Ballistic Recovery Systems#Products
{{short description|American ballistic parachute manufacturer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc.
| logo = Ballistic Recovery Systems Logo.png
| logo_size = 200px
| caption =
| type = Public
| traded_as = {{OTC Expert|BRSI}}
| genre =
| foundation = {{start date and age|1980}}
| founder = Boris Popov
| location_city = St. Paul, Minnesota
| location_country = United States
| location =
| locations =
| area_served =
| key_people = Larry Williams (CEO and president)
Gary Moore (vice president, Sales & Marketing)
Dave Blanchard (vice president, Operations)
| industry = Aerospace
| products = Parachute systems
| services =
| market cap =
| revenue =
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| homepage = [http://www.brsaerospace.com www.brsaerospace.com]
| footnotes =
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}}
Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc., doing business as BRS Aerospace (and commonly referred to as simply BRS), is a manufacturer of aircraft ballistic parachutes.
The company was formed in 1980 by Boris Popov of Saint Paul, Minnesota, after he survived a {{convert|400|ft|m|adj=on}} fall in a partially collapsed hang glider in 1975. As a result, Popov invented a parachute system that could lower an entire light aircraft to the ground in the event of loss of control, failure of the aircraft structure, or other in-flight emergencies.{{cite web|url = http://www.brsparachutes.com/brs_history.aspx|title = BRS History|accessdate = 2009-11-17|last = BRS Aerospace|year = 2009|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20091005211832/http://brsparachutes.com/brs_history.aspx|archivedate = 5 October 2009|url-status = dead}}
Popov was granted a U.S. patent on 26 August 1986 for the so-called Ballistic Recovery System (BRS) - patent US 4607814 A.{{cite web|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US4607814?oq=parachute+ininventor%3ABoris+ininventor%3APopov |title=Patent US4607814 - Ballistic recovery system - Google Patents |date=26 August 1986 |access-date=9 June 2013}}
The company has two divisions: BRS Aviation and BRS Defense.{{cite web |url=http://www.brsaerospace.com/brs_aviation_home.html |title=BRS Aviation |accessdate=12 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413072038/http://www.brsaerospace.com/brs_aviation_home.html |archive-date=13 April 2017 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.brsaerospace.com/government_applications.html |title=BRS Defense |accessdate=12 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413072359/http://www.brsaerospace.com/government_applications.html |archive-date=13 April 2017 |url-status=dead }}
History
BRS was founded in 1980 and introduced its first parachute model two years later in 1982, with focus on the ultralight aircraft market. The company recorded its first successful aircraft and crew recovery in 1983: Jay Tipton of Colorado.
In 1998, BRS collaborated with Duluth, Minnesota-based Cirrus Design (now called Cirrus Aircraft) to develop the first recovery parachute system to be used on a line of type certified aircraft: the Cirrus SR20, followed by the Cirrus SR22 in 2001. The companies named the design the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS), and, as of April 2023, made it standard equipment on all 9,000+ Cirrus SR aircraft. In 2002, BRS received a supplemental type certificate to install their parachute system in the Cessna 172, followed by the Cessna 182 in 2004 and the Symphony SA-160 in 2006.
In response to the economic recession of 2008 and associated falling orders, the company announced in November 2008 that it would lay-off 25% of its workforce for an indefinite time period.{{cite web|url = http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/BRSLaysOffAQuarterOfStaff_199286-1.html|title = BRS Lays Off A Quarter Of Staff |accessdate = 2008-11-27|last = Grady|first = Mary |date=November 2008| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20081206083946/http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/BRSLaysOffAQuarterOfStaff_199286-1.html| archivedate= 6 December 2008 | url-status= live}}
Products
File:Breezer, AERO 2025, Friedrichshafen (P1046986).jpg glider tug aircraft]]
=Ballistic rescue parachutes=
==Components==
A small solid-fuel rocket is used to pull the parachute out from its housing and deploy the canopy fully within seconds. Typically on ultralight installations the rocket is mounted on the parachute container. On larger aircraft installations the rocket may be remotely mounted.
Over the years the BRS systems employed have been improved and updated and the current version is the BRS-6. This has a separate rocket installation that can be removed from the parachute so that the parachute can be sent for re-packing without the problems of trying to ship the rocket along with it. Typically the parachute requires repacking every six years and the rocket requires replacing every 12 years.
==Rescues completed==
The first ballistic recovery parachutes were on the market in 1982, and the first deployment was in 1983. Between then and April 2007, over 225 people were aboard 201 aircraft which deployed BRS parachutes; most of whose lives were presumably saved by those parachute deployments.{{cite web|url=http://www.brsparachutes.com/lives_saved.aspx |title=BRS Lives Saved |accessdate=2010-04-21 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425071103/http://www.brsparachutes.com/lives_saved.aspx |archivedate=25 April 2010 |url-status=dead }} As of January 2023, the company's website states that 466 lives have been saved (of which over 240 of those lives were involved in CAPS rescues).{{cite web |url= https://www.cirruspilots.org/Safety/CAPS-Event-History |title= CAPS Event History |accessdate= 28 April 2023 |publisher= Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association |date= 29 March 2023 |url-status= live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207071903/https://cirruspilots.org/Safety/CAPS-Event-History |archive-date=February 7, 2023}}
==Development==
According to the company, it has provided more than 35,000 parachutes for various light and microlight aircraft as of 2022.
On 18 July 2008 BRS announced that its new 5000-series canopy had completed compliance testing to ASTM International standards. This parachute system is intended to provide a recovery capability for much larger aircraft, including very light jets and other light pressurized aircraft. Initial applications were to include the Diamond D-Jet, which is currently suspended, and the Lancair Evolution, which completed production in 2017. As of 2008, FAA certification was being pursued to allow installation on certified aircraft.{{cite web|url = http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/brs_series_5000_vlj_parachute_jet_198338-1.html|title = BRS Announces Possible VLJ Parachute |accessdate = 2008-07-21|last = Pew|first = Glenn|date=July 2008| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080803080410/http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/brs_series_5000_vlj_parachute_jet_198338-1.html| archivedate= 3 August 2008 | url-status= live}}{{needs update|date=March 2021}}
=Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS)=
{{Main article|Cirrus Airframe Parachute System}}
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.brsaerospace.com}}
- [http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/10_39b/briefs/188199-1.html AVweb article about a 2004 deployment]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1cupLF6WTY&t=5s BRS and Cirrus on How Do They Do It? in 2009]
- [http://www.flyingmag.com/technique/proficiency/brs-benefits-whole-airplane-parachute-systems 2015 Flying magazine article]
Category:Companies traded over-the-counter in the United States
Category:Manufacturing companies based in Saint Paul, Minnesota