×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Contact US

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Cockpit Airbag System

Cockpit Airbag System

Cockpit Airbag System

(OP)
I have a client that has requested that I develope an airbag system for his helicopter.  The purpose is to reduce the potential for cyclic headstrike injuries during a crash.

Are there any other helicopter owner opperators out there that think this would be a useful addition to helicopters?

Are there any engineers with any comments about this?  I am wanting to develope a simple system based on a 3 axis accelerometer and automotive style glare shield mounted airbag.

Obviously, this system will need to be FAA approved on a no hazard basis and it must function correctly.

Nigel Waterhouse
Can-Am Aerospace
www.canamaero.com

RE: Cockpit Airbag System

A shoulder harness would be muuuuuuch cheaper.

Steven Fahey, CET

RE: Cockpit Airbag System

Someone's just proposed an anti-submarining airbag.That might be applicable.

Airbags only really work if the target is sitting in the right place, in which case, he might as well be wearing a full harness.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

RE: Cockpit Airbag System

(OP)
Under high g the belts stretch enough to allow cyclic impalement of the head. I have test data that demonstrates this.

Nigel Waterhouse B Eng (Hon's)
Can-Am Aerospace,LLC, Canadian Aircraft Certification Centre
www.canamaero.com

RE: Cockpit Airbag System

Multi-Axis Airbag system may be useful in a "low G" impact...But most helicopter crashes involve "high G" loads that an airbag would do little or nothing to improve survivability. A good "5-point harness" is the way to go with other attenuation devices (ie seat stroke, "rollbar" airframe design....)

RE: Cockpit Airbag System

Cessna are currently offering a seat harness that has an airbag built in to it. Personally I wouldn't want anything like that in the crew seats of a helicopter, accidental deployment while still in the air would probably cause full control deflection and be fatal.

RE: Cockpit Airbag System

Believe it or not, I found an example:

http://www.cirrusdesign.com/aircraft/safety/index.html

Cirrus aircraft must have forseen a demand, and gone ahead, just like they did with the chutes.

For heli-pilots, the situation is more complex.  The risky work, long-lining, normally demands that they be postured awkwardly to see down.  Shoulder harnesses get in the way of the work on many machines, so some pilots would take them off, and when the s*** hits the fan, there's no time to put them back on.

This might be documented in TSB reports, it's worth a look into.

Steven Fahey, CET

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members! Already a Member? Login


Resources

Low-Volume Rapid Injection Molding With 3D Printed Molds
Learn methods and guidelines for using stereolithography (SLA) 3D printed molds in the injection molding process to lower costs and lead time. Discover how this hybrid manufacturing process enables on-demand mold fabrication to quickly produce small batches of thermoplastic parts. Download Now
Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM)
Examine how the principles of DfAM upend many of the long-standing rules around manufacturability - allowing engineers and designers to place a part’s function at the center of their design considerations. Download Now
Taking Control of Engineering Documents
This ebook covers tips for creating and managing workflows, security best practices and protection of intellectual property, Cloud vs. on-premise software solutions, CAD file management, compliance, and more. Download Now

Close Box

Join Eng-Tips® Today!

Join your peers on the Internet's largest technical engineering professional community.
It's easy to join and it's free.

Here's Why Members Love Eng-Tips Forums:

Register now while it's still free!

Already a member? Close this window and log in.

Join Us             Close