Customer Reviews

Eject!: The Complete History of U.S. Aircraft Escape Systems

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(2)
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Page 15 shows a photo of some Naval Aviators toting seat-pack parachutes. The author mysteriously states that these are somehow attached to their shoulders, and that when released, it "would allow the parachute to drop down on its harness and become their seat cushion." This, of course, is pure fantasy. Holding the parachute by its leg straps across one's shoulder was just a handy way to carry a seat-pack parachute prior to putting it on. The author's erroneous explanation is typical of many inaccuracies throughout the book. Another is his constant inaccurate reference to the "U.S. Army Air Corps" during World War Two. The Army Air Corps (AAC) ceased to exist in June of 1941, some six months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and our subsequent entry into World War Two. The Army Air Corps (AAC) was supplanted by the Army Air Forces (AAF) and the Army Air Forces (AAF) was the branch of service in which military personnel served during the entire war. There was no longer any "Army Air Corps." The author even has the original P-80 as a plane used by "The U.S. Army Air Corps." This, too, is a typical erroneous figment of his imagination.

The book does present accurate information here and there. But, with so many inaccuracies also included, it's difficult to discern one from the other.

Carl B. Jordan

I had really mixed feelings about this book. On the plus side, it provides a comprehensive general description of all the major U.S. aircraft emergency escape systems. On the minus side, there are some factual errors pertaining to the aircraft information given, typographic errors, and little information on the more technical/engineering aspects of ejection seats themselves. Each major escape system described usually includes a short history of some of the aircraft that used it. This is where I found most of the factual errors. I would have liked to see less material about the aircraft and more about the ejection systems themselves.

With that said, it is really hard to fault this book since it is one of the very few written about this somewhat obscure subject. It does deliver what is promised in the title; it presents a (general) HISTORY of U.S. aircraft escape systems. This history includes ejection seats, jettisonable noses, encapsuled seats, and ejectable crew modules. If you have any interest in ejection seats at all, then get this book!

I found this book to be a wonderful read. As a Navy aircraft maintainer, aviation aficionado & modelling enthusiast. Even if the title has a few errors, this is a facinating read and the stories (both lucky & unlucky) give a genuine insight into the men & machines that are part of The Cold War's History.

When I received this book my expectations was sooo high. Then the author made the experience plummet sooo deep. The book contains some pictures that one hasn't other places. ...but this guy brags about have being an engineer. But there is hardly anything about interesting mechanics/physics. Not too much about general engineering, except a little in the cases about encapsulated seats and crew escape modules where the end results became spectacular. There is a lot about who piloted which plane and which grade he had, even the details of the pilots in the chase planes! futile attention to the serial numbers of the planes. Almost endless unnecessary rows of adjectives in description of every plane that is mention, of the kind that everyone reading this book knows anyway. ("Yes we all know that the B-1 is blended between its fuselage and wings; Do you plan to make this a topic too, just trying to impress us??") And the there is all these attempts to try to impress by suddenly going into an unnecessary passive grammar. Or having visited to synonym list to se if there is a multisyllable word that can replace a shorter one, just to seem "wise".
Please, someone: Rip out all the good stuff in this book, and put it into a new and better one: One with physics, general design. New stories. The Brits and Germans must have someone. Didn't the Germans eject all the time in the sixties, when they started to use the F-104 as fighter bombers? What about the French, the other Europeans, and perhaps former enemies? And didn't one of the companies Tuttle worked for make the seats for the first successful inverted ejection, near the surface and for real? Without Tuttle mentioning it at all.
But it's amuzing to browse in, and it should be a nice book for the public library later today.