is successful, the security system will be implemented throughout the world.

Whether these inventions will ever be implemented is difficult to say, but I am sure that certain serious changes must occur ...

It may still be better for passengers parachutes instead of life jackets?
It's impossible to survive jumping out of an airplane wearing a life jacket.
And for the crew, you can leave life buoys.

But seriously, the idea with the capsule rests on the design of the aircraft (applies only to cargo aircraft with a hatch in the tail), increases the cost and weight of the structure, reduces passenger capacity, increases the possibility of equipment failure.
Of course, you can try to launch VIP flights with a rescue capsule for those who have a phobia, but this is unlikely to pay off. There will not be enough passengers willing to pay several times more for this.

Original taken from aquatek_philips How to Rescue Airline Passengers During Disasters

An engineer from Kyiv has invented a capsule that saves all passengers in a plane crash.
At the end of October, a video appeared in the Street FX Motorsport & Graphics community demonstrating a passenger rescue system in case of an aircraft crash.
The essence of the system is a firing capsule, which is able to provide almost guaranteed rescue of all passengers and crew in case of a plane crash in the air, on takeoff and on landing.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, about 70% of accidents occur in steady level flight. The solution was a firing capsule, which is attached to the fuselage and can, if necessary, separate from the aircraft in a matter of seconds.
The concept of a capsule with seats for passengers and crew, which Tatarenko came up with, can jump out of the aircraft fuselage through the rear hatch in 2-3 seconds. First, a small parachute is pushed out of the plane, it pulls out a large parachute, which is already pulling out the capsule itself. True, it can only be installed on aircraft models that have a place in the tail section for a hatch through which the capsule passes, i.e. for Boeing or Airbus, it is not yet suitable.
Another controversial point in the design is the fact that the capsule is not combined with the cockpit, i.e. they have no chance of salvation.

Such a capsule, which can be installed in serial aircraft models, is the first stage of the invention. The second is the creation of new aircraft models equipped with such capsules from the very beginning. And if in the first case, when the capsule is installed in an existing aircraft model, it becomes heavier, then in the second case, its mass will not change.
The inventor says that the idea of such a rescue capsule has been suggested for a long time, but only relatively recently have superlight and durable materials appeared from which it can be made - carbon fiber.

The estimated cost of the first stage - a capsule that can be built into existing aircraft models with a rear hatch - is about $1,000,000.

By the way, this is not the only such invention.
Here, for example, is the Russian development of APAKS

The author of this development is Hamid Khalidov from Dagestan.
He called his system APAKS - an aviation passenger autonomous rescue capsule - is based on the principle of detachable modules inserted into the fuselage of an aircraft. In the event of a plane crash, these capsules are first sealed and then ejected. Each capsule is equipped with a special parachute for a soft landing.
"The capsule is made of modern polymeric material, thanks to which it will not burn or sink. The weight of the modules will be no more than one or two tons, there will be no excessive fuel consumption," Hamid Khalidov assures.
Meanwhile, some aviation experts are skeptical about such devices. They believe that the more different systems in the liner, the more likely they are to break. In addition, according to the designer, an additional two tons is too much load for an airship.

Another similar development was invented by the Moldovans. This is the so-called cocoon of Balan

The meaning of Balan's invention lies in the fact that in the event of an accident, the plane, hitting the ground, does not explode, and passengers do not get injured.
The first direction of discovery - the SIAAB1 2013 system - is a special substance, the secret of which lies in its formula. Kerosene (an aviation jet fuel) is added to a mixture of chemicals at a very strong concentration, changing its chemical and physical structure and turning it into a solid substance similar to green sand. In this case, the ignition of kerosene becomes impossible.

Whether these inventions will ever be implemented is difficult to say, but I am sure that certain serious changes must occur ...

A capsule with passengers and crew can jump out of the aircraft fuselage through the rear hatch in 2-3 seconds. Photo: screenshot from YouTube

A few days after the disaster Russian aircraft in Egypt, various media and social networks began to actively spread messages about the creation of miracle capsules that can save the lives of passengers at the time of the crash. Moreover, the authorship of quite similar capsules is simultaneously attributed to the citizens of Russia and Ukraine.

The Forum considered potential inventions.

Capsule Tatarenko

An aviation engineer from Kyiv, Vladimir Tatarenko, has developed a capsule that can separate from an aircraft in a matter of seconds at the time of the crash.

