Constitutional Traits of the Statokinetic Stability of Flying Personnel under the Conditions of Long Navy Trip

Abstract

The dependence of statokinetic stability (SKS) on the somatotype was investigated in pilots of aircraft-carrier fleet in a long trip. Somatotyping of 220 subjects was used as a basis to develop two discriminant functions to identify, using anthropometric indices, the digestive and muscular somatotypes with an accuracy of 96 and 87%, respectively. The sample of 42 pilots was divided into groups according to the dominating somatotype. Statokinetic stability was determined by tolerance of cumulated Coriolis accelerations on a rotating armchair. The highest SKS was displayed by pilots with the muscular somatotype, and the lowest one was displayed by pilots with the digestive somatotype. The factors of the long navy trip had little effect on SKS in pilots of the digestive somatotype and did not impact pilots' flight performance.