No Seat, No Parachute: Inside the Outrageous F.E.2b

No Seat, No Parachute: Inside the Outrageous F.E.2b

Simply Incredible

What kind of First World War aircraft would send its crew into battle without even giving them proper seats? The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b is a machine as daring as it was dangerous. One can climb aboard a reproduction of this extraordinary pusher biplane and discover why it earned a reputation as one of the most unusual and thrilling warbirds of its era.

This rare air-to-air footage takes you inside a flying reproduction of one of the wildest designs of the First World War: the Royal Flying Corps’ F.E.2b “pusher” biplane. From the front cockpit, you’ll see exactly what the observer once did, perched at the very nose of the aircraft, with no seat, no parachute, and nothing more than a cable to keep from tumbling into the slipstream.

With its propeller mounted behind the crew, the F.E.2b offered an unobstructed field of fire for its twin Lewis guns, a bold idea for 1915. But that innovation came at a terrible price, as many observers discovered too late when they slipped from the floor of the nacelle during the chaos of combat.