The firing capsule, as planned by Tatarenko, is attached to the fuselage. The concept of a capsule with seats for passengers and crew, invented by an engineer, can jump out of the aircraft fuselage through the rear hatch in two to three seconds.

First, a small parachute is pushed out of the plane, it pulls out a large parachute, which is already pulling out the capsule itself. True, it can only be installed on aircraft models that have a place in the tail section for a hatch through which the capsule passes, that is, it is not yet suitable for Boeing or Airbus.

Since about 70% of accidents, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization, occur in steady level flight, Tatarenko believes that this system is capable of providing an almost guaranteed rescue of passengers and crew during an air crash, during takeoff and landing.

October 29 at community Street FX Motorsport & Graphics posted a video on Facebook demonstrating the Tatarenko passenger rescue system. Now the video has more than 18 million views and 270 thousand reposts. These figures are explained by the fact that just a couple of days after its publication, an Airbus A-321 crashed en route to St. Petersburg.

The aircraft manufacturer told Ukrainian portal AIN.UA that the capsule should fly at a speed of 8-9 m / s, and the design includes a sensor that determines the distance to the surface. When the distance shortens, the gunpowder engines turn on, which slow down the container - as a result, it lands at zero speed. The capsule descends on a parachute system, but it can also splash down on an inflatable raft or land on a shock-absorbing platform.

The technology is described in more detail in an article by Vladimir Tatarenko in the journal Inventor and Innovator, published in 2014 along with drawings of various versions of capsules.

According to the author, the capsule, which can be installed in serial aircraft models, is the first stage of the invention, which takes about four years (two years for development and testing, another one and a half to two years for obtaining ICAO airworthiness certificates).

The second step is the creation of new aircraft models equipped with such capsules from the very beginning. If in the first case, when the capsule is installed in an existing aircraft model, it becomes heavier, in the second, its mass does not change. Implementation of the idea on this moment is large, since ultralight and durable materials have appeared relatively recently, from which it is possible to produce a capsule - carbon fiber.

Vladimir Tatarenko says that a million dollars is required for the first stage of work on creating the capsule. Photo: Olga Zakrevskaya (ain.ua)

However, the chances that the invention will see the light are still small, since this pleasure is quite expensive. The estimated cost of the first stage - the creation of a capsule that can be built into existing aircraft models - is about a million dollars.

Tatarenko has already applied to the Ministry of Transport of Ukraine, but they answered that the authorities have no money for such a project. According to him, leaders experimental design bureau OKB) them. Antonova say that in two years they would create a capsule with which Ukraine would amaze the whole world.

According to the inventor, such a system is unprofitable for carrier companies, because due to the capsule, there will be one row fewer seats on the plane, that is, for each flight it will be sold fewer tickets. In addition, as the aircraft becomes heavier, fuel consumption will also increase.

“I asked them: well, let the ticket be 30% more expensive - on which plane will you send your family and fly yourself: on a regular one or on one from which you can be guaranteed to escape? But I was told that they have no security problems now,” says Tatarenko.

Vladimir Tatarenko was born in Siberia, near Krasnoyarsk, after his studies he was assigned to the Kiev Aviation Plant, and then he became a leading engineer at the Research Institute of Aviation Technologies.

Khalidov's capsule

Scientist Hamid Khalidov from Dagestan is reported to have invented a system of personal protection for air passengers. The Russian proposes to mount polymer parachute capsules in the fuselage of the airliner, which will be able to eject along with people in the event of a crash.

The inventor created the APAKS system - an aviation passenger autonomous rescue capsule - on the principle of detachable modules inserted into the aircraft fuselage. In the event of a plane crash, these capsules are first sealed and then ejected.

Hamid Khalidov, according to Lifenews, patented his idea in 2000 under the name "APAX System - Air Passenger Rescue". Each capsule is equipped with a special parachute for a soft landing.

“The capsule is made from a modern polymer material, thanks to which it will not burn or sink. The weight of the modules will be no more than one or two tons, there will be no excessive fuel consumption,” Hamid Khalidov assures. “A lot of new inventions are being made now, but practically nothing new has been invented to save aircraft passengers.”

As Khalidov tells on his official website, in the places where the wings of the aircraft are attached to the fuselage, along it and along its circumferences between the nose with the pilot's cabin, capsules and tail section elongated shaped charges are placed, by detonation of which an almost instantaneous explosive cutting of the fuselage is carried out, which frees the rescue capsules with passengers from the aircraft.

