The effect of aircraft cockpit rudder pedal shape on lower limb muscle activation, plantar pressure, and comfort.

This study investigated the effects of four cockpit rudder-pedal geometries on lower-limb muscle activation, plantar-pressure distribution, and perceived comfort during simulated civil-aviation flight tasks. Employing a within-participant design in a simulator configured to the COMAC C919 cockpit layout, these configurations were assessed using 30 male trainee pilots. Results showed that the forefoot-elevated configuration (Shape-3) reduced calf-muscle loading and redistributed plantar pressure while improving overall comfort; conversely, thigh-muscle activation was not significantly affected by pedal geometry. Adjusting rudder-pedal geometry may therefore help modulate lower-limb load and improve operational comfort without compromising mission completion. Under short-duration simulated-task conditions, these findings provide empirical evidence to inform ergonomics-oriented cockpit rudder-pedal design.

Keywords

Aircraft rudder pedals, Comfort, Lower limb muscle activation, Plantar pressure, Shape

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.