Comments on: Roto-Chute for Rocket Pilots http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/01/29/roto-chute-for-rocket-pilots/ Yesterday's tomorrow, today. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:23:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Gyro recovery in 1949 « Rocketry Blog http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/01/29/roto-chute-for-rocket-pilots/#comment-1053798 Gyro recovery in 1949 « Rocketry Blog Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:58:32 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/01/29/roto-chute-for-rocket-pilots/#comment-1053798 [...] See the original article here [...] [...] See the original article here [...]

]]> By: Stannous http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/01/29/roto-chute-for-rocket-pilots/#comment-54659 Stannous Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:57:23 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/01/29/roto-chute-for-rocket-pilots/#comment-54659 And about the designer, Igor B Benson: Igor Bensen, born in 1917, was the son of a Russian agricultural scientist, Basil Mitrophan and Alexandra P. Bensen. His father was posted to Czechoslovakia in 1917 at the beginning of the Russian Revolution while the rest of the family remained behind. The Russian civil war lead to harsh times, and the Bensen family was soon reunited in Prague, far from the turmoil. At 17 Bensen was sent to the University of Louvain in Belgium, from which he received a B.S. degree. Bensen accepted a scholarship from the Stevens Institute in New Jersey in 1937 to study mechanical engineering, graduating with honors in 1940. As an alien Bensen had been forced to turn down a job offer to work for Igor Sikorsky, and his first job was as an engineer with General Electric at the age of 23. Much more fascinating detail about his development of the autogyro, helicopter, and roto-chute here: http://www.groenbros.com/history.php And about the designer, Igor B Benson:

Igor Bensen, born in 1917, was the son of a Russian agricultural scientist, Basil Mitrophan and Alexandra P. Bensen. His father was posted to Czechoslovakia in 1917 at the beginning of the Russian Revolution while the rest of the family remained behind. The Russian civil war lead to harsh times, and the Bensen family was soon reunited in Prague, far from the turmoil. At 17 Bensen was sent to the University of Louvain in Belgium, from which he received a B.S. degree.

Bensen accepted a scholarship from the Stevens Institute in New Jersey in 1937 to study mechanical engineering, graduating with honors in 1940. As an alien Bensen had been forced to turn down a job offer to work for Igor Sikorsky, and his first job was as an engineer with General Electric at the age of 23.

Much more fascinating detail about his development of the autogyro, helicopter, and roto-chute here:
http://www.groenbros.com/history.php

]]> By: Stannous http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/01/29/roto-chute-for-rocket-pilots/#comment-54657 Stannous Tue, 30 Jan 2007 06:49:46 +0000 http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/01/29/roto-chute-for-rocket-pilots/#comment-54657 Not quite true but before the invention of the ejection seat it was an unknown quantity. I found this about the fastest known speed at ejection: What is the fastest ejection on record? Although this seems to be an easy question, looks can be deceiving. 'How fast' is an imprecise question as it can be answered in several ways, for example: speed over ground, Knots Indicated Air Speed (KIAS), Knots Equivalent Air Speed (KEAS) and so forth. For example, some SR-71 pilots are rumored to have ejected at speeds of Mach 3 at 80,000 feet. This is a ground speed of around 2000 miles per hour, yet due to the thinner atmosphere at that altitude, the speed is closer to 400 KEAS. That is more like a 460 miles per hour. An F-15E pilot survived an ejection at a very small ground speed as he was traveling almost straight down in a spin, yet he was traveling at 780 MPH. This is over 1.6 times faster in equivalent air speed. Another difficulty with answering this question is determining the exact speed. Since most ejections occur in situations that are changing rapidly, it is difficult to get an exact speed of the ejection. Most ejection speeds are calculated values based on the recollections of the crewman, and what little evidence survives the aircraft's destruction. This can lead to very imprecise numbers. In the first known case of a man surviving a supersonic ejection, George Smith ejected from an F-100 Super Sabre in a dive. It was known that he ejected supersonically due to eyewitnesses who heard and saw the ejection from nearby based on the sounds of the sonic booms and the visual clues of the crash. Not quite true but before the invention of the ejection seat it was an unknown quantity. I found this about the fastest known speed at ejection:
What is the fastest ejection on record?

Although this seems to be an easy question, looks can be deceiving. ‘How fast’ is an imprecise question as it can be answered in several ways, for example: speed over ground, Knots Indicated Air Speed (KIAS), Knots Equivalent Air Speed (KEAS) and so forth. For example, some SR-71 pilots are rumored to have ejected at speeds of Mach 3 at 80,000 feet. This is a ground speed of around 2000 miles per hour, yet due to the thinner atmosphere at that altitude, the speed is closer to 400 KEAS. That is more like a 460 miles per hour. An F-15E pilot survived an ejection at a very small ground speed as he was traveling almost straight down in a spin, yet he was traveling at 780 MPH. This is over 1.6 times faster in equivalent air speed. Another difficulty with answering this question is determining the exact speed. Since most ejections occur in situations that are changing rapidly, it is difficult to get an exact speed of the ejection. Most ejection speeds are calculated values based on the recollections of the crewman, and what little evidence survives the aircraft’s destruction. This can lead to very imprecise numbers. In the first known case of a man surviving a supersonic ejection, George Smith ejected from an F-100 Super Sabre in a dive. It was known that he ejected supersonically due to eyewitnesses who heard and saw the ejection from nearby based on the sounds of the sonic booms and the visual clues of the crash.

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