ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES OF BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE PILOTS FOR ADJUSTMENT TO THE T-27 AIRCRAFT COCKPIT

The present study aimed to verify if the ergonomic design of the cockpit of the T-27 aircraft is compatible with the anthropometric profile of Brazilian young people who join the Air Force Academy (AFA). The anthropometric measures related to flight safety were: body mass, height, sitting height, height of the position of the eyes, sitting shoulder height, functional distance (upper limbs), distance from knee to hip, and sitting knee height. Descriptive statistics, comparison of suitability between the sexes, and percentage distribution for each variable were performed, analyzing the values between the 5th and 95th percentiles and their compatibility with the anthropometric requirements of the aircraft. It was evidenced that, for the cockpit of the T-27 Tucano aircraft, the percentages of the male population presented greater suitability (up to 90%) in relation to the female (below 90%). It was concluded that there is a need for new analyzes of the national anthropometric profile, aiming at optimizing the dimensions of pilot cabins and providing information to the target population in the preparation of future aircraft projects.