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As one of the important criteria for the Canberra was that all airframes had to have a high degree of interchangeabilty (cockpits, bodies, tail sections, wings etc), re-designing the control rod runs through the pressure bulkhead etc was considered not cost effective and un-justifiable. The main reason was that on ALL airframes the flying control runs ran down the port side of the cockpit, through the pressure bulkhead and down the port side of the bomb-bay. The pilot's position was not the whole reason for the limitations to our Canberras. You would think that the pilots position is more similar (all be it slightly of centre) between the B.2-6 and the B.57B than that of the B.(I).8 & PR.9. The two types also have differeing nose profiles. The nav entered his ejection seat via the hinged nose cone, again he was seated ahead of the pilot. The 9 had a hinged canopy of the same fighter style as the 8, and the pilot enterd his seat through this. A ram operated deflector ahead of the crew entry door was the only help the nav got to escape. The nav sat in a fixed seat forward of him. The pilot had to negotiate his way into his ejector seat and sat under the fixed fighter style canopy. The 8 was accessed by both crew via a small door on the starboard side. If anything maybe the nav on the 8 and 9 sat in the older types pilots position.Īs a note, there is also substantial differences between the 8 and 9 nose, especially internally. was to give the pilot improved visibility. The whole idea of this Albert Draper designed mod. On the earlier types the rear crew are firmly seated within the fusalage diameter, where as the pilot of the 8 and 9 protrudes quite a bit, hence the substantial fighter type canopy. The seat is also mounted higher up than the original navs' seat, I don't know by how much, but I would guess a couple of feet. Thats a negative, on the B.(I).8 and the PR.9 the pilots seat is mounted at the same position against the angled cockpit bulkhead as the NAVIGATOR is on the B.2 - 6 etc 'goldfish bowl canopy' types.