Size/weight limits?

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p51
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Size/weight limits?

Post by p51 »

I know a guy who recently told me he might want to go to SC, but he's a pretty big guy. He's in pretty decent shape but he's very large.
Does anyone know size/weight limits for things like the MAT, centrifuge, orbiter cockpit seats, 1/6 scale chair and how large they make the SC flight suits for?
Just curious, as I can assume that this is something that must come up from time to time, especially with the adult programs.
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Re: Size/weight limits?

Post by Vincent »

To the best of my knowledge, there are no width or height maximums.

The 1/6 Chair, 5DF, and MAT all sport 260 pound (118 kg) maximums.
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Re: Size/weight limits?

Post by p51 »

Hmm. This person is very likely beyond those weight limits.
What do trainers do with people too big for these things? Seems kind of bad to bring them down to AC and the Astrotech building just to watch others do what they're too heavy to do...
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Re: Size/weight limits?

Post by street »

The weight restrictions are in place for the safety of the trainee. Those parameters are made by the manufacturer of the equipment. Yes, it's a bummer, but I've seen the 1/6 chair when someone lied about their weight. It was scary! It was also out of commission for a week while new parts were delivered. Not only did that person not get to use, neither did anyone else who came after him.
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Re: Size/weight limits?

Post by p51 »

street wrote:The weight restrictions are in place for the safety of the trainee.
I doubt anyone would have a problem understanding that. Still, there are a lot of uber hefty people out there, and I wonder what trainers do when someone obviously too heavy to do the MAT, 1/6 chair or centrifuge wants to do go for it anyway. It has to come up with some frequency.
I don't eveny the trainers for having to pull people aside and say, "Look, I know you wanna do this, but..." That can't be an easy discussion, especially if it's a kid who's too big.
Heck, I almost couldn't ride the MAT because my feet were almost too big. That blew my mind because I was wearing sneakers and my feet are size 11, nothing about the outline of my feet was overly large...
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Re: Size/weight limits?

Post by street »

I don't know how your feet almost didn't fit, except sneakers can be quite bulky. I've put kids on the MAT who wear size 13 and up. There are a few tricks of the trade, the primary one being you take the shoes off, put them in the foot restraint, then put your feet back in the shoes and lace up. I've never had to deal with a kid who was over the weight limit, but the couple of times I've had an adult I thought was pushing it I did the basic safety pre-brief, in which I casually mention the restrictions and the fact they are for the safety of the trainee. The adults would just sit in the back and cheer everyone else on. Most of the time there are any number of adults who don't do the simulators anyway, so when I would ask 'has everyone who wants to, done this simulator?' there would be several who never stepped forward. Subtlety and grace are important skills.
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