Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC
After a decade's research, the US Army will soon begin installing newly developed cockpit air bags in some of its helicopters, to improve the chances of survival in a crash. It recently placed an initial $7.1 million order with Simula Safety Systems for 290 cockpit air bag systems (CABS) for installation in Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks.
With the award of the low-rate initial production contract, fabrication of the CABS kits, which contain air bag modules and associated crash sensors, will begin in the middle of this year after completion of qualification testing. The company anticipates an order later this year for 215 more CABS units.
The Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) at Fort Eustis, Virginia, is teamed with Simula to qualify cockpit air bags for US Army helicopters. The device may migrate to other US military aircraft and could one day be required for civil aircraft, since the US Federal Aviation Administration is monitoring the military research.
US Army safety officials say studies show that air bags could reduce fatalities and major injuries in survivable aircraft crashes by 25-50%, respectively. Over the past nine years, more than 30 pilots have died in crashes the US Army thought survivable and another 11 suffered serious injuries, Simula says.
While energy-absorbing landing gear and crashworthy seats have reduced injuries, today's standard five-point crew restraint permits side-to-side and fore-and-aft movements. It is felt that contact injuries, such as skull fractures, could be reduced if pilots are enveloped in a crash.
Basic research began in 1989 and led to the initiation of CABS engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) in 1995. The US Army originally eyed the CABS for the Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, but the Apache Longbow cockpit redesign prompted the service to shift the research towards the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter.
It is also planned to put the CABS in US Army Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior armed reconnaissance helicopters. Simula holds another US Army contract to adapt the Black Hawk CABS for use on the OH-58D, and production options for the Kiowa Warrior are expected to be exercised late this year. Safety officials say: "The US Army intends to work through the whole helicopter fleet."
Meanwhile, the USN is making CABS provisions in the Sikorsky CH-60S, which is being acquired for resupply and search and rescue operations. Officials believe that the UH-60 CABS can be adapted for use on the navalised Black Hawk.
Phoenix, Arizona-based Simula, a long-time supporter of the CABS effort, specialises in developing advanced seating and restraint systems for commercial airline and automotive applications. It claims to be the world's first source of helicopter air bags.
The company predicts significant near-term growth through CABS work. It says the US Army production contract "represents a major milestone in efforts to expand occupant protection systems in military applications".
A pioneer in developing air bags, Simula's core technologies include the Inflatable Tubular Structure ((ITS), an elongated tube of specially designed materials anchored at two ends. When deployed, it shortens in length while increasing dramatically in diameter. Two years ago, BMW began installing ITS in its cars for side-impact head and neck protection.
Simula is also developing the Inflatable Tubular Torso Restraint, a lap and shoulder system in which the shoulder belt inflates during a car crash. The "air belt" is designed to reduce head motion without assistance from a conventional frontal air bag.
US military interest in cockpit air bags is growing, even as automobile air bags come under fire for endangering the lives of children and small adults. Gene Birocco, chief of the AATD's Safety and Survivability division, says: "We are taking great pains to ensure that CABS is reliable enough to avoid inadvertent deployments. Should there be one, we want to make sure that the pilot can continue flying until the bag is deflated."
Birocco says that the EMD work included "determining the appropriate locations in the Black Hawk's cockpit to mount the various modules. One major challenge is to locate free 'real estate' in any cockpit." Birocco says Simula also had to develop programmable crash sensors that will allow the CABS to work in different military rotorcraft. The firm's Sedona Scientific unit designed and developed the omni-directional crash sensor that is programmable for multiple aircraft.
The CABS designed for the two-pilot Black Hawk is a four-bag configuration, with two forward-mounted and two side-mounted bags. Work has begun to qualify the CABS on the OH-58D. The Kiowa Warrior CABS adaptation integrates Simula's ITS in lieu of the lateral air bags used in the Black Hawk configuration.
Source: Flight International
