Ballistic Recovery Systems

Ballistic Recovery Systems

Type	Public
Traded as	OTC Pink: BRSI
Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1980
Founder(s)	Boris Popov
Headquarters	St Paul, Minnesota, United States
Key people	CEO and President Larry Williams Vice President, Sales & Marketing Gary Moore
Products	Parachute systems
Website	www.brsaerospace.com

Ballistic Recovery Systems (commonly BRS and BRS Aerospace) is a manufacturer of aircraft ballistic parachutes.

The company was formed in 1980 by Boris Popov after he survived a 400-foot (120 m) fall in a partly collapsed hang glider in 1975. As a result Popov invented a parachute system which would lower a whole light airplane to the ground relatively safely for the people inside, though typically with moderate structural damage to the aircraft when it landed. It could be used in the event of loss of control, failure of the aircraft structure, or other in-flight emergencies.

He was granted US patent on 26 August 1986 for so called Ballistic recovery system - patent US 4607814 A.

History

BRS was founded in 1980 and introduced its first parachute model two years later in 1982, focussing on the ultralight aircraft market. The company recorded its first save in 1983, Jay Tipton of Colorado.

In 1998 the company collaborated with Cirrus Design to develop the first recovery parachute system to be used on a type certified aircraft, the Cirrus SR20. In 2002 the company received a supplemental type certificate to install their parachute system in the Cessna 172, followed by the Cessna 182 in 2004 and the Symphony SA-160 in 2006.

In response to the 2008 economic crisis and associated falling orders, the company announced in November 2008 that it would lay-off 25% of its workforce for an indefinite time period.

Products

Ballistic rescue parachutes

NASA photo series showing the CAPS deployment in action.

Components

A solid-fuel rocket is used to pull the parachute out from its housing and deploy the canopy fully within seconds. Typically on ultralight installations the rocket is mounted on the parachute container. On larger aircraft installations the rocket may be remotely mounted.

Over the years the BRS systems employed have been improved and updated and the current version is the BRS-6. This has a separate rocket installation that can be removed from the parachute so the parachute can be sent for re-packing without the problems of trying to ship the rocket as well. Typically the parachute requires repacking every six years and the rocket requires replacing every 12 years.

Rescues completed

The first ballistic recovery parachutes were on the market in 1982, and the first deployment was in 1983. Between then and April 2007, over 225 people were aboard 201 aircraft which deployed BRS parachutes; most of whose lives were presumably saved by those parachute deployments.

Aircraft supported

BRS Models are available for:

• The whole line of Cirrus Design general aviation aircraft. The Cirrus BRS models are known as the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System.
• Cessna 172, Cessna 182, Cessna 162
• Symphony SA-160
• Non-certified airplanes up to 1,800 pounds (820 kg) weight
• A wide variety of non-certified Ultralight aircraft
• A wide variety of Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). BRS is standard equipment on the following approved LSAs:
  • AMD Zodiac
  • Aeroprakt A-22 FPNA
  • Apollo Fox
  • Apollo Delta Jet (Trike)
  • CZAW SportCruiser
  • Eurofox
  • FK-9
  • Flight Design CTSW series
  • P&M Aviation Quik Trike
  • P&M Aviation Quik GT450 Trike

Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS)

The CAPS is a ballistic parachute recovery system designed specifically for Cirrus Design's line of general aviation aircraft including the SRV, SR20 and SR22. The design was adapted from the GARD system initially released for the Cessna 150. As in other BRS systems a solid-fuel rocket, housed in the aft fuselage, is used to pull the parachute out from its housing and deploy the canopy full within seconds. The goal of employing this system is the survival of the crew and passengers and not necessarily the prevention of damage to the airframe.

Since the landing gear and firewall are part of the structure designed to be crushed for energy absorption during impact after parachute deploy, Cirrus originally thought that the airframe would be damaged beyond repair on impact. But the first aircraft to deploy (N1223S) landed in mesquite and was not badly damaged. Cirrus bought the airframe back, repaired it, and used it as a demo plane. It was eventually sold to another owner who destroyed it in a crash short of the runway. Several of the aircraft involved in CAPS deploys have been put back into service, with the exception of those that landed in the water.

Development

On 18 July 2008 BRS announced that its new 5000-series canopy had completed compliance testing to ASTM International standards. This new parachute system is intended to provide a recovery capability for much larger aircraft, including very light jets. Initial applications may include the Diamond D-Jet and Lancair Evolution. FAA certification is being pursued to allow installation on certified aircraft.

CAPS deployments

As of 22 November 2012, the CAPS has been activated 32 times with 65 survivors and 11 fatalities in equipped aircraft. Some additional deployments have been reported by accident investigators as caused by ground impact or post-impact fires, and some accidents are still under investigation.

See also

• Air safety

External links

• BRS Parachutes homepage
• Cirrus Design homepage
• Cirrus Design The plane with the PARACHUTE
• 2004 Flying magazine article and sidebar
• avweb.com news article about September 2004 deployment
• Pilot's account of June 2005 deployment