[INNOVATIONS]
Photo courtesy of Cirrus Aircraft
release from the fuselage. Within seconds, the 65’ diameter canopy will unfurl, controlling the aircraft rate of descent. T e fi nal landing is absorbed by the specialized landing gear, a roll cage and Cirrus Energy Absorbing Technology (CEAT™) seats. To date, CAPS deployments have saved 92 lives around the world.
WE’RE GOING TO NEED
A BIGGER CHUTE While the initial certifi cation and success of the Cirrus parachute system was a huge accomplishment, a recent program to increase the weight carrying capability of the airplane ultimately led to the fi rst major redesign of the CAPS, and arguably a tougher task than the original. While the 20,000 lb. Kevlar webbing straps in the fuselage remained the same, every other part of the parachute and the rocket extraction system changed to accommodate the extra weight. As is the case in most aerospace applications,
reducing the weight of the parts is important since it allows more payload to be carried, and thus greater utility. With the increase in the required parachute loads, the parachute was going to have to get bigger and thus likely heavier. So early parachute development testing was focused on trying new, lighter weight materials and designs.
Working with the California-based parachute WRE_Caption
supplier FreeFlight Enterprises (FFE), Cirrus conducted parachute development testing in the Arizona desert over the course of 3 years. As Ernie Villanueva, co- owner of FFE with his brother Abraham, recalls, a combination of nylon, Kevlar and Vectran materials were tried for suspension lines and their attachments. T e slider, used to control the reefi ng of the parachute, consisted of a fabric ring that controlled the opening of the canopy by sliding from closer to the bottom of the canopy to closer to the airplane. “T at sliding is pretty tough on the suspension lines so a polyurethane- coated Vectran cord was used in the area of the slider with a coated nylon cord used for the rest of the line,” Timmerman explained. With the development testing of lighter weight designs complete, the focus could shift to the fi nal confi guration and design of the parachute canopy. Most of the canopy is made from ripstop nylon cloth, but during development testing, some of the panels that are closer to the top of the canopy were failing during the high speed tests, so a stronger diamond weave nylon fabric was used there. T e topmost panel was further strengthened by using a nylon parachute cargo cloth. According to Timmerman, one of the unique aspects of parachute design is that changing the strength of a panel can be done easily by changing
WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE MAY-JUNE 2014 31
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