DEVELOPMENT OF A CRASHWORTHY CREWSEAT FOR THE KAMAN K-1200 HELICOPTER

Simula Inc. has recently developed a crashworthy crewseat for the Kaman Aerospace Corporation K-1200 helicopter. The K-1200 is a newly developed helicopter designed for commercial heavy-lift operations. The seat was designed and has been qualified to meet the latest Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) crashworthiness standards. An FAA Technical Standard Order (TSO) has been granted for seat production in accordance with TSO-C127. To Simula’s knowledge, this is the first helicopter seat to be granted TSO-C127 approval. The design philosophy is to limit the seat occupant’s motion to a minimum in all directions to reduce the likelihood of occupant impact with the aircraft interior. The only intentional seat/occupant motion is a controlled downward stroking designed to limit the occupant’s spinal load to within human tolerance limits. This paper details the seat design approach, the qualification testing performed, and test results recorded to meet the performance requirements of FAA TSO-C127.