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©News from North American Aviation, Inc.

Escape Capsule - The encapsulated ejection seat of the B-70 provides the crew members with secondary shirtsleeve environment in the event of a malfunction in the normal air vehicle system.

 

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Click on Picture to enlarge

Diagram from the XB-70 Pilot's manual on the Escape Capsule system.

Sled Test Ejection of the XB-70 Escape Capsule.

From the mid-1950s thru the 1970s, NAA or North American Rockwell, was continuously involved in ejection seat design.  The XB-70 Valkyrie Bomber by North American Aviation/Rockwell was equipped with an escape capsule for each of the two man crew. Al White, a NAA test pilot shown above, was saved by one of the capsules during the infamous mid-air collision mishap. The capsule, which is similar in concept to the B-58 Escape Capsule, contains survival gear, oxygen systems and the flight control stick. This system allowed for the aircrew to encapsulate by the pulling of a handle, which would retract the seat and the aircrew's limbs, then the upper and lower clamshells would close. The capsule would then pressurize and allow the aircrew to fly the aircraft down to a lower altitude before they opened the clamshell.

In case of a major aircraft malfunction requiring ejection, a trigger on either hand rest could be squeezed to initiate ejection. The capsule would then be catapulted out of the aircraft. On exit it would deploy a set of booms for stability, as a sustainer rocket propelled it away from the aircraft. Seconds later the main recovery parachute would be deployed, followed by an impact attenuation airbag located under the capsule.

Another major system created by NAA/Rockwell was the XB-70 ejection capsule. This was an ejection seat with a two piece clamshell covering which came together to protect the air-crewman against the extremes of altitude and airspeed that the XB-70 Valkyrie could reach. Tested by rocket sled, this capsule could protect against supersonic forces, and was pressurized to protect the aircrew in case of decompression of the aircraft. Stabilizing booms kept the capsule under control at high speed. Due to the heavy weight of the capsule at ground impact, absorption bags were fitted to the bottom to attenuate the impact.

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