SUPERSONIC SURVIVAL

[Music] [Music] the jet age has created a problem of pilot escape even if survival for men who fly planes faster than the speed of sound for this reason the United States Air Force in its contractor coleman engineering company design project smart the supersonic military air research track Anjan ears planning worked at project smart can measure terrific forces pilots indoor sleds hurtling along the track at speeds up to 1500 miles an hour can catapult dummies or other test objects over a precipice for recovery by parachute otherwise such data could be learned only from actual pilot bailouts at great risk of equipment and especially of men most of western United States was searched for a flat table and long enough for a two and a half mile track ending at a precipice where the flight escape sequence could be simulated hurricane Mesa in southwestern Utah near Zion National Park met the requirements its climate had sunshine for photography little rain snow or temperature change the Mesa had a solid rock foundation for the track this meant construction at minimum cost and stability to withstand the terrific speed of test sleds after aerial mapping was completed in 1954 engineers directed crews carving an 18 thousand foot Road rising 1,500 feet and hairpin turns to the summit more than 200 men toiled through the winter in spring of 1955 completing this access road to a spot reachable before that time only by horseback or a foot heavy machinery was then taken to the top it was rugged work moving many tons of rock and earth there was no disposal problem the excess was merely shoved over the cliff for a wide sweep of camera coverage scrub trees had to be cleared and burned much water was needed this must come from the canyon of the Virgin River near the base of the Mesa the stream jokingly called the river where fish swim backward to keep dust out of there workmen had to string 15,000 feet of pipe up to jagged cliffs to pump water 1,800 feet vertically to storage on the Mesa trenching to bedrock for the truck foundation extended from the northern shoulder of the tabletop Mountain 12,000 feet southward to the cliff's rim concrete and steel anchored the foundation to the mesas thick Sam stone cap special forms were used in concreting the track base to give engineering exactness 39 foot crane rails were hauled by truck to the summit these had to be mated and fused into two continuous 12,000 foot lengths by doing 2,000 feet per day the job was completed in the amazing time of 16 days to set the truck in tension and avoid expansion or contraction base anchors were welded on an afternoon rail temperature was 115 degrees then crews bolted the track down from the center toward the ends telescope and target alignment gave close tolerance looking down the completed track does not vary 1/10 of an inch from a straight line in its entire length and when it was completed in 1955 it was the longest continuous rail weld in the United States headquarters buildings and workshops were put up concrete bunkers to protect firing crews telemeter in towers to receive radio data from the sleds camera towers for photographing runs everything was in readiness on the contract target date July 8 1955 rather than risk the lives of men dummies or other test objects are used when Hurricane Sam the dummy has instruments in place in his chest he's ready to be harnessed with the personnel chute Sam the anthropomorphic dummy has the weight and dimensions of the human body and carries instruments to measure the terrific forces encountered in ejection at the same time harness flight suits gloves lap belts ejection seats parachutes and other equipment can be tested now Sam can be hoisted aboard the sled wired to transmit data which men in the black house would record and translate later into detailed reports it's time now to bring the Rockets out of the earth and igloo where they're kept for safety these will propel the pusher or locomotive of the pointed nose to luminance LED projects March red firetruck is alerted nozzles at the firing pad are tested every precaution is taken to protect men who handle the rockets now the yellow flight goes up on the blockhouse mast this is a preliminary warning to crew men at all stations photographic coverage of every phase of the run is very important the camera crew men are making final adjustments at the mobile tracking camera and at six fixed camera stations the speed of a particular run may be varied according to the type number and combination of rockets used the most careful accuracy is essential because everything in the firing sequence will happen with split-second timing these boosters will give the final spurt of speed small timers on the sled and rails will pick up the proper signals to trigger booster rocket firing as well as ejection when the sled blasts down the track gets steel slippers will grip the Rails sled and Rockets are now in readiness this is the critical moment the Rockets are being armed or fused up goes the red flag final warning is broadcast the warning siren can be heard over the whole track area the countdown starts men at these instruments will record every phase of the run the camera tracker is focused on the sled four three two one [Music] Huracan Sam is out of the sled he's over the cliff and his chute has opened this is the sequence that gives scientists an opportunity to measure wind blast deceleration the pull of gravity forces and those other enemy elements in pilot escaped from firing time to ejection the run lasted less than six seconds it all happened so fast let's take another look a few seconds after Sam ejected retro rockets fired slowing the sled then it's a restaurateur of the squeezer piston break bringing it to a halt at the cliffs rim although instruments recorded many phases of the sled run and ejection examination of the dummy itself will complete the story men of the recovery crew must combine mountain climbing skill was technical training Huracan Sam came through the ordeal with instruments intact but that was a run in the relatively slow range you see him donning helmet and mask for a speedier trip faster than the speed of sound this run will carry more powerful rockets and you see the horizontal water brake which will stop it in the high speed range where a braking load of more than three hundred thousand pounds may be exerted Sam is off for that faster ride [Music] Huracan Sam cleared the sled by 30 feet sailed out more than a thousand feet from the cliff's edge and drifted 1,500 feet to the valley floor near the canyon of the Virgin River while the recovery crew goes to pick him up we can backtrack to the Mesa and see in slow motion what happened when the sled hit the water break a scoop under this sled is picking up water from the trough between the rails and throwing it back horizontally at a 180 degree angle it would be much the same thing if you tried to stop an automobile traveling 100 miles an hour within a space of 2 and a half feet closer examination shows that Sam had a narrow escape as you can see the seat suit was ripped by wind blast and the debris almost smashed the camera through which you're seeing this action the study of trajectories may prevent such accidents from happening to pilots but hurricane Sam is undismayed by accidents here he is ready for a very high-speed test [Music] as faster planes are built so must escape techniques keep pace to protect the men who fly them upward and downward seat ejection capsule ejection or the new skip flow generator methods must be explored at supersonic speeds a satisfactory escape system for each plane must be evolved project smart is a valuable tool and finding the escape answer in supersonic flight this is a must of the United States Air Force in maintaining superior quality of equipment not only for combat effectiveness but in saving the lives of fighting men who were flying higher and faster than man has ever flown [Music]