We’ve all seen footage of crash test dummies getting put through their paces to understand how crashes effect the human body. Through the years, auto manufacturers have employed everything from dummies to pigs to human cadavers to see how crashes injure occupants. But those early crash tests were all born from the research of one guy — Col. John Stapp — and the physical trauma he put himself through.
John Paul Stapp was born in Brazil, the son of American missionaries. In 1940, after receiving his BA and his MA from Baylor University, he got his PhD in Biophysics from the University of Texas at Austin, and later an MD from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, in 1944.
He stepped into the Army Air Corps — now the U.S. Air Force — in 1944 at the height of the war effort. In 1946, he was assigned to the Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright Field as a project officer and medical consultant in the Biophysics Branch. There, he worked on pressurization systems that helped pilots manage decompression sickness after flying at altitude.
His major achievement, though, was understanding how to help pilots survive crashes, as well as ejections at high altitudes and incredible speeds.
It bears mentioning that when he started his research, aerospace scientists postulated that a pilot would die if he was brought to 18 g. On his own, Col. John Stapp shattered that misconception, progressively strapping himself into faster and faster rocket sleds that subjected his body to as much as 46.2 times the force of gravity.
And it wasn’t just acceleration forces he was testing, either. Stapp arranged for a 2,000-foot acceleration track to include a 45-foot hydraulic braking system that could haul the Sonic Wind I rocket sled down from sub-supersonic speeds to a stop faster than most modern cars can stop from 100 mph.
His testing in rapid deceleration had profound impact on the way aircraft are designed. Through testing on himself, he learned that a human can withstand up to 45 g in deceleration with adequate harnesses. Military transport aircraft were redesigned based on his findings to include rear-facing seats, and that research went on to be the basis for child seat construction in the modern era.
In 1954, at Holloman Air Force Base, Col. John Stapp buckled into a rocket-powered sled and set speed records for rocket-powered, rail vehicles that still stand to this day. He accelerated to 632 miles per hour in the open air, setting records for the fastest manned rail vehicle, the fastest manned rocket-sled, and the fastest manned open cockpit vehicle of any type. In the process, Stapp’s eyes bled, he was temporarily blinded, and dust particles blasted through his flight suit, raising welts on his skin.
Stapp also personally conducted wind-blast experiments, in which he flew a jet aircraft at 541 miles per hour with the canopy removed. And when he was finished with that, he ejected at high altitude, proving that pilots could safely parachute to earth from heights unimaginable before his work.
This video is about 14 minutes long, but features Stapp talking at length about the track at Holloman Air Force Base. It’s well worth watching for the personal tour from Stapp himself. There’s great footage of the sleds in action. Stapp explains the hydraulic braking system used to stop the sleds in detail.
In the 1960s — just as the automotive industry was considering Federally Mandated Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) legislation — Stapp became a strong advocate for automotive safety. He diverted a lot of his research to understanding the impact of car crashes on the unrestrained human body. He was a tireless advocate for widespread seatbelt adoption. When the Air Force balked at the idea of research conducted that didn’t necessarily apply to aircraft, Stapp showed research that far more U.S. Air Force pilots were killed in car crashes than they were in aircraft. In 1966, Stapp witnessed President Lyndon B. Johnson sign FMVSS legislation, mandating that seat belts be compulsory in order to sell cars in the United States.
In 1973 Stapp was awarded the Franklin Institute’s Elliott Cresson Medal, and was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame.
The New Mexico Museum of Space History, which houses the Hall of Fame, includes a John P. Stapp Air & Space Park, featuring Sonic Wind No. 1, a rocket sled ridden by Stapp.
In 1985, Stapp was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame for his work in aviation safety.
In 1991, Stapp was awarded the National Medal of Technology, “for his research on the effects of mechanical force on living tissues leading to safety developments in crash protection technology”.
In 1999, Col. John Stapp died peacefully at his home in Alamogordo, New Mexico, at the age of 89, further proving the human body’s resilience to incredible forces.
My word….
After awhile you know he kept doing it because enjoyed it…
In 1959-60 the tv series “The Man and the Challenge” starring George Nader opened with that 43g stop of John Stapp. It was so cool, the series sadly, lasted only 36 episodes. Men like John Stapp and Joe Kittinger were something else.
All I can say is WOW
An amazing man with more guts and foresight then most of us will ever know.
my brush with fame. My wife’s dad was an engineer on that very project.
SIGN ME UP !!!!!!
And to think some of us complain about driving down a bumpy road and dodging pot holes !!!! This guy was AMAZING !!!!!
46.2 times the force of gravity – holy Sh*t!
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