JOHNSTOWN, PA, February 22, 2006—U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA 12) and Daniel R. DeVos, President & Chief Executive Officer of Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) today announced that CTC and the Goodrich Corporation have significantly advanced the design of Goodrich’s Advanced Concept Ejection Seat (ACES II) for the U.S. Air Force—originally a single-piece unit, now a modular seat structure assembly.  The new Modular Ejection Seat will accommodate current ACES II subsystems, including ballistics components as well as components that are currently under development, and improve safety.   

For the past 18 months, under Phase I of a contract awarded to CTC by Goodrich, the team has been developing a Modular Ejection Seat structure that significantly reduces both the time required to accomplish maintenance on the seat as well as the downtime of the aircraft.  These improvements are achieved by the design of the modular structure, which allows the seat to be disassembled and removed from the cockpit, by sections, without first requiring the removal of the aircraft canopy or hatch.  Further reduction in maintenance time is achieved because of greatly improved access to seat components while the seat is still in the aircraft.

“The design of the Modular Ejection Seat is another indication of CTC’s well-earned national reputation for providing expertise that strengthens our nation’s defensive capabilities,” Murtha said. “Ejection seats are complex systems that are vital to the safety of our air crews, and improvements have to keep pace with advances in fighter aircraft requirements.”

The prototype Modular Ejection Seat has been on display at multiple conventions, including World Wide Egress and the SAFE Conference.  The seat has been well-received by aircraft maintainers, and the increased safety aspects of the seat structure are welcomed by the larger-in-stature aircrew members.  Not only does the seat quickly break apart into discrete modules, the movable headrest ensures that the seat structure fractures the canopy (if necessary) during ejections.  This eliminates the potential for a pilot’s head to contact the canopy during “through-canopy” ejections. 

DeVos, said, “CTC is a recognized expert in the technology areas required here —computer-aided design, engineering analysis, rapid prototyping, advanced materials, prototype manufacturing, and testing—to enhance the safety of the U.S. air crew population.  Phase II will include fabrication of initial prototype seats, component testing, and initial system testing at Goodrich’s Hurricane Mesa Test Facility in southwestern Utah.  We welcome this opportunity to collaborate with Goodrich and the U.S. Air Force in this effort.” 

The original ACES II is manufactured by Goodrich’s Aircraft Interior Products’ division propulsion systems team in Phoenix, Arizona, and its Specialty Seating Systems team in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  It is installed on a wide array of aircraft in service with the U.S. Armed Forces, including the F-15, F-16, B-1, B-2, A-10, and F-117, as well as on aircraft of 20 other nations.

CTC is an independent, nonprofit, applied research and development professional services organization providing management and technology-based solutions to a wide array of clients representing state and federal government as well as the private sector.  CTC employs over 1,400 employees at more than 35 locations nationally, including 850 in Johnstown.

For more information on the ACES II Modular Ejection Seat, please contact George A. Blasiole, Executive Director, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing, at 814-269-6287 or blasiole@ctc.com.