Original style of centrifuge testing during World War I

"Subjecting the prospective American airman to the falling test" March 19, 1918, reads the caption of a black-and-white photo of an early version of the centrifuge provided by the National Archives. "The sixth sense -- that of equilibrium -- is the function of the labyrinth of the internal ear. When the chair spins, it simulates the conditions World War I aviators may have faced in aerial combat, where G-forces from quick maneuvers could alter their space, vision and balance.

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