With the help of a parachute-braking system, rescue capsules make a soft landing. The full autonomy of the capsule and the ability to withdraw the parachute within a fraction of a second, starting active self-braking, make it possible to save passengers even during takeoff and landing at extremely low altitudes. After landing (or splashdown), the capsules turn on the corresponding emergency means communications, signaling and life support. Both today and tomorrow, the most important condition for an air passenger will be a guarantee of saving his life. If some aircraft can do this better than others, then this will provide them with high demand and competitiveness. Moreover, the expected rise in price will not exceed a few percent of the cost of the aircraft.

Meanwhile, the designer and candidate of military sciences Igor Tabachuk was skeptical about Khalidov's device. The specialist believes that the more different systems in the liner, the greater the likelihood of their failure. In addition, according to the designer, an additional two tons is too much load for an airship.

“This is actually an armored capsule. Why insert some modules into the aircraft if the fuselage itself can be used as a capsule,” Tabachuk comments. “A huge number of people are working on rescue systems, and I think everything that has been done to date is the limit of possibilities.”

Hamid Khalidov, a graduate of the radio engineering faculty of the Dagestan state university, until 2010 was an adviser on inventions and innovations to the chairman of the presidium of the Dagestan scientific center Russian Academy Sciences (RAS). In 2010, Khalidov became Vice President of the Eurasian Transport Innovation Center in Moscow.

Cocoon Balan

Another potential author of the revolutionary invention is the Moldavian Alexander Balan. In March 2014, it was reported that a graduate of the Moldovan Polytechnic University developed a security system that guarantees the rescue of passengers in the event of a crash of any aircraft.

In its structure, the project resembles a cocoon enveloping an air passenger. Alexander's discovery, as the Moldovan media wrote, "stirred the world scientific elite", and Chinese technical corporations allegedly immediately promised billions for the project.

Moldovan aircraft engineer Alexander Balan has created a company in Switzerland and is preparing for experiments at the test site. Photo: allfun.md

The meaning of Balan's invention lies in the fact that in the event of an accident, the plane, hitting the ground, does not explode, and passengers do not get injured.

The first direction of discovery - the SIAAB1 2013 system - is a special substance, the secret of which lies in its formula. Kerosene (an aviation jet fuel) is added to a mixture of chemicals at a very strong concentration, changing its chemical and physical structure and turning it into a solid substance similar to green sand. In this case, the ignition of kerosene becomes impossible.

In contact with air, the "magic" substance increases in volume by 416 times and hardens, creating a kind of "cocoon" around the passenger, blocking any movement. This avoids injury when hitting the ground. After 30 seconds, it again turns into a liquid - the impact energy lasts no more than four to five seconds. The substance has a slightly pungent odor, but is harmless to eyes and skin.

Alexander Balan was offered to hold a presentation of the project in London, New York, Seattle, Chicago, but for the first time he informed the world about his invention in his native Chisinau.

In the Republican Academy of Sciences, the inventor, in his own words, was looked at with bewilderment. As a result, the presentation of the project was decided to be held in the United States, namely in California.

As aviation engineer Alexander Balan claims on his company's website, by the end of 2016, it is planned to conduct experiments at the test site and create its own laboratory in Switzerland.

If the experiment at the test site goes well, the security system will be implemented throughout the world, which, according to Balan, will save humanity from the death of a large number of people in plane crashes.

Fear of heights

Why has not a single effective system of rescuing people in the event of a plane crash been created so far in the world? With such a question, Itogi turned to one of the developers of the recently patented rescue system. “This is not entirely true,” says Professor Viktor Morozov, deputy director of the Research Institute of Parachute Engineering. “The idea of collective rescue of aircraft passengers using a parachute system originated in the 1920s. The creator of the world’s first backpack parachute, Russian inventor Gleb Kotelnikov, received a patent in 1923 for the invention of a “device for rescuing passengers in case of an aircraft accident.” According to the inventor’s plan, in force majeure circumstances, the entire passenger cabin should have been separated from the aircraft, from which they were then released big parachutes. The parachute cabin was supposed to smoothly lower the passengers to the ground, and the crew members, who had individual parachutes, left the plane on their own. However, the technical capabilities of that time did not allow the practical implementation of this idea. Today's opportunities give us that chance."

