A prone pilot lies on their stomach rather than seated in a normal upright or reclining position. During the 1930s, glider designer Reimar Horten began developing a prone position for his flying wing gliders. However it proved uncomfortable and he later settled on a semi-prone arrangement with the knees somewhat lowered. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

it was suggested that a pilot in the prone position might be more effective in some kinds of high-speed aircraft, because it would permit the pilot to withstand a greater ''g''-force in the upward and downward direction with respect to the plane. The

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...

could also be made shallower and therefore have reduced weight and drag. Many speculative designs of the late-war and early postwar periods featured this arrangement, and several prototypes were built or converted to test the idea. However testing revealed difficulties in maintaining a head-up attitude to see forward and in operating some controls. These problems outweighed the advantages and the position was never adopted for high-speed flight. Many modern

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame cover ...

s, developed since the 1960s, typically offer a prone pilot position during flight, with the pilot lowering their legs and standing upright only when taking off or landing.

List of aircraft with prone pilots

Many

s since the 1960s have allowed the pilot to lie prone in flight. These are not included here. , - , Akaflieg Berlin B9 , , Germany , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , Akaflieg Stuttgart fs17 , , Germany , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

Armstrong Whitworth AW.171 __NOTOC__ The Armstrong Whitworth AW.171 was a British project of the 1950s to develop a supersonic VTOL flying wing aircraft. It was planned to investigate the extremely low aspect ratio delta wings proposed by Professor A.A. Griffith for su ...

, , UK , , Supersonic , , Experimental , , 1957 , , Project , , 0 , , Never ordered. , - , Beecraft Wee Bee , , USA , , Tractor , , Private , , 1948 , , Prototype , , 1 , , , - ,

Blohm & Voss BV 40 The Blohm & Voss BV 40 was a German glider fighter designed to attack Allied bomber formations during the time of the bombing raids over Nazi Germany. Design The BV 40 was the smallest glider that could accommodate an armoured cockpit and two ...

, , Germany, , , , , , , , , , , , , - , DFS 228 , , Germany , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , DFS Liege-Kranich , , Germany , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , Farrar V-1 Flying Wing , , USA , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , FMA I.Ae. 37 , , Argentina , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

Gloster Meteor F8 "Prone Pilot" A much modified Gloster Meteor F8 fighter, the "prone position/prone pilot" Meteor, was used by the Royal Air Force in 1954 and 1955 to evaluate the effects of acceleration/inertia-induced forces while flying in a prone position. Along with the ...

, , UK , , Jet , , Experimental , , 1954 , , Prototype , , 1 , , Conversion of standard aircraft , - , Guerchais-Roche Émouchet , , France , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , Henschel Hs 132 , , Germany , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

Horten H.III The Horten H.III was a flying wing sailplane built by Walter and Reimar Horten in Germany from 1937 to 1944. Design The H.III series was an incremental development of the Horten H.II with reduced sweepback of 23°, span increased to 20 m (6 ...

, , Germany , , Glider , , , , , , , , , , , - , Horten H.IV , , Germany , , Glider , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

Horten H.VI The Horten H.VI was a flying wing aircraft designed by the Horten brothers during World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the ...

, , Germany , , Glider , , , , , , , , , , , - , Ikarus 232 Pionr , , Yugoslavia , , , , , , , , , , 1 , , , - , Ikarus S-451 , , Yugoslavia , , Tractor , , Experimental , , 1952 , , Prototype , , 1 , , Enlarged 232. First 451 built. , - , Lamson PL-1 Quark , , USA , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

Northrop XP-79 The Northrop XP-79, USAAF project number MX-365, was an ambitious design for a flying wing fighter aircraft, designed by Northrop. It had several notable design features; among these, the pilot would operate the aircraft from a lying position, ...

, , USA , , Jet , , Fighter , , 1945 , , Prototype , , 1 , , Flying wing , - , Reid and Sigrist R.S.3 Desford , , UK , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

Savoia-Marchetti SM.93 The Savoia-Marchetti SM.93 was an Italian dive bomber designed and produced in Italy from 1943. Design The SM-93 was an all-wood single-engined low-wing monoplane with retractable undercarriage. The fuselage had a monocoque structure, with a si ...

, , Italy , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

Wright Flyer The ''Wright Flyer'' (also known as the ''Kitty Hawk'', ''Flyer'' I or the 1903 ''Flyer'') made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft—an airplane—on December 17, 1903. Invented and flown b ...

, , USA , , Pusher , , Experimental , , 1903 , , Prototype , , 1 , , , - ,

Wright Flyer II The Wright Flyer II was the second powered aircraft built by Wilbur and Orville Wright. During 1904 they used it to make a total of 105 flights, ultimately achieving flights lasting five minutes and also making full circles, which was accompl ...

, , USA , , Pusher , , Experimental , , 1904 , , Prototype , , 1 , , , - ,

Wright Flyer III The Wright Flyer III was the third powered aircraft by the Wright Brothers, built during the winter of 1904–05. Orville Wright made the first flight with it on June 23, 1905. The Flyer III had an airframe of spruce construction with a wing ...

, , USA , , Pusher , , Experimental , , 1905 , , Prototype , , 1 , , Photos also show the pilot sitting up.

Bibliography

*Prizeman, R.; "Getting down to it", ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'', 1953, pp.584 ff.
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Internet Archive). {{DEFAULTSORT:Prone pilot Lists of aircraft by design configuration