In the original Top Gun, Maverick says that he cannot reach the ejection handles because he is pinned forward, which forces Goose to eject them out of the plane. Would the outcome have been different if Maverick was able to punch them out instead of Goose having to? Or would Goose still have crashed into the canopy?
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The ejection will happen the same way. The reason Goose hit the canopy is because they were in a flat spin creating a low pressure zone directly above them, making it so the canopy lingered in that space.
The F-14 used the GRU-7A seats manufactured by Martin Baker. Assuming the seats were set properly, the handles initiate the ejection sequence the same. The back seat goes first and the front seat goes 0.4 seconds later. This prevents the backseater from getting a face full of fire.
Would Goose have hit the canopy is real life? Maybe. If they were really in a flat spin, they may not have had the airspeed required to jetison the canopy from the airplane. But this has nothing to do with the seat sequencing.
Iirc the sequence is either both eject if any of them initiates, OR separate initiations are required – setting depending. If its the “both ejected on pull” sequence, its RIO always goes first, because you dont want him to fly into the pilot’s seat.
There’s also like half second or something about that of time separation between canopy, RIOs seat, and pilot seat, exactly because of what is seen in top gun – in a flat spin condition you are going straight down (and only in that direction. Its not a frisbee.) and the canopy could be hit by the seats otherwise. I THINK, by the book, they were supposed to drop the canopy first, wait then initiate, but its been some time since Ive read that procedure page. Goose just initiates the ejection – which drops the canopy – but has no canopy/seat separation, and then has a bad luck in the russian roulette, using ejection seat instead of a gun.
Also, its not like you are going to watch out not to hit it. You dont get to have any control over that seat’s flight path anyway, and the whole sequence (initiation to open and inflated parachute) is 2-3 seconds. Which is VIOLENT, considering you get slowed down from your flight speed to zero in that time…
And chances are good that you’ll black out from the g loads (unless you fuck up / get unlucky / eject outside of safety envelope – then you get maimed, or you die in one unpleasant way or another. That seat is no joke…)
So maverick ejected in top gun, then he did it again I presume in the Mach 10 jet. At this point he’d be medically grounded due to the 2 ejection rule. Then he ejects from his f-18. No wonder he’s so short.
It doesn’t apply to the movie scene, but since we’re talking about the F-14 ejection sequence.
There’s a switch that determines what happens when someone pulls the ejection handle. In one position the RIO ejects both crewmembers. In another, the RIO only ejects himself. The pilot always ejects both.
AFAIK this is pretty common in two seat aircraft.
It might matter that Goose pulled the ejection handles: not for Goose, but for Maverick!
The RIO has a toggle called the Eject Command Lever which can be set to pilot mode or MCO mode. In pilot mode, if the RIO pulls the ejection handles only the RIO ejects. In MCO mode, if the RIO pulls the ejection handles both pilot and RIO eject. Pilot pulling the ejection handles always ejects both pilot and RIO.
So, we can assume Goose was in MCO mode as both Goose and Maverick ejected when Goose pulled the ejection handles.
Now, what would have happened if Goose was in Pilot Mode? Goose would likely have ejected into the canopy same as always and Maverick would have remained in the plane, pinned forward. If Maverick really couldn’t reach the handles, he would have died when the F14 encountered terrain. So if Goose were in Pilot Mode and Maverick really couldn’t reach his ejection handles, both Maverick and Goose would have died.
In all scenarios, Maverick would have likely been fine, as there are usually a set of ejection handles between his legs, which he could have reached down and pulled and then he would have ejected (and Goose would have ejected too if he was still in the plane.) Goose would still be dead though. I am not sure if all F14 models/seats had between the leg ejection handles but I think they were standard? I don’t know all the possible variants.
Edit: Funny story: A non-F14 air force officer who hitched a ride as a RIO on an F-14 accidentally pulled the ejection handles when he panicked. They were in Pilot Mode so the pilot remained in the plane and he landed the plane… With no canopy. (The “RIO” was rescued too, with only minor ejection injuries.)
Due respect to the previous commenters, but yes, this was a thing in the F-14. From memory, something went badly wrong with the TF-33s in one of the prototypes (it became a thing with the F-14) and the pilot had to eject. They noted that the canopy hung around the area of the pilot’s ejection and that this was not good.
Volume warning–6:14 of (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITwA9M2Qtcc) shows the ejection sequence of an F-*18*..so different seats AFAIK, but it shows the explosive bolts part.
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