A company which designs and manufactures ejection seats is the focus of the latest episode in an award-winning YouTube series.
Martin-Baker, which has its testing facility at Chalgrove Airfield, is showcased on The Fighter Show's latest episode, titled Fast & Furious Ejections.
The episode delves into the behind-the-scenes workings of the aircraft ejection seat and escape system specialist, whose headquarters are in Buckinghamshire.
The company has saved the lives of 7,724 pilots over the past 70 years, and it has produced 869 seats for Typhoon aircraft during that time.
The show, hosted by Eurofighter’s Flo Taitsch, reveals Martin-Baker's testing facility.
Mr Taitsch described the episode as "the most explosive day in the history of The Fighter Show".
Viewers find out that a deployed ejection seat generates a 15,000 horsepower thrust.
Pyro Cell leader Daniel Milverton says: "The pilot is projected from the aircraft to 100 metres above in just 0.67 of a second."
Mr Taitsch applauds Martin-Baker, which employs more than 1,000 staff worldwide, as the "mother of all ejection seats".
Steve Roberts, head of business development at Martin-Baker, said: "Our ejection seat is really complex.
"It’s not just a chair — it has an incredible ballistic system because we have to get a pilot out of the cockpit very quickly.
"We have electronics within the seat to determine the time to deploy the in-built parachute.
"The pilot is also sitting on a survival aids container which comprises all the emergency items they might need after reaching the ground."
The episode reveals some of the mysteries of Martin-Baker’s craft, such as the fact that preparing and packing the parachute can take several days.
Mr Roberts added: "After the parachute has been folded using special tools we have developed three-ton presses to press the parachute into their container.
"After about 10 hours all of the air is squeezed out but the whole process from start to finish takes up to three days."
Launched in April 2023, The Fighter Show is a YouTube series owned and produced by Eurofighter Typhoon.
Filming takes place at an array of outdoor locations including air shows and air bases across Europe, while there are also studio episodes with a live audience, and guest interviews with pilots, engineers, technicians and authors.
The Fighter Show is often described as “Top Gear meets Top Gun”, with episodes uploaded every three weeks and some attracting more than one million views.
The latest episode of The Fighter Show is available to view on Eurofighter’s YouTube channel. It has received 31,000 views since it was uploaded.
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