Irvin Aerospace Canada Ltd
Testing of the Irvin Canada Sea Rescue Kit (SRK)
Chuck Matthewson
The current MA-1 Kit has been in service for many years and suffers from several critical deficiencies. The inflation of the 10 Man life raft during descent has been the source of significant problems with the system. The life raft often ended up upside down on the surface of the water making it very difficult for survivors to right and board the raft. In high wind conditions, the life raft would tumble across the surface of the water ending up far from survivors and making it difficult for them to access the life raft at all. With the life raft acting as a sail during descent, delivery accuracy has also been problematic in certain situations. Other limitations have also been identified: survival equipment in the MA-1 kit is provided in a separate bundle from the life raft. In some cases, the equipment has gone unused or lost (cut-away).
In response, a Search and Rescue initiative was raised by NDHQ/Irvin personnel to develop solutions to these deficiencies. This paper outlines the development and testing conducted on the Sea Rescue Kit (SRK) for the Canadian Forces.
To download the full paper CLICK HERE (.PDF)
