Title:LOOK AT LIFE: BACK ROOM OF THE SKY [Allocated Title]
Film Number:DEC 21
Other titles:
Summary: A documentary about the Boscombe Down Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire.
Description: The film provides a good summary of some of the A&AEE's activities, including:
Test pilots and scientists, in conjunction with the manufacturers, assess and identify faults with military aircraft and equipment before they become operational. Their brief ranges from overall design issues to the details within any of the components used during the manufacturing process.
Footage of ejection seat tests using Horace the dummy.
Pressure suit tests using real pilots in a laboratory environment.
The "Chamber of Horrors" where pilots are subjected to oxygen starvation tests, to highlight the effects caused by starvation whilst in flight.
A prototype midget helicopter which was designed by Wing Commander Wallace, one of the A&AEE's scientists.
Social aspects of the site, including the bar and model Scalextrix car competitions.
Tests on reserve parachutes to establish why only 50% of them open if the main parachute has been deployed successfully.
