"Bob Kuykendall" wrote in message
oups.com...
Earlier, Bill Daniels wrote:

...Gary Sutherland's MOBA...

Exactly! That's been a feature of all of my back-of-the-envelope
sketches for pressurized sailplanes, ever since I saw the MOBA in one
of Stan Hall's articles. The circular opening keeps the seal perimeter
to a minimum, and it would be very easy to seal using a conventional or
inflatable sealing ring. And you could even use a simple eighth-turn
thread to latch it with very few moving parts.

However, one major issue with that arrangement is emergency egress.
That's got pyrotechnics written all over it...

Thanks, Bob K.


Bob, you must use the same brand of envelopes I do.

I figgured on a hemispherical pressure bulkhead behind the pilot that was
attached to the rest of the glider with three explosive bolts - just drop
the whole forward fuselage with pressurization intact. Use a drouge 'chute
to stabilize the 'pod' until at a lower altitude and then jetison the
forward part of the cockpit shell so the pilot couild use a personal
'chute. A variation would be a 'chute big enough to lower the whole pod.

A high altitude pressure cockpit really doesn't look all that hard. The
MOBA treatment could be used on any production sailplane.

Bill Daniels