H.G. Heinrich Parachute Systems Short Course

H.G. Heinrich Parachute Systems
Virtual Short Course

For more information, please contact Mary Catherine Bunde.

June 7-18, 2021

Course

NIA is pleased to present this parachute systems course organized by the AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems (ADS) Technical Committee. Its technical coordinator is Dr. Jean Potvin of St. Louis University and delivery is coordinated by NIA. The sponsors of the course are: the AIAA ADS Technical Committee and the National Institute of Aerospace.

Course Objective

The H.G. Heinrich Short Course presents a systems approach to the design and engineering of parachute systems. The course will focus on the needs of engineers from government and industry who monitor the development of recovery systems; and of engineers who design decelerator systems and oversee their fabrication. Case studies of the design of aerodynamic decelerators and related components will be presented. Hands-on exercises on parachute systems design will be assigned and discussed. These exercises will involve the use of laptop computers.

Course Materials

Each participant should have a copy of T. W. Knacke’s The Parachute Recovery System Design Manual.  You can order a copy at the price of $49.95 plus applicable tax and shipping. Additional handout material will be provided during the lectures. 

Course Prerequisites

Participants should be familiar with aerospace system design and college-level aerodynamics.

Who Should Attend

Professional engineers and scientists working in all branches of the aerospace industry, the armed forces, and academia. No prior experience with parachute hardware or design is required.

Language

All presentations will be given in English.

Agenda | Download

Registration

The standard course tuition for this short course will be $1,500. The fee includes course registration and course materials. Registration may be done either online with credit card payment or by mail with check payment.

The deadline for registration has been extended to June 2, 2021. If you have registered already and need to cancel, a full refund will be returned minus a $100 administrative fee. Full-time undergraduate or graduate college students will receive a 50% tuition discount and current members of the AIAA ADS Technical Committee will receive a 20% tuition discount. A registration-paying organization, company, government lab or university sending three or four employees will receive a 10% discount; or a 20% discount if sending five or more.

All international participants should use the mail-in registration.

Topics 

The topics covered in the course will include

  • Canopy Design
  • Case Studies
  • Computer Simulation
  • Construction Methods
  • Definitions and Nomenclature
  • Deployment Processes
  • Design Project
  • Drag Area Control
  • Flight Mechanics
  • Gliding Parachutes
  • Parachute Materials
  • Parachute Types and Applications
  • Steady and Unsteady Aerodynamics
  • Supersonic Parachutes
  • Testing: Data Analysis and Instrumentation
  • Low-cost solutions for parachute testing
A 19,000-kilogram test of a cluster of eight G-16 parachutes. Credit: U.S. Army

Speakers

  • Travis Fields – Associate Professor, School of Computing and Engineering, University of Missouri-Kansas City
  • Juan Cruz – Senior Engineer,  Exploration Systems Engineering Branch, NASA Langley Research Center
  • John Underwood – Principal Engineer, Vorticity Ltd.
  • John Watkins – Principal Engineer, Pioneer Aerospace Corporation, Safran Electronics & Defense, Parachute USA Corp
  • Jean Potvin – Professor, Department of Physics, Saint Louis University

Contact

If you have any questions about this Short Course, please contact Mary Catherine Bunde at 757-532-5381.

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