Ejector Seat (1957)

Denham, Buckinghamshire. Footage of an aircraft “ejector seat“ being tested at a research station. First a dummy is taken out of the “hot seat“ to make room for a “human cannonball“ who is going to test the device. L/S of the research station showing a metal construction which the ejector seat will be sent up - it is very tall. Various shots of Jimmy Ongley putting on a jump-suit and special protective helmet to prepare for his trip. He sits in the ejector seat and machinery is prepared. Cartridges of nitro-cellulose are used to propel the seat upwards. Vertigo inducing shots of Jimmy and the framework of the testing machine. Jimmy puts his hand on his head as a colleague counts down from 4. He is then shot up the framework at 40 feet per second. Narrator observes “You either like that sort of thing or you don’t.“ Jimmy returns to the bottom of the machine and is patted on the head by a colleague. He looks a bit shell shocked. Note: men working on machinery are Ernest Greenwood and To