Cranberry Township-based MSA Safety, a safety products, technologies and solutions company, recently launched a vacuum anchor designed to help make aircraft maintenance safer, faster and more versatile.
The WinGrip A1X vacuum anchor creates a secure, noninvasive anchor point on aircraft wing surfaces using vacuum suction technology. It uses refillable air or gas supplied cylinders that create the suction for the anchor points to use and is designed to enable maintenance technicians to work safely on wings and fuselages without causing damage. The device comes with two anchor points, a dedicated air cylinder, a pressure line and a set of personal protective equipment.
“The A1X vacuum anchor was developed from listening to the people who use WinGrip every day,” Jose Sanchez, MSA Safety senior vice president and EMEA Business president, said. “We know that if a tool isn’t deployed, it isn’t protecting anyone, so we focus on removing every barrier between a technician and their safety equipment. The result is the most capable, most portable WinGrip anchor we’ve ever built, featuring compatibility with a broader range of aircraft than any previous generation. In an industry where every minute counts, we believe the A1X vacuum anchor sets a new standard for working at height on aircraft.”