Followers of Kotelnikov propose to install on passenger long-haul wide-body aircraft (from the currently operated domestic aircraft, the Il-96 Airbus can be attributed to this type) an emergency rescue system, which is a set of habitable compartments and transitional airlocks that are built into the fuselage. The fuselage itself will be a modular, easily separable design. In the event of a catastrophic situation in the air, the emergency system will disconnect the wings, tail stabilizer, horizontal tail and engines from the fuselage. Only a habitable gondola will remain in the air, equipped with parachutes, a system of side rudders that creates aerodynamic controllability when it is lowered, as well as a radio beacon for determining coordinates emergency landing module.

The operation algorithm is as follows: the commander of the ship, assessing the situation as an emergency, gives the command to turn on the emergency rescue system and radio beacons. Having worked, the emergency system separates the wings, power plants and tail unit from the fuselage. Drag parachutes are deployed from the tail section chamber. Immediately after this, the subsystem for dividing the fuselage into separate sealed modules is activated. At the same time, an additional braking parachute subsystem separates each of the modules and the tail section to a safe distance from each other. Next, unified multi-dome parachutes are opened. At a certain height, equipment is switched on to determine the nature of the earth's surface and the corresponding landing subsystem (landing or splashdown) is deployed.

The separation of the elements that make up the aircraft structure can be carried out using high-speed detachable or self-destructive (“shearing”) devices. For example, wings can be detached using detachable connections and fired using pyrotechnic devices. Another option could be a mechanism that cuts the wing from the fuselage using pyrotechnic knives. By the way, Boeing designers use this method to reset failed engines in force majeure situations.

It is proposed to develop a fuselage segmentation system into habitable modules and transition compartments using the ideas underlying the system for separating stages of launch vehicles, compartments and spacecraft elements.

The most difficult thing in this project is the technical reliability of the emergency system, which excludes its accidental and unauthorized operation, as well as its "fool protection".

invent the plane

Alas, the realization of this idea is not a matter of the very near future. Here's an opinion Victor Morozov.

This is a very complex and multifaceted problem. And not only technical, but also psychological. Modern multi-dome systems allow lowering loads weighing up to one hundred tons to the ground. At our institute, such systems have been created and tested on rocket boosters weighing up to 70 tons, but there is no need to land the entire aircraft together with engines, wings and other heavy parts. Yes, and there is no technical possibility to install parachute systems on the current types of aircraft. It should be about creating a new type aircraft, on the project of which, by the way, we are already working together with colleagues from the Moscow Aviation Institute. It should be not just an airplane and not just a parachute put together, but an aircraft-parachute system. She must work in harmony. From the point of view of the parachute, the problem has been technically worked out. Now we need to solve the problem from the point of view of the "aircraft - parachute" system. This is a very expensive development, approaching space projects in terms of costs. Therefore, most likely, if our project makes its way into life, then it will be implemented in the conditions of international cooperation. Today in the West there are a lot of developments, patents similar to ours. But both we and they have a dilemma: either to invest in an aircraft and make it absolutely reliable, as aircraft designers claim, or to invest in alternative options.

- Maybe it would be easier to develop a variant when the rescue capsule is fired with a catapult, like on military aircraft?

There are also such projects. But what is the difficulty? One catapult weighs a little compared to the mass of the aircraft. If, however, we make a catapult "fuselage in the fuselage", and there are a lot of such projects, then we will get an aircraft doubled in gravity. The share of the system should be small in mass. Otherwise, it will be completely unprofitable - to carry such a load "just in case" throughout the entire life cycle of the aircraft. Our system is much easier. For example, for an Il-96-300 class aircraft, it will have a mass of 8.3 tons. This is only 3.3% of takeoff weight aircraft.

- And the passengers are ready, in your opinion, to pay extra for safety?

Psychologically, I do not see any particular problems on the part of the passengers. With whomever you talk to, anyone is willing to pay twenty or thirty percent more for a safe plane ticket. But there is a misunderstanding on the part of today's aviation designers. Some of them are set to create conventional aircraft. We, they say, will make absolutely reliable aircraft. Both points of view are studied and weighed.

Million dollar ticket

According to the developers of the new system, it will take about ten years to create safe aircraft and his trials. But even today, the authors of the invention are actively supported by insurance companies that see real benefits for themselves in creating a safe aircraft. For example, Itogam, a military insurance company, said that such a system could actually pay off by reducing the number of insurance payments.

