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I would have thought that having the fixed mass (i.e. the cockpit) forward and the variable mass ( i.e. the fuel) over the centre of lift would have been hugely preferable. Also from an ongoing development perspective, you can be fairly sure that the cockpit mass won't greatly change over the lifetime of the design, whereas the fuel requirements probably will.The 262 had C/G problems. If the cockpit had been moved forward then the fuel tank in front of the cockpit would have had to be moved to behind the cockpit further messing up the C/G.
The 262 had C/G problems.
Just because you stick the cockpit in the nose doesn't mean you have it right either.
So fast you don't need to see what's behind you?
I would hate to eject from that thing.
Seems like that wasn't a new idea...lolI would hate to eject from that thing.
Comrade Stalin has decided that Good Communist pilots do not need to see where they are going
Or THIS:
But this was arguably one reason why the Germans were the first to develop ejection seats, no?
Heinkel 162 Ejection Seat
Thanks to Ludo Kloek, a reader from Belgium who sent me these photos of the He-162 Salamander (or Volksjager) ejection seat displayed in the Deutches Museum. This is one of the earliest seats in service in the world. The seat had the parachute stored in the seat pan, and was cartridge fired hence the name 'Schleudersitz Heinkel-Kartusche'. The Kartusche refers to cartridge. Other early German seats were powered by compressed air.
The Germans were the first nationality to use ejection seats in aircraft. They were used first in developmental aircraft, then in certain operational aircraft. By the end of World War II, over 60 aircrew had used ejection seats in combat.