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 Summary

The Zero-Zero (zero altitude and zero air speed) ejection seat was developed by Weber Aircraft Company for Project Gemini spacecraft and was adapted for the Convair F-106A and F-106B Delta Dart. This collection consists of three reels of 16mm film pertaining to Weber Aircraft's Project 90 test flight and the Zero-Zero ejection seat.

 Biographical / Historical

The Zero-Zero (zero altitude and zero air speed) ejection seat was developed by Weber Aircraft Company for Project Gemini spacecraft and was adapted for the Convair F-106A and F-106B Delta Dart. The main design team responsible for the seat consisted of Ed James, John Tuner, and Wally Ziegler. In 1965, Weber decided to do to a live test of the seat, a program dubbed Project 90, with Major Jim Hall acting as the subject. Hall reached an altitude of approximately 400 feet before landing safely in a lake.

 Identifier

NASM.2018.0073

Creator

Weber Aircraft Company

Date

1965-1966

Provenance

Martha J. James, Gift, 2018, NASM.2018.0073

Extent

0.2 Cubic feet (3 reels)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of three reels of 16mm film pertaining to Weber Aircraft's Project 90 test flight and the Zero-Zero ejection seat. The first film, dated 1965 with a runtime of approximately 21 minutes, is a promotional documentary about the seat showing various tests of the Zero-Zero and other Weber ejection seats. The second film, also from 1965 with a runtime of almost 16 minutes, is a promotional documentary about the first live test by Major Jim Hall of the Zero-Zero ejection seat showing preparation for the test as well as an interview with Hall afterwards. The third film, dated June 15, 1966 with a runtime of just over seven minutes, shows air drop tests of the Zero-Zero ejection seat.

Arrangement note

Collection is in original order.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Citation

Weber Project 90 Test Footage, NASM.2018.0073, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Aeronautics

Pilot ejection seats

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Moving images