Male and Female Strength Capabilities for Operating Aircraft Controls

Abstract

There has long been concern that the resistance of some aircraft controls is too large. Now that the Air Force has both male and female pilots, that concern is greater. The workload and Ergonomics Branch of AFAMRL has just completed a study of the physical strength and endurance capabilities of 61 male and 61 female subjects in a stick-controlled aircraft simulator. Additionally, 110 of these subjects completed a nine-week exercise training program to strengthen muscles used on aircraft controls. Results show weak males and weak females have similar leg strength. The arm strength of strong females was similar to that of weak males, however, physical training improved leg strength more than arm strength. Males and females had similar increases in strength due to physical training. Most of the females and some males fell below the resistance specification for current aircraft.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA098256

Entities

People

  • Joe W. Mcdaniel

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Biomedical Research
  • Civilian Pilots
  • Design Criteria
  • Education
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Flight Simulators
  • Pilots
  • Research Facilities
  • Resistance
  • Security
  • Specifications
  • Training
  • Transport Aircraft
  • Workload

Readers

  • Aviation Science / Aeronautics.
  • Gender and Food Studies