The Dilbert Dunker is a device for training

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

s on how to correctly escape a submerged plane. It was invented by Ensign Wilfred Kaneb, an aviation engineer at NAS Pensacola, in 1943–1944. Originally named the "Underwater Cockpit Escape Device," the device was known since its earliest days as the "Dilbert Dunker" in reference to Dilbert Groundloop, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

-era cartoon character in Navy aviation training videos and posters who is incapable of doing things right. The original Dilbert Dunker combined the forward fuselage of an SNJ Texan—including "all equipment in the cockpit that would hinder a pilot’s exit" (instrument panel, stick, and pedals)—with a 45 degree rail that sends the cockpit from a high stand at the deep end of the training pool; at the end of the run under water it flips over to simulate a water ditching. The cockpit would hit the water at before inverting. The preflight student must detach the communication wire from the helmet, release the seat and shoulder harness, dive still deeper and swim away from the "aircraft" at a 45-degree angle to the surface for the purpose of assuming that the water around an actual situation has burning fuel on the surface. The Dunker was still in use as of 1997, and a helicopter-specific version remains in service , even though the original version has fallen out of service.

In popular culture

* The device was featured in the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

film ''

An Officer and a Gentleman ''An Officer and a Gentleman'' is a 1982 American romantic drama film directed by Taylor Hackford from a screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart, and starring Richard Gere, Debra Winger, and Louis Gossett Jr. It tells the story of Zack Mayo (Gere ...

'', starring

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...

and

Debra Winger Debra Lynn Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress. She starred in the films '' An Officer and a Gentleman'' (1982), '' Terms of Endearment'' (1983), and '' Shadowlands'' (1993), each of which earned her a nomination for the Academy Awa ...

. * The device is used as a test for astronauts in the novel ''

The Calculating Stars ''The Calculating Stars'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Mary Robinette Kowal. The book was published by Tor Books on July 3, 2018. It is the first book in the "Mary_Robinette_Kowal#Lady_Astronaut_Universe, Lady Astronaut" series a ...

'' by

Mary Robinette Kowal Mary Robinette Kowal (; born February 8, 1969) is an American author, translator, art director, and puppeteer. She has worked on puppetry for shows including The Jim Henson Company, Jim Henson Productions and the children's show ''LazyTown''. As a ...

References

{{Reflist Flight training Survival training

In popular culture

See also

References