Companies Join Forces To Address Safety Issues For eVTOL Aircraft

Aviation Safety Resources announced a strategic alliance agreement with Advanced Blast and Ballistic Systems (advanced-blast.com).

The agreement launches a joint effort to further develop the next generation of AEPRS and reduce the costs which both ABBS and ASR would otherwise have to invest independently. ASR will benefit from the in-depth knowledge and world-leading rocket and initiation systems expertise within the extended ABBS operation, which has been developed by previous work on rocket motors used in armored vehicle mine protection systems. Both parties remain independently owned and operated.

“We are pleased to join forces with ASR, who share our concern about the challenges associated with vehicle recovery in a vertical take-off or landing configuration with no forward speed,” commented Roger Sloman, ABBS CEO. He continued, “There is a clear 300-foot safety gap for an AAM aircraft where current standard ballistically deployed recovery systems are completely ineffective during the VTOL phase of flight. The only feasible solution to the problem is to incorporate retrorockets with the extreme rapid deployment parachutes being produced by ASR.”

ASR who recently acquired parachute canopy manufacturer Strong Enterprises, will procure the rocket motors, sensors, control units, and initiation systems from ABBS.

ASR president and CEO Larry Williams said, “This technology will be especially applicable to the rapidly developing eVTOL aircraft intended for use in the Advanced Air Mobility role, as well as many other personal and utility purposes.

The collaboration with ABBS will also greatly reduce the timescale for the full development of these systems, ensuring that the required products are ready as the eVTOL industry recognizes the need for an advanced AEPRS on their aircraft.”

ASR has been working over the last few years to develop a recovery solution specifically for VTOL and is on pace to deliver fully developed, certified systems and production facilities available to meet the demand.

Both ASR and ABBS will market and provide technical support for the systems in service as required. This is a massively important development for both ABBS and ASR, providing a rapid and cost-effective route to exploiting this huge market opportunity which will develop over the next few years.

FMI: www.aviationsafetyresources.com, http://advanced-blast.com