Which fighters did pilots feel safest in for crash landing?

[Glider]

I don't know about the USA but in the UK ex military planes have to have deactivated seats. The excuse being that they can be dangerous if not maintained properly.
This always puzzled me, as ejector seats are there for a reason and I believe from a Martin Baker ad, that one in ten built are used. So how does deactivating them, make it safer for the pilot?

 

[Nonskimmer]

Well that was my thought. Why remove what's supposed to be a safety feature?

 

[Soren]

I remember someone mentioning the Hurricane being quite robust for crash landings, and I must agree it very much seems that way.

One of Marseille's kills, a Hurricane, and in remarkably good shape considdering it was shot down.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

The L-29s I get to fly in on occasion has deactivated ejection seats.

Why's that? Some kind of weight saver for the aerobatics, I'm guessing.

Actually its a real pain in the butt (no pun there) to keep them maintained and to find explosive cartridges that have not gone out of date. On older jet warbirds (T-33) the "carts" are almost impossible to get. Some were being imported from the CAF, but it's sticky importing what is basically an explosive device.

I don't know about the USA but in the UK ex military planes have to have deactivated seats. The excuse being that they can be dangerous if not maintained properly.
This always puzzled me, as ejector seats are there for a reason and I believe from a Martin Baker ad, that one in ten built are used. So how does deactivating them, make it safer for the pilot?

You're right Glider. Also the FAA is real leary about live ejection seats. They have a fear that someone will eject over a populated area and the seat will come down and kill someone.

If I could fly in a jet where I know the carts are good for 5 or 10 years, that's fine, but in my mind ejection is a last option, especially in the environment we operate out of.

 

[Nonskimmer]

Ok, that all makes sense I guess.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

WE may do aerobatics and fly mock combat, but for the most part, these aircraft are babied, especially the L-29s. When I worked for Flight Systems in Mojave CA we had 2 T-33s with live seats. As these were used on government contracts, money was no object in maintaining the seats. I've also worked with a guy who owned one privately. He had cartridges to last him 10 years. After that he said he was deactivating the seats.

 

[plan_D]

If we're sharing crash landing pictures, here's a P-47. He doesn't look like he's had a bad time in the air, so it was probably just a mistake on landing or take off.

 

[cheddar cheese]

Nice pics 8)

 

[evangilder]

Damn! He bellied in with his drop tanks still on the plane! I would think you'd want to ditch those things before doing a wheels up landing!

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Unless they were the empty "cardboard" tanks.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

that's a beauty of a pic.........

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Ill be you since he did not jettison the tanks, he was doing a normal landing and the wheels collapsed. That was not all that uncommon back then.

 

[plan_D]

Well, that is what I said above the picture.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

No one said I was the quickest at realizing things!

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

and i get the feeling no one's about to start...........

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Ahaha you are funny!

 

[plan_D]

Here's a 109 crash landing.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

testiment to how weak the undercarriage was.........

 

[The Jug Rules!]

Hey Davidicus, where did you get that information on the P-47's supercharger system?

 

[cheddar cheese]

testiment to how weak the undercarriage was.........

Not really, it may have been shot up. It was just the way the undercarriage of 109's was set up with its narrow track that was the problem.