Emergency Exit Assist System: NOAH
Preface:
Late in 1995 the Glaser-Dirks company researched the interest in an emergency exit assist mechanism. It was developed in cooperation with the Ballonfabrik Augsburg, which is well known for it's rescue packages.
The intent was to obtain a few firm orders for such an exit aid, and if there was sufficient interest to develop the product for serial production. The minimum worldwide orders would have to be at least ten.
Unfortunately only four firm orders were realized, one of them from a customer known as Mr. Weber
. . . . . and then the development was shelved.
In mid-May 1997 there was an unfortunate accident in Austria when two pilots were involved in a midair collision in which both died.
One of the two was a partner in a DG-800A, and the surviving partner now accused the "community of sailplane pilots" not to have reacted sufficiently to the proposal. He had been interested in the emergency exit aid, and stated that his partner would probably be still alive if he had such equipment in his sailplane. It appears that he could not exit the sailplane quickly enough after the collision.
General Description:
That an emergency exit from a sailplane is a matter of only seconds is well known to most pilots. Yet looking at the statistics of the Luftfahrtbundesamt (German Air Ministry) it becomes obvious that one-half of the fatal accidents involved lack of a quick emergency exit.
The patented NOAH system enables the pilot to make an emergency exit from the sailplane in the shortest possible time. A fast emergency exit is usually impeded by several factors:
- Low seating position, inefficient for an emergency exit;
- Narrow cockpits make the lifting of the upper body by the arms difficult;
- High g forces, such as in a spiral dive after a collision with only 2 g acceleration mean that a 85 kg pilot has to lift 170 kg out of the seat, and that in a very short time span.
- Poor physical condition of the pilot, or injury after a collision
NOAH is an air cushion built into the seat, which on activation by one lever releases the seat belt (an extra move to undo the seat belt becomes unnecessary), blows up the air cushion and lifts the pilot to the level of the fuselage side in about 1 second. The design of the system takes into account the stress level of the pilot when making an emergency exit.
Protection Against Unwanted Release.
The inadvertent activation of the system is prevented because the activator lever cannot be pushed as long as the canopy is closed. The seat belts can be released in the normal manner even with the emergency exit aid in place. Inadvertent activation by release of the seat belt is not possible.
Installation of the System.
The system can be installed in all DG single seaters without difficulty. Installation consists of installing the air cushion in the seat, installation of the actuator lever and it's bowden cables, and the installation of the pressure bottle in the fuselage behind the cockpit. The folded air cushion is only a few millimeters thick and is put under the seat cushion. There is no loss of comfort even for tall pilots.
Approval and Security.
Because NOAH does not interfere with the normal emergency exit and none of the certification rules for emergency exits are compromised there is nothing to prevent certification by the LBA (German Air Ministry).
Using the NOAH system together with the safety cockpit and the long canopy of all DG sailplanes provides maximum safety possible in today's technology. Furthermore, it provides an outstanding solution and can be installed in all existing single seater DG sailplanes with one piece canopy.
Technical Data.
Total Weight of all Components 3.5 kg
Pressurization Method Compressed Air 200 bar
Inflation Speed 0.7 sec
Function-span (pilot weight 110 kg) up to 4 G´s
The system can be ordered as of now, and can be installed in all sailplanes of the DG-100 (with one piece canopy), DG-200, DG-300, DG-400, DG-600 and DG-800 type as well as in LS Gliders.
For the DG-100/200/300/400 there is another problem:
In case of emergency you have to use two handles, to release the canopy. That means that theoretically it is possible, to activate NOAH having used one handle only and then it is not absolute sure that the canopy has flown away.
Such a design does not fit according to the construction rules.
So in the moment we have to install the system in Bruchsal and in new gliders especially DG-800 only.
Probably it is also possible to install NOAH in gliders of other manufacturers. But they have to do for themselves. Please ask your glider factory if they want to use our support.
A video clip:
Now you can see something "shooting out" of our factory as a video clip.
The scene is only a few seconds long which is an indication of fast the whole operation is. The best way to look at it is to stop playback and watch the clip from the beginning of the action.
You see how our designer is accelerated out very fast. And did you notice that the shoulder harness flew straight up due to the velocity of the action. The NOAH system works as though he was sitting on an ejection seat.
