Green light for production of safety helicopter seats

In addition to its exceptionally low space requirement, the seat is also characterized by its modified Energy Absorption System (EAS). This was proven in an extensive test cycle, in which the seat was first artificially aged through the application of a wide range of vibrations, before it demonstrated its performance in a subsequent dynamic test.

The ability to precisely calculate the triggering time and triggering threshold of the new EAS also allows the efficient adaptation to additional seat variants in the FLYWEIGHT seat family, which are now being worked on and some of which are already in the qualification process.

“This is an area in which choosing the right composition of the composite materials is very important,” explained Matthias Gerhard, Senior Vice President Engineering at AUTOFLUG. “Through the selected matrix in the seat structure, we have developed a lightweight, robust and optimized seat shell that distributes the occurring loads very effectively and evenly over the complete structure.”

Intermountain Life Flight to instal initial series

Over the coming weeks an initial series production seat will be installed and put into service in a Leonardo AW109SP from the American medical transport specialist Intermountain Life Flight.

Additionally, in this market segment, some initial contracts have already been signed for the integration of AUTOFLUG FLYWEIGHT seats into eVTOL projects from various suppliers – with Volocopter, for example.

“The market is developing rapidly, and with our seats, we are proud to contribute to an increased level of safety in the flight systems of the future,” explained Alexander Bode, who is Head of Marketing and Sales at AUTOFLUG. According to Bode, the declared goal is to increase the range of seats that are on offer by at least one additional variant this year, so that it can respond to the requirements for flexible solutions on a long-term basis.