Editing Crash test dummy (section)

===Sierra Sam and VIP-50===
[[File:sam4.jpg|thumbnail|upright|150px|Sierra Sam tested [[ejection seat]]s.]]
The information gleaned from cadaver research and animal studies had already been put to some use in the construction of human [[simulacrum|simulacra]] as early as 1949, when "Sierra Sam"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://contrails.iit.edu/history/Roswell/index.html|title=Collection – History – Roswell|access-date=2 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529182257/http://contrails.iit.edu/History/Roswell/index.html|archive-date=29 May 2015}}</ref> was created by [[Samuel W. Alderson]] at his Alderson Research Labs (ARL) and Sierra Engineering Co. to test aircraft [[ejection seat]]s, aviation helmets<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110522052005/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA061799&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf Evaluation of Sierra Engineering Co. Lightweight Helmet]</ref> and pilot restraint harnesses. This testing involved the use of high acceleration to {{convert|1000|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} rocket sleds, beyond the capability of human volunteers to tolerate. In the early 1950s, Alderson and Grumman produced a dummy which was used to conduct crash tests in both motor vehicles and aircraft. The original "Sierra Sam" was a 95th percentile male dummy (heavier and taller than 95% of human males).

Alderson went on to produce what it called the VIP-50 series, built specifically for [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]] and [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], but which was also adopted by the [[National Bureau of Standards]]. Sierra followed up with a competitor dummy, a model it called "Sierra Stan".