First you can see him "flying" the glider. He opens the emergency cockpit release and activates the NOAH-System. Two of our employees save the canopy in a way, it would fly backwards controlled by the Roeger Hook.
By pulling the Noah-Handle his seat belts open and he is ejected. Please notice that he does not use his hands to press up his body. That goes automatically.
At last you can see the big cushion in the cockpit.
Wilhelm Dirks commented:
"That's the way we imagined it would be."
- friedel weber - .
-translated by Albin Schreiter, Canada
Possible Danger due to an Inadvertent Release
As perfect as the Noah system seems to work, it is conceivable that it could release inadvertently. What would happen? Imagining such a situation caused us to think about it. How could one prevent bad consequences? Maybe you should keep a shark knife taped to the instrument panel?
In the first place, an inadvertent release is extremely unlikely. The system works somewhat like a life jacket on a ship. And they don't inflate by themselves in the storage chest. However, with any technical device, there may be failures and, according to “Murphy’s Law”, failures are most likely to occur when you need the device the most.
In order to get to the bottom of this, we asked the TUV-Rheinland to test such an occurrence with a dummy. The compressed air was to be released without the safety straps being first undone. Would the pilot be squeezed badly or uncomfortably? Or what else might happen? Before we could schedule a test, there occurred a dumb thing which lead to an even better result.
A test pilot wanted to try the system on the ground. Due to a combination of construction and maintenance failures (someone is always “playing” with our system) the Bowden cable on the seatbelt had been cut through. The Noah system was released while the pilot remained strapped in his seat!
With a puzzled look on his face, he opened the seat belt by hand and exited the aircraft with the help of the Noah onto the ground! That all took about 2 seconds. This time, instead of the careful analysis of an experienced engineer, we had an unwilling, living “dummy” testing the system who could give us a report.
The airbag had only inflated around his shoulders. Under his seat there was no room for inflation because he was snuggly strapped in with the lap belt. Naturally there was pressure by the belts on the body but he reported that the pressure was less than that of inverted flight (negative loop). That is to say, certainly noticeable but easy to withstand. Opening the seatbelt buckle was no problem and then the Noah-System inflated as it was designed to.
If this had been a real occurrence in flight prior to bailing out, then it would have a caused a slight delay in exiting the cockpit. But what would happen if this occurred during ordinary flight? That shouldn’t happen at all because the entire mechanism is blocked by the closed canopy. The air bags in cars do not inflate often by accident.
But suppose it did happen? There is a hole that allows the bag to deflate in 30 seconds. After this time, if the pilot is still in the cockpit (which would not be the case in a real emergency) then everything is back to normal.
Fact:
The Noah-System helps considerably in an emergency.
It can not cause an emergency.
Fears of this type are unfounded!
Further interesting Information can be found under "Recovery systems".
The development is ready
The system can be ordered as of now for all sailplanes of the type DG-808. It took a while yet until series production could be started, but your order will be welcome now.
We additional issued a Technical Note for the retrofit of the Noah System into all DG single seaters.
You can download the suitable TN and now order the system in Bruchsal or by a certified repair shop.
It is also a possibility that sailplanes of other manufacturers can be fitted. However, DG Flugzeugbau can not do this alone, because an addition to type approval will be required. Please ask your manufacturer if he is interested. Because it enhances safety we would be glad to make our know-how available.
Noah certified
On 4th August 2002 the Noah system was finally certified after it had been tested in the presence of an expert from the LBA, the German aviation authority.
It can now be installed in all DG gliders.
Our fellow glider manufacturers have also been offered the use of Noah for their gliders. One repair shop - Guentert & Kohlmetz in Bruchsal - certified the retrofit into a Discus of Schempp-Hirth.
And of course this is also a suitable system for motor gliders as it does not take up a lot of space in the fuselage.
In the 18 m German Nationals at the Klippeneck airfield in August 2002 three of the competing gliders were already equipped with the system.
Hopefully after all this time spent on developing the Noah system it will be widely used!
In the meantime we have issued a Technical Note for all DG single seaters, which you can download here.
And for LS gliders Noah also is certified. If you own an old one, please ask for details.
