Drone Parachute Recovery Systems (PRS) are the must-have accessory if you need to fly your commercial drone over people and maintain compliance with FAA Part 107 regulations, Transport Canada’s Flight Over People regulations, and EASA Pre-defined Risk Assessment (PDRA) Standard Scenario 2.
Why is a Drone Parachute a Must-Have?
The key is to understand how kinetic energy can create undue harm to bystanders and that Civil Aviation Authorities prefer to keep people safe.
Losing your drone and payload to a 200-foot free-fall crash is not ideal for your wallet. However, the main reasons pilots are complying with the regulatory requirements from Civil Aviation Authorities are to increase their opportunities to fly in complex missions.
Drones are often used in densely populated areas for public safety, building inspection, and delivery services. With these new regulations coming into place, high-quality parachute systems are essential.
That is why regulators across the world have performance-based regulations that allow for flight over people if the likelihood and/or severity of causing harm (i.e., kinetic energy) to bystanders is reduced (i.e., parachute recovery system).
Adorama Supporting Clients with AVSS’s Drone Parachute Recovery Systems
At Adorama, we have identified this key safety trend and have partnered with AVSS – Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc. (AVSS) to help our customers fly safely over people. AVSS has developed the most widely used parachute recovery system for the DJI M300 RTK. This is based on analysis of Transport Canada registration data as of December 31st, 2021. This shows AVSS has 85.3% of all Parachute Recovery Systems registered for the DJI M300 RTK.
Their parachute recovery system, referenced as the PRS-M300, is key to enabling legal flight over people. AVSS’s PRS-M300 is used by Public Safety Agencies that are operating under Certificates of Operation (COA) and commercial operators who need to fly over crowds of people.
Adorama and AVSS will be providing you with an inside view at what it takes to build, test, and commercialize the drone parachute recovery system for the DJI Mavic 3 and DJI Mavic 3 Cine.
AVSS’s team of engineers have become experts in developing parachute recovery systems for different drones over the last five years. While the development is a challenge, they also have become experts in the commercialization of these products and completed multiple ASTM F3322 standard tests. The ASTM F3322 is a rigorous testing procedure for parachutes. It is used on commercial drones that will fly over people and beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS). This compliance testing is a key component that allows AVSS to be approved in COAs. It is also used by regulators such as Transport Canada, FAA, and EASA.
The Mavic 3 creates a new challenge as the PRS needs to be robust but extremely lightweight. In the following articles, we will be sharing this process to help you understand the development of these systems.
This series of articles will include:
Engineering Analysis & End User Research
We will start with the AVSS engineering analysis of how to integrate the parachute. You want to ensure a reliable attachment point for the bracket to withstand the opening shock loads. We will also share end-user research to ensure an intuitive setup, so pilots’ workflows are not disrupted.
Flight Termination Systems & Automatic Triggering Systems
Next, we will explore how the AVSS team evaluates the options for a flight termination system (FTS). This system stops the motors from spinning before a parachute deployment — both electrical and physical disconnections. There will also be an explanation on why collecting flight data to ensure the automatic triggering system (ATS) is tuned is paramount to avoid the risk of false positives. We will also share how AVSS models the system and takes input from the manufacturers of the aircraft.
Parachute Recovery Test, ASTM F3322
Finally, we will finish with what it takes to pass the rigorous parachute recovery system test, ASTM F3322. We will also explain why it is critical to the reliable commercialization of these parachute recovery systems.
By the end of this series, we hope that you will have a better understanding of the relevant details, pilot operating considerations, and significant testing requirements of a parachute recovery system that will enable you to fly in more complex missions.
