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Fig. 14. (Left) Example of an anthropomorphic dummy carried aloft by U.S. Air Force high altitude balloons. These dummies landed at numerous locations throughout New Mexico during the 1950s. (U.S. Air Force photo) Fig. 15. (Right) Newspaper advertisement depicting anthropomorphic dummies “Vince and Larry” “stars” of the successful advertising campaign by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to encourage use of safety belts. (Courtesy of NHTSA)

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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]