Further pre-production art for TV show. While the company I was working for already had some general ideas for what they wanted their space fighters to look like; there was still much about how they would exactly operate and interact with their environment. I was asked to provide some input on that subject. http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3733103/ http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3737087/ http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3737218/

One of the most traumatic things a pilot can experience while operating an aircraft is the act of bailing out or ejecting. Going from within the enclosed environmental controlled confines of the cockpit; then in less than two seconds being violently hurled into to air at possibly hundreds of miles an hour by a combination of explosives and rockets. Even when it goes off right the act can result in severe injuries to the pilot. Then the pilot must gain control of the chute and try not to land on something unfortunate. For many years engineers have experimented with various ideas of not just pitching the pilot like a clay pigeon out of the aircraft. Several ideas to provide fabric face shields. Include part of canopy in the ejection seat to act as a slipstream guard, or even ejecting the whole cockpit as an escape pod have been tried. In fact during the Vietnam War the Kaman company actually explored the idea of having the ejecting escape pod transform into a small autogyro that the pilot could then pilot to get clear of enemy forces and reach a safe area for rescue.

Needless to say the James Bond folding autogyro was a technological pipe dream and even the escape pod/ module was not employed that often. Unfortunately the added complexity and weight of the pod diminished their usefulness. In fact except for a few cases, the F-111 fighter bomber being an example, it was rarely employed in service. Instead further improvements in ejection seats have led to a higher degree of survivability and comfort for the pilot. Although the experience is still not fun.

If one proposes to use manned space fighters in a sci-fi universe though one has to consider what one is going to do about aircrews who might need to quickly vacate their fighter due to some mishap. Now one can argue that space combat will be so violent that the chances of survival are slim or none, but their could still exist a host of reasons why a pilot might need to part company in hurry from their spiffy space fighter. If nothing else it can provide a great sense comfort and morale, for both pilots and their families, that even if it is a slight chance they might get a second chance to fly again. If nothing else you've probably spent a several millions dollars, euros, yen, pesos etc. on training them, and experience veteran pilots are worth even more!

However unlike aircraft you can't just boot the pilot out door and tell them to go play outside. Getting slammed into the slipstream is no fun, but it is positively pleasant compared to space! Yeah you could, and should, put your pilots in vacc suits but how long can your pilot survive out their and how will you locate them? Yes their suit will provide environmental protection, and radio transmitters, radar reflectors, infrared emitters, and flashing strobes can help find them but it still might take awhile. Also if the pilot felt a need vacate their craft in such a hurry they might want get out of the area all together.

So, for Earth Force I proposed that space fighters cockpits would in a emergency eject from the fighter and act as lifeboat for the pilot. It would provide more protection than just a vacc suit. It could carry more environmental material and stronger transmitters and emitters, and taking a page from the failed Kaman project it could provide a very limited amount of mobility for the pilot, No. You are not going to scooting across the cosmos this way but would give the pilot some more options.