The pilot of a small disabled, single-engine airplane,
which floated to a safe landing instead of crashing, can
thank NASA and a Minnesota company. The pilot walked away,
from what would have been a catastrophic crash, with just a
stiff neck.
In 1994, NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
program awarded Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS), Inc., of
South St. Paul, Minn., an SBIR Phase I contract to develop a
“low-cost, lightweight, aircraft-emergency recovery system.”
In October 2002, a pilot released his single engine
aircraft’s parachute and landed safely in a Texas mesquite-
tree grove. The pilot was uninjured, and there was minimal
damage to the plane. The safe landing made aviation history,
as it was the first emergency application of an airframe
parachute on a certified aircraft.
The successful “save” is a research and development (R&D)
success story between small business and government. The
SBIR program provides an opportunity for small, high
technology companies and research institutions to
participate in government-sponsored R&D efforts in key
technology areas.
NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., recommended
funding for the BRS SBIR Phase I proposal. BRS wanted to
develop new, lightweight and strong materials that would
allow a parachute to deploy at the speeds required for high-
performance general aviation single-engine airplanes. The
parachute and mounting gear had to weigh less than 60 pounds
including the straps that are part of the airplane
structure.
“BRS addressed a NASA program need with their innovative
solution,” said Robert Yang, head of Langley’s Small
Business Partnership Team. “The company had an excellent
technical proposal and did significant homework in planning
for commercial applications,” he said.
The first award was in 1994. Phase I awards are usually
under $100,000. Two years later, BRS was awarded Phase II
funding for continued development of the Parachute Recovery
System; these awards are up to $600,000.
Propelled by a solid-fuel rocket motor, the parachute is
released from a special opening on top of the fuselage.
Three Kevlar webbing straps connect the parachute to the
airframe and help guide it through a level descent. BRS says
aircraft, crew, and passengers can be saved from altitudes
as low as 300 feet.
Although BRS has had 155 “saves” with its ultralight and
experimental parachute systems, the October safe landing was
the first in a certified general aviation aircraft.
“This technology has been successful on many levels,” added
Yang. “It will be part of the suite of innovations available
to SATS (NASA’s Small Aircraft Transportation System
research program) that have been funded through the SBIR
program. BRS has been able to take the concept and spin it
back into NASA’s program needs,” he said. BRS won 2001 SBIR
Phase I and II awards for the development of a larger
parachute for the new generation of mini-jets.
Yang said he sees it as a quality-of-life improvement. One
U.S. insurance company offers up to a 10 percent discount on
premiums for a plane having such a system, while European
aviation organizations are pursuing some mandatory
requirements for systems on certain experimental aircraft.
For more information on NASA’s SBIR program go to:
