These photos of a MBA Mk. GQ-7(A) ejection seat are from European correspondant
Mark Verbeek. The GQ-7(A) is covered somewhat in
my Seats of the F-104, but features shown here include the very unique
hard parachute container (box). The harness, which as is the usual in European seats is fixed to
the seat, is labled AUTOFLUG which is a German
company which maintains many of the ejection seats of the German Air Force, manufacturing parts
under license from Martin-Baker Aircraft.
The underseat rocket is painted a pale blue which indicates it is an inert unit for display and training. Live rocket packs are gloss white. Behind the yellow and black striped lower ejection handle is the connection points for the negative G harness strap. The red and black striped handle on the right seat pan wall is the manual override or scramble handle which allows a crewman to disconnect from the seat and exit the aircraft or seat with all the gear including the parachute and seat kit.
Other views of the GQ-7A may be found:
| Front view Nice view of the headrest and the parachute box. |
| Left side shows the unique shape of the parachute box which wraps around the main beam assembly. |
| Lower view showing the PEC and
underseat rocket well. The yellow color of the survival kit is quite visible here. The striped manual separation handle is also shown. |
| Rear of headrest.Note the banana links on the crossbar at the top of the main beam which withdraw the sear when the initiator below it is fired. The linkages for the initiator are visible here. |
