Fig. 16. '"Dummy Joe,' the
hero of five thousand jumps"
is shown here with engineers
J.J. Higgins (left) and Guy Ball
at McCook Field, Ohio in 1920.
(U.S. Air Force photo)
================~~~F===============
Test Dummies Used by the U.S. Air Force
Since the beginning of manned flight, designers have sought a
substitute for the human body to test hazardous new equipment. Early
devices used by the predecessors of the U.S. Air Force were simply
constructed parachute drop test dummies with little similarity to the human
form. Following World War II, aircraft emergency escape systems became
increasingly sophisticated and engineers required a dummy with more
humanlike characteristics.
Parachute Drop Dummies
During World War I research and development of the first U.S.
military parachute was underway at McCook Field, Ohio. To test the
parachute, engineers experimented with several types of dummies, settling
on a model constructed of three-inch hemp rope and sandbags with the
approximate proportions of a medium-sized man. 30 The new invention was
soon known by the nickname "Dummy Joe." Dummy Joe is said to have
made more than five thousand "jumps" between 1918 and 1924.31
By 1924, parachutes were required on military aircraft with their
serviceability tested by dummies dropped from aircraft. 32 For this routine
testing, several types of dummies were used. The most common type is
shown in figures 17 and 18. Parachutes were individually drop-tested from
aircraft until the early stages of World War II, when, due both to increased
reliability and large numbers of parachutes in service, this routine practice
was discontinued. Nonetheless, test dummies were still used frequently by
the Parachute Branch of Air Materiel Command (AMC) at Wright Field,
Ohio, to test new parachute designs.
19