USAF pilot seat 1944

[underfire]

Testing a new anti-fatigue pilot seat 1940's, seems reasonable!

http://i65.tinypic.com/9uqjyx.jpg

EDIT: 1949 Prone position pilot’s seat “USAAF pilots are finding it much safer and more comfortable to lie down while handling the controls of a plane. The prone seat produces less fatigue on long flights and permits the pilot to withstand greater gravitational pull without danger of blackout.”

[NutLoose]

Detail page | Research | Collections | RAF Museum (http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/gloster-meteor-f8-prone-position/)


http://www.awa.uk.com/pronepilotmeteor

[underfire]

Interesting, not sure if it was every used by the US...

Time Magazine Science: Prone Pilot
Monday, Feb. 14, 1949

Fighter pilots of the future may take their flying lying down. This week Wright Field's Aero-Medical Laboratory told about a "prone position pilot bed" that it is developing to replace the conventional pilot's seat (see cut).

The pilot bed, an improvement on early German design, is made of strong nylon mesh hung between side boards curved to fit the pilot's body. The mesh can be loosened to make room for broad hips, and a rounded belly (which are among the occupational hazards of airmen). (haha, even in 1949!) The pilot's jaw rests on a padded adjustable shelf.

Prone position pilot bed from 1949 by U.S. Air Force's Air Laboratory

Edit:http://i67.tinypic.com/2v2iqec.jpg http://i67.tinypic.com/x6sup.jpg

another link http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1949/02/07/page/18/article/beds-for-pilots-in-super-fast-planes-tested http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1949/02/07/page/18/article/beds-for-pilots-in-super-fast-planes-tested

[Anilv]

Looks like the boom operator position on air-tankers.

Anil

[underfire]

Perhaps the new AB config, where the driver is in the cargo hold...

http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/30/76/54/6548287/3/628x471.jpg

oops, the radar stuff?

http://i67.tinypic.com/2w3utua.jpg

[ZeBedie]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor_F8_%22Prone_Pilot%22