> I challenge you to consider that men and women's strength have overlapping distributions.
This is true. However, most pilots in the early days came from the military, which likely selects towards the stronger end of the men's distributions.
This is true. However, most pilots in the early days came from the military, which likely selects towards the stronger end of the men's distributions.
In the military, they have standards for fitness.
Also, averages change over time, as the environment we are raised in changes, so what was designed around an average height in the 1920's required shorter than average pilots by the 1940's.
Here's an article on the topic: https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/when-u-s-air-force-disc...
Here's a book with several chapters going even more in depth: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24186666-the-end-of-aver...