New Flexible CO2 Parachute Deployment System Introduced for Drones
| Published: Nov 09, 2016
Fruity Chutes Introduces High Speed CO2 Release System for Ballistic Parachute Deployment
The new Hawk CO2 valve matches the performance of the Raptor Pyro CO2 release but uses a entirely mechanical design. The Hawk valve can be used in most all countries world wide!
UPDATE January 3, 2017 - the Hawk CO2 Release is now available from the Web Store!
Today Fruity Chutes is pleased to announce the availability of the new Hawk CO2 Release valve. The valve is for use with the Peregrine UAV Ballistic Parachute Launcher for Drone and UAV parachute recovery. Gene Engelgau, CEO of Fruity Chutes, says “We have been selling the Peregrine UAV system for some time with the Raptor CO2 release. However the Raptor CO2 release is based on a small pyrotechnic charge to fire a piercing piston and pin into the CO2 canister. It works very well and dumps the CO2 gas very fast. However the pyro consumables are regulated and not available in many markets or countries.”
Gene explains that some pyro consumables cannot be shipped without hazmat shipping and that can be a big problem for many companies. Even more of an issue is these consumables cannot be obtained in many foreign countries – they simply are not available by any means.” Gene continues, “The pyro consumables are a barrier in most foreign markets to use of Raptor CO2 release. The new Hawk valve is completely mechanical and has no regulated consumables. Customers do need to source the CO2 canisters in their local markets and these are available worldwide.”
Peregrine UAV Ballistic Parachute System with Hawk CO2 Release
The design goal of the Hawk valve was to match the speed and performance of the Raptor Pyro valve, meaning the CO2 gas is released very fast. The new Hawk valve uses a high energy compression spring and piston that pierces the CO2 cartridge with the largest possible hole mechanically available in the CO2 canister design. The gas is dumped in a fraction of a second, rapidly pressurizing the parachute canister.
Once the canister pressure reaches the critical pressure, the cap breaks the sheer pins holding the cap in place, and releases the parachute at high velocity. The valve is release by a high torque and very fast servo in approximately 0.15 seconds. The servo can be controlled by any auxiliary channel on the flight controller. Some controllers have dedicated parachute channels like the 3DR Pixhawk.
Initial units of the Hawk CO2 Release valve will be available in mid December 2016. Contact Fruity Chutes for pricing and availability.
About Fruity Chutes
Fruity Chutes is a world leader in the manufacturing of recovery systems for Drones, UAV, RC, Quadcopter, Rocket parachute recovery. We provide parachute recovery systems to many of the top UAS manufacturers including AAI Textron, Quest UAV, Silent Falcon, Aeromao, Zipline, and Matternet and more. Other customers who use our products include Space X, Google, Intel, NASA, MIT and Boeing. Many US and EU aerospace companies are working with our products integrating them into their UAS products. Our top priority is to work with manufacturers and to help provide them with our world class recovery systems.