Due to the fact that the patent for the invention was issued only two months ago, most of the aviation security specialists with whom Itogi spoke had not yet had time to draw up new system salvation of a holistic view. The head of the flight safety department of the Interstate Aviation Committee, Leonid Kashirsky, has not heard anything about such a project at all, and the deputy head of the flight safety center at the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation, Alexander Kirkhov, is only going to get acquainted with it. Yuri Bezrukov, a flight safety specialist from the Federal Aviation Administration of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, immediately said that, in his opinion, all such projects are very expensive and unpromising.

Alexander Zhuravkov, Deputy Director of the Certification Center for the Search and Rescue Service for Civil Aviation Flights of the Federal Aviation Administration of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, told Itogi that he had to consider such proposals: “Unfortunately, it has not been possible to create an absolutely reliable aircraft. The fact is that all systems aircraft contain a certain negligible percentage of unreliability. Accidents occur when these percentages overlap. No one can guarantee that the emergency system itself is not dangerous. It is possible that it will work on its own and start shooting wings, engines for no apparent reason. It should also be taken into account that all aircraft systems are distributed throughout its body, in the case of installation of rescue equipment, they will have to be concentrated in one place or duplicated.This also increases the element of unreliability.Well, among other things, this is a very expensive undertaking. American aircraft designers were asked if it was possible to create give an absolutely safe plane. It is possible, they answered, but this requires a lot of money and time, and a ticket for such an aircraft will cost millions of dollars.

Andrey Kurochkin

DEBRIEFING

DEBRIEFING

A look into the future

According to ICAO forecasts ( international organization civil aviation), in the next ten years, the annual volume of passenger air transportation around the world will increase by an average of 5%. If today about 1.5 billion people take to the skies as passengers every year, then by 2005 the number of passengers carried will reach 2 billion people a year. Over the next 15 years, the world park aircraft promises to increase by about two times, and its composition will also change significantly. For example, the share of wide-body aircraft with a number of passenger seats from 400 to 800. It is no secret that the number of accidents grows in proportion to the increase in the volume of traffic.

According to ICAO, over the past ten years, take-offs accounted for 8% of all accidents, landings for 21%, and climbs and cruises for 71%. The causes of accidents, as a rule, are technical malfunctions, adverse weather conditions, violations of the flight and navigation conditions of the flight by the ground service, inadequate actions of the crew, violations of the operating conditions of the aircraft, sabotage, and terrorism. Each aircraft manufacturing company carefully maintains statistics and analysis of flight accidents, the materials of which serve as a source for improving the methods of designing, developing and operating aircraft.

An analysis of the state of flight safety over the past 20 years shows that only 15-20% aviation accidents occur due to structural and technological flaws in aircraft engineering, and the rest occur due to the so-called human factor: piloting errors, violations of aircraft maintenance and repair technology, errors in the data provided by the meteorological service, inadequate crew actions in force majeure circumstances, control service errors air traffic. And this is despite the fact that in the last 10-15 years there has been a continuous improvement in the methods of calculation, design and testing. aviation technology, the development of new technologies, the improvement of the organization of operation and maintenance, the transition to new generations of aviation technology.

A rescue capsule is an ejection closed device designed to rescue a pilot from an aircraft in difficult situations. emergency situations. In practice, sealed capsules are used, which make it possible to fly without a space suit and a parachute, which are unsinkable.

There are two capsule rescue schemes:

Detachable crew cabin.

Ejection individual closed capsule for the pilot.

Story

In the 1950s, completely new ejection devices began to appear in military aviation, increasing the efficiency of operating open ejection seats. In case of accidents, the ejection device is triggered by a signal in automatic mode. The pilot, along with the seat, is covered with special shields. In the resulting booth, the equipment used is more diverse. It increases safety after the moment of ejection.

Only pressurized escape pods have seen practical use. They protect a person from the dynamic effects of pressure, aerodynamic heating from overloads during braking. In addition, such a capsule allows you to fly without a space suit, a parachute and provides a normal splashdown.

The very first capsule is considered to be developed in the USA for the F4D "Skyray" naval aircraft. But at that time, the capsule was never used. After that, Stanley Aviation took up the development of rescue capsules for the B-58 and XB-70 bombers. For the Valkyrie, the speed range for detaching the capsule starts at 150 km/h and varies within speeds up to M=3.

