Now the Air Force expects its pilots to be able to walk away from an ejection, start training again, and be back in action right away,” says John Hampton. “In the past, simply surviving an ejection was considered a good enough standard. Now, another new ejection system meets even stricter safety standards, works with today’s gear-laden helmets, and further expands the pool of eligible pilots climbing into the B-2 stealth bomber and future airplanes that will also use the system. The situation improved a few years ago with the Martin-Baker MK 16 seat, which allows pilots weighing as little as 103 pounds and as much as 245 pounds to eject from the F-35 fighter jet at 65,000 feet. In fact, ejection seat capabilities have been limiting pilot selection for decades, to the disappointment of countless would-be aviators and the frustration of military commanders desperate to fill increasingly empty cockpits. And pilot size and weight restrictions aren’t written to limit who can stuff themselves inside a tight cockpit, but who can be blasted out of one. Some ground vehicles are sized not necessarily for battlefield functionality, but rather to fit inside the cargo airplanes that will take them to said battlefield. The American military has a funny way of thinking about size.