Page 25 - August 2019

As the end of the war approached, Irvin began interested Aircraft Materials Limited, another member of the
in the use of ejection seats on jet aircraft; one of its Airborne Systems “family” of brands, specializes in what it
parachutes was used in the first “live” deployment of calls “aerial delivery and air transportation systems”.
such a seat in 1946, the year after the firm began Airborne Systems’ North American headquarters is in
collaborating with Britain’s famous Martin-Baker New Jersey; its North American manufacturing facilities
company, which began the world’s foremost are in New Jersey, California and Belleville. Its European
manufacturer of ejection seats. More and more headquarters and manufacturing facilities are in South
sophisticated ejection seats followed, as well as brake Wales.
parachutes for jet aircraft. The firm also makes
Today, Airborne Systems can be described as an expert in
specialized devices, such as oxygen systems for high- the development and manufacture of parachutes
altitude parachutists, decoys for use against naval guided
systems.
weapons and parachutes intended to decelerate aerial
bombs.

The Irvin Buffalo plant was closed about 1953 and
production moved to Fort Erie, Ont., and then to
Belleville, where Campbell (a captain in the Kingston-
based Princess of Wales Own Regiment) said the firm
employs about 50 people making various personnel and
cargo parachutes, plus search-and-rescue equipment.
Worldwide, Airborne Systems’ many divisions have a
Its large product line includes a family of Joint Precision
total of about 700 employees. “Basically, we’ve made a
big investment in technology,” said Campbell, who holds Aerial Delivery System, (JPADS) parachutes, a remarkable
bit of kit with an airborne guidance unit (using GPS) that
a bachelor of science degree from the University of
will manipulate the parachute’s risers and steers the
Guelph and an MBA from Royal Military College. “The
technology is evolving — we’re using state-of-the-art canopy to a landing at a predetermined landing. Loads of
42,000 lbs. of cargo are being tested and there are plans
sewing machines. Our folks are highly trained as they
for far larger loads — even armored vehicles. As well, this
were in the old days, but we decided to invest in new
technology,” he said, adding the firm is now ISO 9000- system accords the user “standoff capability”. Launched
at 24,000 feet, it has 20 kilometres of “lateral standoff”
certified.
capability. “It’s got an accuracy of “50 metres.”
The firm made its first entry into the space age in 1961
with the Discoverer space probe, an Irvin parachute Airborne Systems also produces a large collection of
parachutes for soldiers, for both free-fall and static line
being used to recover its payload. Since then, its
users, steerable and nonsteerable. It also produces a
equipment was used in the 1976 probe to Venus under
the highly successful Viking program that landed two variety of cargo parachutes and containers. Among them
is the Advanced Tactical parachute (T-11), which has a
vehicles on the surface of Mars and in the Cassini
international space probe to Titan, launched in 1997. Its square canopy with a slower rate of descent that offers
the potential of fewer injuries and less oscillation.
parachutes were used to slow the Space Shuttle on
landing and to recover the shuttle’s booster rocket, and
on the interesting Kistler K-1 reusable space vehicle. Its
air bags are to be aboard the Orion manned space
vehicle currently under construction.
Airborne Systems was formed by the 2001 merging of
Irvin Aerospace (as Irvin Air Chute Company was
renamed in 1996) with GQ Parachutes. On another front,
an offshoot firm called Para-Flite was created in 1969 to
focus on “shaped” or “square-type” parachutes with
military applications.