[Bill McIntyre]

I had totally forgotten about those leg restraint straps until now, but yes, we had them on our Martin Baker seats. However, my recollection is that they were not intended to keep the legs and feet from hitting the instrument panel on ejection- the upward acceleration would serve to do that. They were to keep the legs from flailing once we were out in the airstream.

But speaking of Martin Baker, I'm reminded of one of the most dramatic films I ever saw in the ready room. I guess it must have been about the time that they were developing the zero-zero seat, and it showed a cockpit mockup sitting in a clearing in the forest. There was a guy in the cockpit smoking a cigarette, and several others standing around looking at him.

There was no canopy on the cockpit, and the guy snuffed out his cigarette on the outside of the cockpit, reached up and pulled the face curtain, and departed the picture straight up. It was a hell of a shock, and we wondered how much they paid that guy.