- friedel weber - 
Manual of the NOAH-System for DG-Gliders (red bag)
Manual of the NOAH-System for DG-Gliders (white bag)
Manual of the NOAH-System for LS-Gliders
Newsgroup Rec.aviation.soaring:
Subject: DG Emergency Exit - NOAH
From: Steele Lipe
Organization: EarthLink Network, Inc.
Newsgroups: rec.aviation.soaring
If you own a DG product, where your legs are not under an instrument panel and safety for you life is of interest to you, you should consider the NOAH system. The NOAH System was developed by Ballonfabrik Augsburg, Germany in conjunction with Glaser-Dirks to assist in your emergency exit after an accident. Much like our automobile airbags, it is a deflated cushion that can inflate, including automatic seat belt release, that will raise the pilot to the top of the cockpit side rails and greatly facilitate emergency exit.
I would like to express my interest in the NOAH emergency egress system for sailplanes. Having routinely practiced emergency exit maneuvers on each and every landing, I sure hope that I will never have to put my practice to actual use. But then, why do I wear a parachute? Obviously, so that I can bail out and safely reach the ground. I wear the chute because there is the distinct possibility that an accident may occur. Despite my best efforts as pilot in command of my aircraft, I can not control my direct airspace and the other pilots in it. Failure to be seen, while flying, in my mind ranks 3rd in causes of glider accidents behind departure and arrival accidents. The use of a semiautomatic assist device for exiting a glider under emergency conditions should be very welcome news for all pilots especially those who fly DG ships.
Unfortunately, devices such as this, because of their cost and the pilots recognition that he/she will probably never need such a device, provides low incentive to purchase when one is already purchasing a severely expensive new glider. Very, very few of us have installed transponders because of the added expense and the complexity of the ensuing electrical management. How many of us tell ourselves, "I can see the airliners and other private planes". Even a 172 travels almost twice as fast as a cruising glider and they most certainly skirt the hills, cross the valleys at low altitude and dart through the passes as do we. Since 172s and other general aviation aircraft are not equipped with TCAS, as are the airliners I fly amongst in radar territory almost on a daily basis, I can almost guarantee you that you will have several "near mid airs" in your flying lifetime, no less in a year. It is only a crap shoot odds that you will not be involved. I have refrained from mentioning flying with other gliders in our "uncontrolled airspace" and all the dangers that lurk from ships hidden against the clouds and behind us.
If you have thought about even the remote possibility of a midair accident it is my assumption that you will wear a parachute. Do you practice emergency egress maneuvers at the end of every flight? Or are you like the poor fellow that always unbuckled his parachute and seat belts and stepped out of the cockpit at the end of every flight, only to exit the cockpit after a mid air sans parachute because of ingrained habits!
Now is the time to really think about cockpit egress. The more "automatic" aids you use between the recognition of the need to exit and touching down the easier and safer it will be. Frankly, I find it difficult to extract myself from the deep cockpit of the DG under the best of conditions, since it requires a two step physical maneuver to raise my self up and then to get my feet under me before I can go over the edge. A product like the sitting chairs that raise someone up to standing level would automatically raise me to the point where I could exit much more easily so that I could get free and use my parachute would be quite welcome. Military aircraft have ejection seats that provide all types of environmental control. Fighters and the like, are flown in the harshest near miss environments known to man. There is nothing like being shot at to make you want to exit your aircraft when it is crippled. Not to mention the proximity of other aircraft , friendly and not so friendly. Fortunately, we glider pilots don't have to worry about being shot at but neither are we traveling at the great speeds of military aircraft. BUT we do fly around and around and around with others of our ilk and near misses do occur, sometimes more frequently than we care to admit.
So you have an expensive glider and you have a parachute! If you had a midair and were partially injured or in a spin or for another reason you couldn't exit easily, wouldn't it be nice to have an exit enhancement device which you could think of as your personal ejection seat. A German Air Ministry study of fatal accidents in gliders showed that nearly one-half of the fatal accidents involved a lack of quick emergency exit capabilities. If you fly a DG why not improve your chances, you wear a parachute, then why not use an emergency exit assist device like the NOAH System.
