Canadian Forces use technology to find pilots who fit planes
Last year, a man who failed the physical dimensions standards to be a Canadian Forces’ pilot because he was too short, lodged a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
He claimed the air force’s anthropometric, or physical, standards for pilots, based on a survey of male pilots in the 1960s, discriminated against candidates based on height.
“Clearly the standards we had before were too old and outdated,” said Lt.-Col. Donald Albert, director of personnel development for the air force. “We were rejecting a number of applicants that otherwise could have been good applicants.”
Until the 1970s, all Canadian Forces’ pilots were male, but eventually more women started applying. However, the old-fashioned standards led to an automatic rejection of 50 to 60 per cent of the female candidates.
The air force recognized this problem in the mid-1970s and began researching ways to improve the standards, but nothing came of it. It tried again in the early 1980s and failed.
Ten years ago, Pierre Meunier, a defence scientist with Defence Research and Development Canada in Toronto, an agency of the Department of National Defence, developed a computer program that uses digital photographs of Forces’ personnel to determine uniform size. He wondered if the program could also be used in pilot selection.
After four years of measuring cockpits to determine the body dimensions required to safely operate the Forces’ 14 different aircraft, Meunier developed a computer model that accurately predicts who will and who won’t fit into a particular cockpit. The air force began using the model in pilot selection last November.
“Most of the cockpits are more accommodating than we thought,” he said. “The majority of candidates will have no problem qualifying. It’s the people at the fringes, the very tall or the very short, who might still have problems.”
The model looks at three occupational requirements and determines whether or not a person, based on 14 physical measurements instead of the old four, will meet them. The requirements are vision (being able to see over the nose of the plane and being able to see all the instruments), reach (being able to reach all the instruments in the cockpit) and clearance (being able to fit in the cockpit and eject from the aircraft without hitting anything on the way out).
Meunier worked with the air force’s standards officers, the officers who train instructor pilots, to develop the criteria.
“We’re talking make or break types of things,” he said. “We’re conscious that it’s peoples’ careers and dreams that we’re talking about. We can’t take that lightly.”
Until the end of last month, the measurements had to be taken manually, but Meunier has now modified the computer system to take photos of a candidate in a standing and seated position. The computer then generates the candidate’s measurements and compares them to Meunier’s model to determine which aircraft the candidate is physically suited to fly. The entire process takes only minutes.
If the candidate passes the anthropometric component, she then moves on to the other assessments, including the medical and vision exams and the flying tests. If the candidate fails, the model pinpoints the exact physical reason why she can’t fly a particular aircraft.
However, the air force still needs to determine how many planes a candidate must be physically suited for in order to pass the anthropometric standards, said Meunier. Just because a candidate can’t fly two jets doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be accepted if she can fly 12 others.
Meeting recruiting goals
The new standards might also help the air force meet its recruitment goals. For the past few years, it hasn’t met its intake requirements and often had fewer applicants than open positions, said Lt.-Col. Albert.
“We’re hoping that we’ll have a larger pool of applicants,” he said, adding that people who failed the old standards have been asked to reapply.
Based on various failure rates for the different pilot criteria, of which anthropometrics is only a small portion, recruitment officers like to have five applicants for every opening.
The air force is considering another anthropometric study for non-pilot air crew.
“We want to make sure that height isn’t a limiting factor in some of the air crew positions,” said Albert. “For some of them, someone who is too tall or too short may not be able to fly safely.”
The ripple effect
Non-military applications
Meunier’s model can also be used in the selection of candidates for jobs outside the Canadian Forces that have a physical component. It could be used for assembly line workers, heavy equipment operators and flight attendants.
“It can be used for anything that requires reach, vision or clearance,” said Meunier.
However, since physical dimensions don’t accurately predict strength, the technology can’t be used for selecting candidates for jobs with a strength component, such as a firefighter.
He claimed the air force’s anthropometric, or physical, standards for pilots, based on a survey of male pilots in the 1960s, discriminated against candidates based on height.
“Clearly the standards we had before were too old and outdated,” said Lt.-Col. Donald Albert, director of personnel development for the air force. “We were rejecting a number of applicants that otherwise could have been good applicants.”
Until the 1970s, all Canadian Forces’ pilots were male, but eventually more women started applying. However, the old-fashioned standards led to an automatic rejection of 50 to 60 per cent of the female candidates.
The air force recognized this problem in the mid-1970s and began researching ways to improve the standards, but nothing came of it. It tried again in the early 1980s and failed.
Ten years ago, Pierre Meunier, a defence scientist with Defence Research and Development Canada in Toronto, an agency of the Department of National Defence, developed a computer program that uses digital photographs of Forces’ personnel to determine uniform size. He wondered if the program could also be used in pilot selection.
After four years of measuring cockpits to determine the body dimensions required to safely operate the Forces’ 14 different aircraft, Meunier developed a computer model that accurately predicts who will and who won’t fit into a particular cockpit. The air force began using the model in pilot selection last November.
“Most of the cockpits are more accommodating than we thought,” he said. “The majority of candidates will have no problem qualifying. It’s the people at the fringes, the very tall or the very short, who might still have problems.”
The model looks at three occupational requirements and determines whether or not a person, based on 14 physical measurements instead of the old four, will meet them. The requirements are vision (being able to see over the nose of the plane and being able to see all the instruments), reach (being able to reach all the instruments in the cockpit) and clearance (being able to fit in the cockpit and eject from the aircraft without hitting anything on the way out).
Meunier worked with the air force’s standards officers, the officers who train instructor pilots, to develop the criteria.
“We’re talking make or break types of things,” he said. “We’re conscious that it’s peoples’ careers and dreams that we’re talking about. We can’t take that lightly.”
Until the end of last month, the measurements had to be taken manually, but Meunier has now modified the computer system to take photos of a candidate in a standing and seated position. The computer then generates the candidate’s measurements and compares them to Meunier’s model to determine which aircraft the candidate is physically suited to fly. The entire process takes only minutes.
If the candidate passes the anthropometric component, she then moves on to the other assessments, including the medical and vision exams and the flying tests. If the candidate fails, the model pinpoints the exact physical reason why she can’t fly a particular aircraft.
However, the air force still needs to determine how many planes a candidate must be physically suited for in order to pass the anthropometric standards, said Meunier. Just because a candidate can’t fly two jets doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be accepted if she can fly 12 others.
Meeting recruiting goals
The new standards might also help the air force meet its recruitment goals. For the past few years, it hasn’t met its intake requirements and often had fewer applicants than open positions, said Lt.-Col. Albert.
“We’re hoping that we’ll have a larger pool of applicants,” he said, adding that people who failed the old standards have been asked to reapply.
Based on various failure rates for the different pilot criteria, of which anthropometrics is only a small portion, recruitment officers like to have five applicants for every opening.
The air force is considering another anthropometric study for non-pilot air crew.
“We want to make sure that height isn’t a limiting factor in some of the air crew positions,” said Albert. “For some of them, someone who is too tall or too short may not be able to fly safely.”
The ripple effect
Non-military applications
Meunier’s model can also be used in the selection of candidates for jobs outside the Canadian Forces that have a physical component. It could be used for assembly line workers, heavy equipment operators and flight attendants.
“It can be used for anything that requires reach, vision or clearance,” said Meunier.
However, since physical dimensions don’t accurately predict strength, the technology can’t be used for selecting candidates for jobs with a strength component, such as a firefighter.
