(ASR), a pioneer in life-saving safety systems for small aircraft, announced that it has been awarded patent No. 8200379 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its Smart Recovery System for General Aviation Aircraft. Dario P. Manfredi, ASR president, and Robert LaFrance, chief technical advisor, filed the patent, which covers 20 claims. The new patent adds to two others already awarded to the family-owned aviation technology company for its TriChute Safe Landing System.
Applying sensor systems currently available in commercial and military aircraft to general aviation aircraft, the Smart Recovery System detects the environment in which the aircraft is operating and makes decisions based on monitoring data. The system immediately evaluates an emergency situation, identifies the devices and systems available on the aircraft, and then automatically deploys the appropriate device and/or system in the safest manner unless overridden by the pilot.
Manfredi said the Smart Recovery System is designed to deploy whatever safety systems are available on the aircraft to rectify an in-flight emergency. “Among the devices and systems deployed are verbal warning systems, fire extinguisher systems, autopilot, flight control systems, airbags and ballistic parachute recovery systems including the TriChute Safe Landing System,” he said. “Avionics companies have made great strides in creating new features, however, none begin with a comprehensive diagnostic and instant awareness or offer the integrated solutions promised by our Smart Recovery System.”
ASR’s intellectual property portfolio also includes patents for the TriChute Safe Landing System (U.S. Patent Numbers 5,009,374 and 7934682) proven and tested in 1967 by Manfredi’s father, Dario J. Manfredi, using a specially equipped Stinson Voyager in an FAA-sanctioned flight at Lakehurst (NJ) Naval Air Station. The system is designed to equip general aviation aircraft with a pilot-controlled mechanism that lands passengers and aircraft safely in the event of an in-flight emergency. The technology activates a series of ballistic systems that separate the passenger compartment from the fuel containing wings and deploys three parachutes that bring the passengers and wings down in separate, controlled level landings.
“This latest patent award comes at a time when my family and the entire ASR team are mourning the loss of Dr. Louis Hanson, the pilot who had purchased the reconditioned Stinson Voyager used in the original TriChute test flight,” Manfredi said. “Dr. Hanson and his beloved plane were lost in a tragic accident off the coast of Maine on June 24th. Mixed with our sadness is frustration that ASR safety technology is not yet available to pilots. If the Smart Recovery and TriChute Safe Landing systems were on his plane, Dr. Hanson may have survived. In his memory, we pledge to redouble our efforts to bring this life-saving technology to market and will not stop until the unnecessary loss of life in general aviation accidents is averted once and for all.”
Source: Press Release