In a previous article, wright1902glider said:
a few dragsters that I've sat in. Not much between your backside and
the world. I've been considering an pioneer-era plane that has a very
low seating position and I've often thought about how to prevent
injury from spinal compression. I've thought about EPS foam like the
kind used in helmets as a way to absorb some of the energy. I know
that paraglider pilots have some sort of protection built into their
harnesses, but I've never seen exactly what its made of. Anyone ever
do any testing in this area?

It doesn't matter what sort of foam you've got if you haven't got
distance. You've got to get from the speed you impact at to zero in the
distance your butt is above the ground at impact, and the only way to make
it safer is to make raise your butt to give you more distance and fill the
gap with something that will use the whole distance to decellerate.


--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
'Vegetarian' -- it's an old Indian word meaning 'lousy hunter'.
-- Red Green