Fruity Chutes, a manufacturer of parachute recovery systems for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), has announced the availability of the company’s new Hawk CO2 release valve.
The valve is for use with the company’s Peregrine UAV Ballistic Parachute Launcher, and was designed as an alternative for customers in countries that pyrotechnic consumables are difficult or impossible to ship to.
Gene Engelgau, CEO of Fruity Chutes, stated: “We have been selling the Peregrine UAV Ballistic Parachute system for some time with the Raptor CO2 release. However, the Raptor CO2 release uses a small pyrotechnic charge to fire a piercing pin into the CO2 canister. It works well and dumps the CO2 gas very quickly, but pyrotechnics are not available in many countries. The new Hawk valve is completely mechanical and uses no regulated consumables.”
The design goal of the Hawk valve was to match the high-speed performance of the Raptor Pyro valve and not require any pyro consumables. The Hawk valve uses a high-energy compression spring and piston that pierces the CO2 cartridge with the largest possible hole. The CO2 gas is dumped from the cylinder in a fraction of a second and rapidly pressurizes the parachute canister. This ejects the parachute at high velocity.
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