Can an iPad work at 25,000 feet? 3 ways Wright-Patt scientists are testing the limits of humans and equipment

Here are three ways the facility is testing limits:

1. High altitude training for people. Wright-Patterson is unique in that it has two altitude chambers used for initial aircrew altitude training. The chamber on the left was built in 1952, and the other in 1958. Approximately 900 Airmen train here each year, according to Col. James Cantrell, Aerospace Physiology Division Chief.

Trainees wearing oxygen masks sit inside the chamber, which is depressurized to simulate a flight to 25,000 feet. They remove the masks to experience hypoxia, or lack of oxygen. Once trainees recognize the hypoxia symptoms, the oxygen masks are put on again for a return to ground level.

The big rush comes next - simulated rapid decompression of an aircraft. Using a smaller airlock section of the chamber, five to six trainees enter the small airlock, which is rapidly depressurized in about three seconds. The rapid decompression is accompanied by a loud whoosh sound and some fog as the air pressure is reduced.

“This exercise simulates them flying in a large aircraft and losing pressurization all at once, with either a window blowing out or taking a combat round to the aircraft,” Cantrell said.

2. High altitude training for equipment. It's not only aircrew that need to experience high altitude. Much of the equipment used by airmen is also tested. That's why the Air Force now has four new research altitude chambers, ranging in size from about 20 cubic feet to 5,000 cubic feet. Located adjacent to the aircrew altitude chambers, the large chamber has a 10-foot sliding door and will accommodate a Humvee plus 10,000 pounds.

All four chambers are temperature and humidity controlled, allowing testing in almost any kind of environment that airmen or equipment will encounter.

Here’s an example. When the Air Force moved to iPads for its Aeromedical Evacuation teams, the tablet computers had not been tested by Apple for high altitude environments.

“We put the iPad in a chamber similar to this at Brooks Base, San Antonio, took it up and did a rapid decompression, and it was fine,” said Scott Fleming, Program Manager, 711th Human Performance Wing, School of Aerospace Medicine.

“It didn’t blow up, it didn’t stop working. Now we can be assured that when we’re doing our medical charting that the iPads will continue to function. It’s something that Apple never thought of, but it’s something for our functionality that we need to test.”

3. How much force can humans handle? The Air Force is in the testing phase of a human-rated centrifuge for gravity training and research.

» RELATED: Body-crushing human centrifuge tests pilots’ endurance at Wright-Patt

The term “G” comes from the force of gravity. As we stand on Earth, we experience one G. Fighter pilots experience this to the extreme while maneuvering, particularly in tight turns where the pilot may experience 9 Gs, or nine times the force of gravity, making a 180-pound pilot feel like he or she weighs 1,620-pounds.

When this happens, the blood in the pilot’s body wants to flow downward away from the brain. By practicing a G-straining maneuver in the centrifuge, pilots learn how to counteract the blood pooling G-force by tightening and flexing muscles in the legs, butt and abdomen to keep more blood in the brain.

“So that’s our number one priority for this device is training. And it’s a very specific breathing pattern the pilots have to do,” Fleming said. “That’s why this is such an important device. We can do that stuff here on the ground without doing that up in the air and subjecting the loss of an aircraft or pilot. And this is a safe environment. We can stop this thing in less than three seconds.”

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G-training is not new at Wright-Patt, but this centrifuge offers research capabilities that older models don’t. This machine can reach 20 Gs with an onset rate from zero to 15 Gs in one second.

“It’s a very quick onset rate. We use mannequins for that type of testing,” Fleming said. “For humans we usually train up to 9 Gs with a 6 G-per-second onset rate.”

The centrifuge has interchangeable cockpits, two that simulate current fighter models and one that is designed for research.

“We learn if the functionality of the equipment we are testing is going to operate in this high G extreme environment,“ Fleming added.

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