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When the USAF discovered the "flaw" of averages
In the early 1950s, the U.S. air force measured more than 4,000 pilots on 140 dimensions of size, in order to tailor cockpit design to the "average" pilot. But it turned out the average airman didn't exist. (www.thestar.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
And add in the "maturity factor", you know, the one where our body rearranges lumps and other migrating matter... I can still wear the clothes I once did, if I take them to a tailor and have two pairs of pants made into one pair!! All of my bones matured, especially my fat bone!!!
While I appreciate the humour in your comments,I'd say that they some of cleverest ones here.
*they "are" some of* (mental note: proof read more)
I recall being told, "you won't fit in the cockpit."
I retired MOSTLY because of my size! Things (cockpits) seemed to be getting SMALLER!!!
Some folks are missing the point. Yes, there are folks that meet, for instance the average, height. And there are those that meet the average weight. But the NUMBER of folks that meet the averages for BOTH height AND weight goes DOWN! The point is as the numbers of MEASURING points goes up, the NUMBER of people that meet ALL of those "average" points goes down and continues to decrease as the number of points being compared goes up!!!
In the late fifties I was in flight training at Bryan AFB (now the airfield is part of Texas A&M) flying the T-33. We had both back pack and seat pack parachutes for us to use but about half way through training the AF measured our thigh length while sitting. They had discovered that if you were wearing a back pack chute and your thigh length was greater than a certain length you would lose your knee caps if you had to eject from the front seat. After getting my wings I was assigned to a fighter squadron, flying the F-86D. In this plane you had to wear a back pack chute because you sat on a survival pack. In this configuration if you had to eject your back would be broken and most pilots died upon hitting the ground. Finally a pilot survived the broken back and was able to explain what was going wrong. The back of the seat was curved, to accommodate, the back pack chute. When you ejected there was nothing to support the chute so it plunged to the bottom of the seat breaking your back. They solved this problem by cutting a piece of 2x4 lumber to fit under the chute and support it, no more broken backs.