Steele Lipe
The following e-mail was written to us after the "Bavaria Glide", a competition in Bayreuth:
Dear Mr. Weber,
As you probably know, during the last competition I flew there was a fatal accident. Two glider collided at about 1000m QFE. From one glider (Discus) a part of the wing broke off. Instantly the glider turned vertical and while making 2 to 3 turns it went to the ground in less then 10 seconds.
Because the investigation is still going on we don't know the exact things that happened. However we do know that the pilot was unable to get out. Maybe because of time/stress, difficult procedure to open cockpit, G-forces or disorientation (or a combination).
Reading about the NOAH system I think this system can be of great assistance in such a situation. Therefore I like to know if it is possible to install such a system in my glider, and what the price of the system will be.
Kind regards, Ronald Termaat (XT)
Yes, it is possible to install a NOAH-System in each one-seater DG-Glider.
Betreff: NOAH
Von: Alfredo Sola
Firma: Grupo Intelideas
If I were to purchase a Euro 15.000 car, I'd be likely to purchase a Euro 3.000 security package if one was not included (this was a typical situation only a few years ago for cars!). But if car buyers once paid an expensive price for airbags, what can be said for a cheaper system in a much more expensive vehicle?
I think it was a smart move to go production with NOAH. Now, you are probably considering to do what airbag did in cars... Include it in all models, asked to or not.
Besides, security does sell when it is seen as a standard feature and not an extra, another lesson learnt from cars. Or maybe you would purchase a car different from the one you like because the competing one is Euro 3.000 less expensive because it features an inferior level of security?
--
Alfredo Sola
Administrador del sistema.
For your information, here are a few more details:
- The installation of the NOAH system can only be done in Bruchsal until more experience has been gained.
- The price in Germany is Euro 2,950 plus sales tax. More, in countries outside Germany.
- The installation cost is Euro 800 plus sales tax.
(the same for new or used gliders, even for a DG-300 in which the installation is more difficult)
- NOAH can be installed in larger quantities now.
At long last...
"Murphy`s Law" led to delays after all, due to an unreliable actuator. We contacted a research facility nearby and found Mr. Liemann who was very dedicated and helped us develop our own actuator. It is surprisingly simple and therefore not only works reliably, but also doesn't break easily as it only consists of very few parts.
We also checked how airtight the system was and we fired the system a few times to check its reliability. The good news is that even with a pilots' load of 400 kg and a compressed air flask that is only three quarters full the system works without any problems. During our open day hundreds of visitors saw how it works.
We are convinced that the NOAH rescue system is a pioneering device and, considering all circumstances, even better than an overall glider rescue system. Regarding the trigger height the latter is of course superior to the NOAH system, which needs a minimum height of 250 m (approx. 850 ft) above ground to provide a realistic chance of survival. Collisions in such a low height however are very rare. Apart from that we can see lots of advantages, because the NOAH system
- only weighs 3.5 kg compared to the other rescue system's 30 kg
- can be installed in almost any glider - in particular also in motorgliders
- is protected against inadvertent activation and would not cause an overly dangerous situation even if it were activated inadvertently
- only costs a fraction of the cost for an overall rescue system
- can be retro-fitted to all gliders with an instrument panel that can be folded upwards
- and the pilot can absorb the landing impact much better with his legs than the whole glider with an overall rescue system would.
Of course we are anxious to make this system available to the glider pilots as soon as possible to improve the horribly low rate of successful bail outs.
Therefore an offer was sent to all German glider manufacturers to apply this system and provide it for all their gliders. To do this they have to do some development and certification work, for which we would offer all required support. The reaction of Alexander Schleicher and Rolladen Schneider was positive - well in the meantime, we can supply the system for LS gliders for ourselves.
Maintenance of NOAH-Bottles
The bottles are filled with Nitrogen Gas with a pressure of 200bar at least. Using of pressed air is possible too. According to the manual every years it should be tested with a high precision scales. If the weight is more than 5 grams less then the weight of the new one the bottle has to be refilled.
In the meantime we bought a special equipment to test and to fill the bottles for ourselves in Bruchsal. This helps to avoid unnecessary delays for our customers.
Article in the AOPA-Pilot Magazine
The following article was written in the AOPA Magazine August 2007:
Obviously they do not know the name of our Company 