Two-seater (airplane)
As a two-seater ( Engl. Two-seater or twin seater , fr. Biplace ) are aircraft referred, which can accommodate two people. This mainly applies to military aircraft in which the two crew members perform special tasks.
Civil aircraft can also be named this way. Here, two-seaters are mainly used in sports and training aircraft . Two-seat gliders are usually referred to as two-seaters .
history
The two-seater of the world wars
The occupation of aircraft with two crew members who take on various practical tasks began as early as the First World War . Here the pilot was assigned a second man who mostly sat behind the pilot. He could take on tasks of a gunner, scout or the like. The pilot could thus concentrate on the flight, while the man behind z. B. took aerial photographs or fended off a pursuer.
This division of tasks was largely retained until after the Second World War . For example, the Messerschmitt Bf 110 , which had a gunner who defended the aircraft to the rear, made the usual attack from behind from an elevated position more difficult for the enemy. The de Havilland Mosquito , which was also used beyond the Second World War due to its versatility, marked a turning point from the traditional two-seater shape to a new collaboration between the crew members. The second man no longer carried out an activity that was more or less independent of the pilot, but supported the pilot directly in fulfilling his tasks.
Teamwork in the modern cockpit
With the further development of technology and the expanded range of tasks that a fighter aircraft could take on, combat and attack aircraft were more often manned by two crew members. The era of the Vietnam War brought numerous examples to light. The F-4 Phantom interceptor and fighter-bomber has the pilot and an additional gunner who supports the pilot in navigation, air surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance and other tasks. He is called a Radar Intercept Officer (RIO; German: Weapons System Officer ). The A-6 Intruder , in which the crew sits next to each other, should also be mentioned. Here the "second man" is not referred to as a weapons system officer, but as a navigator , or Bombardier / Navigator (B / N).
The F-111 Aardvark , which gradually replaced the A-6 in its original tasks, has a similar cockpit layout, but this is rarer in military aircraft development. Far more common is a division like that of the F-4, later used in the F-14 Tomcat , which was long considered the most modern and dangerous aircraft. Her skills were mainly made possible by developing as a two-seater.
Technology replaces the second man
The advancement of technology, which increasingly made it possible for computers to take on complex tasks and process information, led to a reduction in the number of two-seat aircraft. This also counteracted the costly training of personnel. This is particularly evident in the case of the F-14 , which was replaced by the single-seat F-18 , which in turn is to be replaced by the single-seat F-35 , which is also under development .
The two-seat solution is retained or developed as an additional version of an aircraft type only in the case of aircraft that, for example, continue to require an evaluation of information by a human being (e.g. bombers , reconnaissance aircraft and aircraft for electronic warfare ). Two-seaters are far more common - and have been since their earliest development - in training aircraft . The flight instructor (often from the rear seat via a double control ) can monitor the student pilot and intervene if necessary. An example of a fighter aircraft is the General Dynamics F-16 , the single-seat version of the F-16A for use as the two-seat F-16B for training purposes.
technology
Design of the cockpit
There are basically two variants of the cockpit layout: one behind the other ( tandem ) and sitting next to each other. The latter is only used in (fighter) bombers and reconnaissance aircraft due to the greater width of the fuselage that is required, as these are built larger in themselves and speed and maneuverability are not in the foreground. In the A-6 , which still flies today in the form of the four-seat EA-6 Prowler , the navigator only sits almost next to the pilot. Its seat is set back a few centimeters. The navigator concentrates on his instruments almost during the entire flight and only receives something passively from the actual flight. Therefore, only the pilot has the so-called Head-Up-Display (HUD), which projects the necessary information directly into his field of vision. In the F-111, developed four years later, both crew members even have their own HUD.
Tandem cockpit
For aircraft that require higher speeds, greater maneuverability and therefore different aerodynamic requirements, it is common to choose the tandem solution. The most common method here is to position the man behind the pilot a little higher. Despite the often very limited view to the front through the fittings , an improved view to the front and to the sides is still guaranteed. During the aerial combat, the man behind also takes over the observation of the area behind the aircraft and informs the pilot z. B. about the position of a close pursuer.
For military training aircraft such as B. the BAE Hawk or the Alpha Jet , this elevated positioning of the man behind is often reinforced so that the flight instructor gets a better overview of the flight path.
The crew members are constantly connected to one another via an intercom . There are also tandem versions in which the cockpits are completely separated from each other, as with the MiG-25PU and RU. Here the need for a connection via an intercom becomes even more evident. Such a division, as it was also used in a version of the SR-71 Blackbird , can be explained by the early development of the aircraft in connection with the extremely high speeds (with the SR-71 up to 3,529 km / h). The relatively old but modern F-4 has a contiguous cockpit, but also two separate cabin roofs. The processed materials did not allow for a cohesive and resistant cabin roof, as it is e.g. B. found in the F-14 Tomcat or two-seat versions of the F-16.
Ejection seat
It is understandable that ejecting the crew via ejection seats becomes more complicated when two people sitting close behind one another are supposed to safely move away from the aircraft at high speed and possibly in uncontrolled flight.
For this purpose, rejects are staggered from back to front in the tandem, only delayed by a few milliseconds. A divergence ensures that one seat is catapulted a little to the left and the other a little to the right in order to avoid a collision in the air.
Another, but extremely rare, method is z. B. the F-111 . The pilots do not leave the aircraft using ejector seats, but remain in the cockpit, which is blown off the aircraft as an escape capsule and floats to the ground under a parachute with a diameter of 21 meters.
List of two-seat fighter jets (selection)
In the following, only two-seat aircraft for military purposes are listed, as it would go beyond the scope of this list to name any civil aircraft with two seats. For further information on civil aircraft can be found under " Sportflugzeug " and the related links.
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