Aviation Safety Resources (ASR) has conducted the first tests for the parachute recovery system it is developing for the Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2 electric aircraft. The company today reported that in late February it deployed the whole-aircraft parachute with a load equivalent to the weight of the two-seat aircraft in the first of a series of tests conducted at Henderson in Nevada.

For the test, ASR filled barrels of water to represent the weight of the eFlyer 2. These were attached to the parachute and then dropped from a helicopter at 6,600 feet with the aircraft accelerating to the maximum speed at which the system can be deployed.

“This was the first in a series of tests to qualify the eFlyer 2 parachute system to ASTM standards and to make sure the canopy will withstand the load put on it,” explained ASR president and CEO Larry Williams.

In the next phase of testing, the company will make drops at 1.15 times the maximum weight and speed needed to recover the eFlyer 2 in an emergency. “This testing represents a real-world environment to make sure the system provides maximum safety and to demonstrate that the parachute canopy is robust,” said Williams.

If ASR can demonstrate a successful deployment with the extra weight and speed, the system will meet the requirements of both standards body ASTM International and the FAA to demonstrate safety performance that is deemed to be 1.5 times that which would be required in operational situations. The company released a video of the first test.

Meanwhile, Bye Aerospace said it has just signed agreements with customers for four more eFlyer aircraft, taking its backlog for the eFlyer 2, the four-seat eFlyer 4, and the planned eight-seat Envoy model to 721 units. On March 1, the company said it had started assembling the fuselage for the first production example of the eFlyer 2 in anticipation of completing FAA type certification.