Bailout on a Hustler

The automation used in the aircraft capsule prepares for evacuation, ejection and landing. As preparation, we mean giving the pilot's body a fixed position, closing and sealing the capsule. The ejection mechanism is triggered by levers located on the armrests.

Escape pod testing on a Convair B-58 Hustler bomber

First, the powder charge is ignited. Its gases enter the hermetic closing mechanism - a pressure corresponding to a 5000-meter height is created. When the capsule closes, the pilot has the ability to control the aircraft because the yoke remains in its normal position directly inside the capsule. She has a porthole, which makes it possible to observe the instruments.

Video top 5 bailouts at the last moment.

This design allows you to fly further. The ejection process works on the principle of ejection seats equipped with rocket engines. After pressing the ejection lever, the ignition of the powder charge begins. The released gases throw out the cockpit canopy. Next, the engine starts. The stabilizing parachute is ejected, initiating deployment on the surface of the stabilizer flaps. The internal life-support equipment turns on immediately. Aneroid automatons on timers cause the main parachute to open and the rubber shock-absorbing pads to inflate to cushion the impact of splashdown or landing.

Bailout on XB-70

The capsule is equipped with a fairing, consisting of 2 halves, the chair can change its angle of inclination. Stabilization of the capsule position is provided by two cylindrical three-meter telescopic brackets. The ends of the brackets were equipped with stabilizing parachutes. Power point threw the capsule to a height of 85 meters. The descent takes place with the help of a rescue parachute. Its diameter is 11 m. Landing was carried out thanks to a shock absorber in the form of a rubber cushion, which was filled with gas. Such capsules provide the possibility of a crew of 2 people working in a ventilation-type cabin. Inside the capsule was a set of essentials: a fishing rod, a radio station, water, food, a gun.

Capsule

When creating a detachable cockpit for the crew, the main task was to develop an easier and more convenient type of rescue in operation. The cockpit was supposed to increase stability in flight and reduce preparation time compared to ejection capsules and seats.

In practice, the operation of an emergency system for leaving an aircraft is a very difficult task. Mechanical connections, wires and on-board equipment under normal conditions must meet the requirements of full functioning and reliability, while disconnection must occur in a fraction of a second.

The most rational is the separation of the cockpit with the forward part of the fuselage or with a part of the fuselage, which together with the cockpit forms an easily detachable pressurized module. In constructive terms, both options can be very different depending on the method of landing. Landing can be carried out on water or on land. In some embodiments, the crew must leave the capsule at a certain height before landing. The tests carried out have shown that the most acceptable type of cabin can be all-terrain, as it is more reliable.

The first cabins were used in experimental copies of the Bell X-2 and Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket. The X-2 used a cabin, which was separated along with the bow. She descended by parachute to a specific height, and the pilot left her in the usual way with the help of a parachute.

ejection lever

In 1961, a detachable cabin equipped with inflatable floats was patented in France. It was assumed that during the accident, an electrical mechanism would separate the cockpit from the aircraft, turn on the rocket engines and open the stabilizers. In the high point flight at a decrease in speed to zero provided for the opening of the parachute.

In the USA, two versions of detachable cabs were developed. Stanley Aviation designed the cockpit for the F-102, Lockheed's F-104 Starfighter. Practical application has not been realized.

Modern cabins have found practical use only in 2 supersonic aircraft B-1 Lancer and F-111. From such a cabin, the first escape took place in 1967, when the F-111 had an accident. The crew ejected at an altitude of 9 km at a speed of 450 km/h. Landing is safe.

McDonnell was developing a fully pressurized aircraft cabin. Pilots could fly without special equipment. Leaving the plane was completely safe. The cab was disconnected after pressing the lever, which was located between the crew seats. When the command was given, the whole system began to work automatically. The cabin is separated, the controls and wires are disconnected. Rocket engine turns on.

Depending on the speed and altitude of the flight, the engine throws the cabin 110-600 meters away from the aircraft. At the highest point in the flight, the cockpit ejects a stabilizing parachute and steel strips, which facilitate radar detection for rescue services. After 0.6 seconds of ejection, the engine stops and the main parachute is released.

When developing the B-1 design program, it was envisaged to use a detachable three-seat cockpit, as in the F-111 aircraft. But due to the impressive cost of the cabin, the need for research, the complexity of the design and maintenance itself, it was decided to use such cabins only in the first three copies of the aircraft. In all other copies, purely ejection seats were used.

The history of the creation of the rescue capsule. Video.