With verve, nerve and skill, British aviation last week backed its reputation for daring. On a little-used airstrip at Chalgrove Oxfordshire, Test Pilot John Stuart Fin ) Fifield volunteered to make the first live test of Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. s low-altitude ejection seat (TIME March 21 ). Tossing a pilot out of an airplane at high altitude is comparatively simple. There is plenty of time for the parachute to open. Doing it at low altitude, especially at ground level, is much more risky. The Martin-Baker system has controls that match its performance automatically to the altitude of the jump. It...
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