Forum: F-16 Procedures

I was just reading the article <a href="news_article3013.html">Korean War vet realizes dream of being a pilot</a> and wondered about the following paragraph:

Quote:

The base prepared an F-16 to the required standards for someone without a pilot license to sit in it. This included deactivating the ejection option from the seat as well as providing access to the aircraft on both sides.

Is that because the risk of ejecting himself and not surviving is higher than the risk of a crash?

Lieven

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In reality, what they probably meant was disarm the ejection system, Thus making it safe for public entry. One curious person messing around in a cockpit could wind up a red stain the the hangar ceiling if this wasn't done, so your mention of the risk of ejecting himself was correct.

It is actually a pretty common procedure that egress personnel perform.

I think you're under the assumption he was flying. This was just a static display that had the seat de-armed so anybody could sit in it and not accidently make a mess like Smiley stated.

Its just a poorly worded news article. A pilots license would have nothing to do with sitting in a F-16 cockpit. Ive worked on and sat in AF aircraft for 30 years and can assure you that I do not have a pilot license. As akruse21 said it was "dearmed" to make it safe for someone not trained to be in the seat.

Forum: F-16 Procedures

Deactivating the ejection option