Cirrus training

[ackattacker]

For those that have gone through the Cirrus training, was it ever discussed whether it would be effective, should you be too low to deploy the chute normally, to deploy it in the flare to that it ends up acting like a drag chute? Will that work in creating a very, very short landing roll?

Probably wouldn't do s**t. Which is a good thing, cause the only thing it could do at that point would be lift you up and slam you back down (probably on your tail or back). It fires up, not back. Picture a parasailer.

 

[Waldom]

Other issues aside, am I correct in thinking that deploying the ballistic parachute renders the airframe a total loss even before the airplane lands under the deployed canopy?

 

[Huggyu2]

I wouldn't think so: it just blows a hole through a plastic covering.

 

[JediNein]

I am a member of CSIP.

Pulling the chute doesn't necessarily destroy the aircraft. Engine, prop, landing gear, and some cosmetic patching and the aircraft is good to go. There are two Cirrus currently flying that have been through parachute pulls.

The shift in thinking from higher to lower on altitudes for deployment is NTSB driven. Cirrus will not publish actual numbers for where the parachute is expected to be better than an off-airport landing as they simply don't know. The NTSB has come in to both the owner organization and several individual operators suggesting that the chute should be the first option as low as when there is no runway remaining. Some at Cirrus have suggested the drogue chute effect, again, they don't have it in writing.

The crash investigators have found the same thing with the Cirrus as they do in the military. If it is an aircraft problem, the pilots have no problem pulling the chute. If it’s a pilot-induced problem, then there is a very slim chance that the pilot will pull the chute. There have even been accidents with the parachute pin found still in place.

In absence of written guidance from Cirrus, I teach my clients they have a choice to make should the engine quit after liftoff and with no runway remaining. They make this decision on the ground before departure as part of their takeoff briefing. They train to put the bleeping nose down if the engine quits. Then, they do whatever they decided – either landing straight ahead or pulling the chute. In a way it is like multiengine training, they have to make a decision, and the choices are not attractive. However, the choices are better than stalling and spinning in.

I teach my clients to avoid thunderstorms, known icing, and a whole bunch of other problems. Most of them have a NJ card or their own corporate jet, so they don't need to fly beyond the limits of their personal aircraft.

Fly SAFE!
Jedi Nein

 

[MauleSkinner]

In absence of written guidance from Cirrus, I teach my clients they have a choice to make should the engine quit after liftoff and with no runway remaining. They make this decision on the ground before departure as part of their takeoff briefing. They train to put the bleeping nose down if the engine quits. Then, they do whatever they decided – either landing straight ahead or pulling the chute. In a way it is like multiengine training, they have to make a decision, and the choices are not attractive. However, the choices are better than stalling and spinning in.

Quite honestly, as it should be for any aircraft...If you have a plan in place ahead of time, a successful outcome is much more likely than if you figure it out "on the fly".

Fly safe!

David

 

[Waldom]

Thanks for the info, Jedinein. I knew that the parachute riser straps were molded into the fuselage skin and assumed that when they ripped out of the skin to the deployed position, the airframe was all done.