Improved Crashworthy, Small, Composite Airframe

Terry Engineering proposes the design of a composite four seat general aviation airplane incorporating innovative occupant protection features. The airplane will utilize cost and weight effective composite structures designed for progressive failure to absorb energy. In addition the forward portions of the airplane will be designed to reduce the tendency of digging into soft soil by a combination of shape and strength of the lower cowl. Careful shaping of rate sensitive foam seat cushions will protect various size and weight occupants from impact decelerations. Completion of Phase I will provide the data necessary for completion of the structural design and completion of Phase II will verify the complete design process through subscale tests. Tooling will be built and a number of airframes provided to NASA for full scale tests (once tooling is built the cost of test airframes will be relatively low). Tests completed under this program will extend NASA data into complete airframes and the low cost airframes will allow NASA the opportunity to extend their full scale crash data base into small composite airplanes and to further explore impacts into soil.