ORGANIZATIONAL-LEVEL MAINTENANCE

Mode 5, all speeds - high altitude. The drogue bridle remains connected until the seat has descended to 18,000 feet. This arrangement prevents prolonged exposure to low temperature and thin air and enables the occupant to ride down in the seat, controlled by the drogue and supplied with emergency oxygen, to a more tolerable altitude. The seat attitude will be horizontal with the occupant facing down. When the seat has descended to 18,000 feet, the drogue bridle is released, the parachute deployment rocket motor fires to deploy the personnel parachute, and the harness release system operates to free the occupant from the seat. The occupant is momen- tarily held in the seat bucket by the sticker clips. All modes. The personnel parachute, when developed, lifts the occupant and survival kit from the seat, pulling the sticker lugs from their clips. This arrangement ensures that there is no possibility of collision between seat and occupant after separation. ORGANIZATIONAL-LEVEL MAINTENANCE Learning Objective: Identify the organiza- tional-level maintenance philosophy for the NACES system. The primary task of maintenance technicians is to keep the systems they are responsible for in an operational condition. To achieve this goal, the technician must be proficient in the maintenance, removal, installation, testing, and adjustment of system components. All of this must be performed in accordance with applicable technical publications. Most importantly, all these functions must be done “safely.” Ejection seats and associated components are carefully designated, manufactured, and tested to ensure dependable operation. This equipment must function properly the first time. Malfunction or failure to operate usually results in severe injury or death to crew members. You must always use the utmost care in maintaining escape system equipment. Strict compliance with the maintenance procedures presented in the MIMs and the maintenance requirement cards (MRCs) are mandatory and cannot be overemphasized. NOTE: The information presented in this chapter must NOT be used in place of information provided in the MIMs. With the increasing use of diverse and exotic (composite) materials in the manufacture of aircraft components, it is imperative that the proper methods and materials be used to prevent and/or correct corrosion. NAVAIR 13-1-36, Organizational Maintenance with Illustrated Parts Breakdown Manual, has been developed to provide specific instructions and repair actions for NACES seat components. It is an in-shop manual written to provide the most complete and technically correct information available to the maintenance technician in one publication. Remember, these manuals are your primary source of maintenance information. SUMMARY The Martin-Baker Navy Aircrew Common Ejection Seat (NACES) represents the very latest in escape system technology. It has been designed to provide maximum personnel survivability, a high level of escape comfort, total reliability, and ease of maintainability. For the first time in this field, the power of the microchip has been harnessed to give the seat the unique ability to respond to the variable demands of an ejection situation in a manner far more flexible than was possible with earlier mechanically controlled seats. 5-38