AFRL Conducts New Air Force Aircrew Anthropometry Study

  • Published
  • AFRL/HE
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The last time the Air Force (AF) conducted a large-scale anthropometric (human body measurement) survey of its pilots was 1967. Countless changes have occurred since then, one of which being the average size and shape of the human body. The critical significance of this evolution is evident in AFRL's present effort to update outdated anthropometric data by measuring 3,000 representative members of today's AF aircrew. 

In 1967, researchers used traditional tools, such as tape measures and calipers, to take body measurements. While today's researchers continue to rely on these conventional instruments, they also have at their disposal an advanced capability: three-dimensional whole-body surface scanning. This technology, which permits the humanlike animation apparent in movies such as Polar Express, enables the extraction of innumerable measurements in just a few seconds. 

To emphasize the importance of the project, AFRL Vice Commander Colonel David B. Glade II--himself a command pilot and experimental test pilot with 2,700 hours in more than 60 different aircraft types--volunteered as one of the first test subjects. The results of this historic research will feed into the newly established Integrated Aircrew Ensemble program, an effort under way at Brooks City-Base, Texas, and slated to produce the next-generation head-to-toe life support system for AF aircrew in about 5 years. 

The anthropometric information generated by AFRL's study will help engineers improve sizing and similar design characteristics of AF aircrew clothing; workstations and other equipment; and personal protective gear such as body armor, wherein proper fit equates to personnel safety. Further, the same design improvements geared towards enhancing aircrew comfort and protection will ultimately reduce the costs associated with improperly fitting products as well. 

The designers responsible for the AF's existing flight gear based their recommendations on a 1988 US Army survey. They did so because (as stated) the last extensive effort to collect AF aircrew data had occurred in 1967--long before women and many ethnic minorities had become an integral part of the full-time AF pilot population, and at a time when military pilots were primarily young, Caucasian males who were relatively physically fit. Current Air Force Personnel Center statistics reveal a vastly different demographic makeup. Today's AF has 13,065 active-duty pilots--a figure that encompasses 559 females and a variety of ethnicities. This diversity translates to an expansive range of human factors--including age and body type, shape, and size--that must be considered and adequately addressed. Consequently, AFRL's updated anthropometric data will assist the AF in better outfitting and protecting its servicemen and women of today.