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WONZ 253 – Great Escapes: Safety And Surface

WONZ 253 – Great Escapes: Safety And Surface

The Wings Over New Zealand Show

February 7, 20221h 18m

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Show Notes

Guests: Geoff “Polly” Polglase, Evan Allen and Terry “Gnome” Austin

Host: Dave Homewood

Recorded: 6th of October 2021

Released:  7th of February 2022

Duration: 1 hour 18 minutes 20 seconds

This episode is the fourth in a series called “Great Escapes”, covering stories of RNZAF ejections from aircraft that have saved lives in emergency situations. This episode is a little different from those previously in the series, where it is from the perspective of some of the Safety And Surface Technicians who maintained the equipment to make an ejection successful.

The Safety And Surface trade is an engineering trade in the RNZAF which encompasses a wide range of specialist and highly technical skill sets, from spray painting and sign-writing to upholstery and canvas work to maintaining flying clothing and helmets. And a big part of the role is maintenance of the parachutes, life rafts, life preservers, survival packs and other equipment carried by aircrew or within the aircraft in case of the need of an emergency escape in the plane.

In relation to ejection seats, the guys discuss the parachutes, life rafts, survival packs, life preservers and other important safety equipment used by pilots in the McDonnell Douglas A-4K Skyhawks, the BAC 167 Strikemaster Mk. 88’s, and the Aermacchi MB-339CB Macchis of the RNZAF.

Quick Links:

• Great Escapes 1 – Geoff Hubbard

• Great Escapes 2 – Pete Lindsay

• Great Escapes 3 – Phil Barnes

• Great Escapes 5 – Sean Singleton-Turner

Note: Be aware there is a couple of swear words in this episode, nothing unusual for seasons S&S Workers.

Note: The music used in this episode is Hazy After Hours, from Mixkit

A mock-up of the Skyhawk’s ejection seat. The pilot is Damien Gilchrist. Photo via Don Simms
Geoff “Polly” Polglase
Evan Allen
Terry “Gnome” Austin
Another view of the Skyhawk ejection seat, this time showing the parachute on the pilot’s back, and the life raft and survival pack that was sat on. This photo also shows the dummy wearing the Mk. 22 Life preserver, the harness with Quick Release Fitting (QRF), the Alpha helmet, the G-suit, and the oxygen mask that were also all part of the Safety and Surface Technician’s kit. The pilot is Damien Gilchrist. Photo via Don Simms
The parachute in the Skyhawk ejection seat of a Skyhawk also acted as the cushion. Photo via Don Simms
A demonstration of the moment before touching down while under the parachute. The pilot would release the survival pack and life raft, the latter which inflated as it dropped. Photo via Don Simms
Safety and Surface Technician Adrian Bennie with a SS Mk. 15 life raft, as packed into the seats they sat on in the jets. Also seen is his now inflated RFD Mk. 22 life preserver. Once he’d climbed into the raft he would manually inflate the orange canopy around him for both protection from the elements and for higher visibility. Photo via Don Simms
The Mk. 22 Life Preserver had a lot of items that would aid survival attached to it in pockets, etc. Photo via Don Simms
The RSSK Escapac survival pack which contained the raft and survival aids.
The ballistic spreader on the Skyhawk’s parachute to aid a near instant opening of the parachute, no matter what speed and height the aircraft was travelling. In the foreground are the neatly stowed rigging lines. Photo via Don Simms
A photo taken in 1985 of a Strikemaster’s MBEU parachute on the packing table. Photo via Terry Austin.
The fully packed MBEU parachute in 1985. Photo via Terry Austin.
An MBEU parachute and the ejection seat handle and blind from Terry Austin’s personal collection. Photo via Terry Austin.
The ejection seat handle and blind from Terry Austin’s personal collection. Photo via Terry Austin.
Terry says the ejection seat handle and blind fit his 4WD nicely. Photo via Terry Austin.
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