In 1972, NASA and the FAA began a cooperative research project to study how general aviation aircraft could be designed in such a way as to improve crashworthiness and survival, particularly with respect to seats, seat mounting and harnessing issues. Some of these tests are shown in this silent film, which was shot with high speed cameras. A swing cable rig at NASA’s Langley Research Center, previously developed for the testing of the Apollo era LEM Lunar Excursion Module, was modified to use with small aircraft. Data was obtained with cameras, and with sensors attached to the airframes and the anthropomorphic dummies which were harnessed in crew and passenger seats. Airplanes used included the Cessna 172 and Piper PA-31 Navajo. Most impact speeds seen in the film are at about 60 mph, but at least one is shown (25:36) with a Navajo aircraft that utilized four Falcon missile rocket motors to obtain a speed of 100 mph. The pendulum-like swing of the cables allowed angles of attack from 0 to 60 degrees, and in case you were wondering — the tarmac at the LRC test center is, like many airport runways, made of concrete.

The results of these tests included many improvements, including the development of load limiting seats.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com