• notabot@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        Several models of helicopters have ejectable blades, this article mentions a few, and has a diagram of the blade severing system.

        • Steak@lemmy.ca
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          3 months ago

          Damn never would have expected that. Thanks for showing me something new!

      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        The Kamov does it.

        The individual rotor blades are separated from the center with an explosive charge and their centrifugal motion carries them laterally away from the vehicle as the seat rockets straight up.

        • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
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          3 months ago

          As a bonus, whoever was close enough to shoot you down is about to get at least one heavy steel javelin flung terrifyingly close to their direction at high speeds.

          I’m assuming here that impact with a long range SAM is probably something you’re not about to eject from.

          • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            In cases like that I’d imagine you’d try and eject prior to being hit, though I don’t know enough to know how much warning time there is.

        • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          Mainly just copium for the pilots. Helicopters aren’t like airplanes where you have glide time and altitude to decide what to do after something bad happens. If you watch fixed winged ejections there’s usually about 30 seconds to a min after something goes wrong before the pilot decides to bail. Helicopters go from everything being fine, to a debris field in seconds.

          • Estiar@sh.itjust.worksM
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            3 months ago

            It’s more about altitude than the ability to glide. Helicopters can do what’s called Auto rotation, which means they actually can glide. If the blade seize up however, they can’t autorotate. Helicopters fly a lot lower than most airplanes though, so they can’t glide as far.

              • Estiar@sh.itjust.worksM
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                3 months ago

                Wow. I’d be nuts to fly one of those things. 6000 VVI sounds like suicide

                With the collective firmly held down on the bottom stop, things happen very fast. The helicopter is descending in a hurry, as in 4,000 – 6,000 feet per minute. Do the math, if you are at 1,000 feet and the descent rate is 4,000 feet, you have one quarter or a minute – 15 seconds – to find a place to land.

        • tibi@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Now you have blades shooting away from the helicopter at a high speed which could kill someone.

  • TheMightyCanuck@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    So basing off another comment. Have the Ejection seat tied to the rotor and shaft (not in a way that the chair spins. Duh)

    Then (as long as rotor hasn’t disintegrated) you can eject the seat with the rotor, thus minimizing filet chances… Whilst also floating to the ground softly like those whirly paper helicopter things you played with as a kid

    Boom. Parachute free ejection seat

    • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
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      3 months ago

      Nah, just do it like they did in WW1; synchronize the ejection to the rotor blades so you fly through the gap, clean as a whistle.

      (Please don’t ask about our experiments with the earlier WW1 method of “Fuck it, just shoot the propeller sometimes, it’ll be fine”. Turns out that doesn’t work so great when you replace bullets with people.)

        • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
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          3 months ago

          Some planes did, but early on they mostly just freeballed it. Turns out propellers are really big and heavy, and they can take a few bullets without breaking. Armour actually makes it more likely that fragments of bullets will fly back at the pilot.

            • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
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              3 months ago

              It’s very rare that a bullet strikes the blade anyway. Bursts were short because ammo was very limited (twenty round strips were common in early biplanes), and the percentage of the space in front of the nose that is propeller is absolutely tiny compare to the percentage that is not propeller. To us its all a blur but to a bullet those blades are basically standing still.

  • unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz
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    3 months ago

    Sus. I watched AirWolf, and Magnum P.I. AND I’ve studied Leonardo di Vinci. Helicopters are next-gen tech and they don’t crash.

  • Etterra@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Oh boy I love it when death is multiple choice!

    1. Fiery explosion
    2. Cuisinart of Doom
    3. Squeezing your brain into hips
    4. 9mm of lead therapy
    5. Other: __________
  • nullpotential@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 months ago

    Attach the ejector seat TO the helicopter blades so that they both eject and you get a cool propeller and can fly around and it can shoot lasers and stuff too.

  • Ekky@sopuli.xyz
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    3 months ago

    Just detach the blades. You can always re-attach them when you’ve landed.

  • FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io
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    3 months ago

    Why not blow the blades off first with a charge in the Jesus pin? Or have the seats eject siddeways or downward? Or like, open the door and jump out hoping you don’t hit he rotors?

    • tibi@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Because now you have blades shooting away from the helicopter at a high speed which could kill someone.

    • some_designer_dude@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find the real solution. Eject rotors, then eject pilots. I think fighter jets basically do the same: eject canopy, then seat.

    • sushibowl@feddit.nl
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      3 months ago

      If you eject downward you may hit the ground before your chute has opened. Helicopters tend to stay pretty low.