BRS Emergency Parachute test

[Mr12Truths]

does any1 know if theres video showing the plane actually landing under the parachute??

[cingalong]

@Mr12Truths ....Yes...see this YouTube video...

watch?v=aG4nIeyaoek

[Mr12Truths]

@cingalong cheers

[nadzorka2929]

He could have para glided the plane down instead of smacking straight down on the chute only!

[cingalong]

@nadzorka2929 You're assuming the problem will always be an engine failure.

[HauptmannAmerica]

They'd be replacing my seat cushion because it would be soaked in crap.

[spider23000]

Excellent. Now lets try making a giant one - big enough for a fully loaded 747..... ;-P

[KyleCoxTAMU]

install on all passenger planes = no more fear of flying

[sohcsarewicked]

this guy is amazing test pilot

[cba999casey]

well if your flight controls get stuck becose of a unexpected reason then you will be very happy that your plane has CAPS.

[Indianmalujl]

This is last resort, you can save your life but the plane is still going to be smashed up. This is if you got nothing else to do, even if engine fails you can still glide and land, this is even worse case.

[skimaster12]

if the engine was still on youd be going around in cricles.....virtical

[SrNutritivo]

wonderful :D

[8literbeater]

Damn. I guess I need to get my grumpy sleep.

[8literbeater]

I guess we should tell the FAA that they should force us to only fly in the daylight too, or tell them that anything that anything that has a jesus pin should be permanently grounded, or tell them that we're all a bunch of spoiled brats that just want to play god like Ikarus, and they should outlaw flying period. Because hey, only the police and military need to have guns and airplanes right? That's right we're too stupid for metal steak knives too. Oh please save us FAA DHS IRS more laws please

[8literbeater]

Holy shit. This video certainly brings some far out comments. Nuclear parachutes? FAA mandates? That's just what we need to do, beg and plead and try to petition the government to please tell us what we are allowed to do, or what we must do. If you feel so strongly about it, treat it just like your kid's bicycle helmet and make him have it. Just don't go telling me that I have to wear your damn helmet if I don't want to and sure as hell don't tell the government that we need more laws.

[bagelboi66]

I think this is a very good idea when a pilot with too few hours in the log and money for a high perf single is in the left seat. Better to have training wheels than have them spinning into an elementary school playground.

[rhoyboi]

Another proof that this system really works...It just saved an Argentine pilot that rip his plane in mid air last week...Amazing!!

[catherinesayshi]

Putting this on a commercial aircraft...

[gnarkillkicksass]

@catherinesayshi It won't happen any time soon. Firstly it is really limited by its operating parameters, meaning that a commercial just would have to be BELOW stall speed to activate it (something which never happens - even in the event of structural failure it would still be too fast), secondly most crashes happen at landing or take off, it would do nothing for CFIT situations. Lastly it weighs a lot as it is imagine for a jet? Airlines won't be happy carrying weight that isn't making money.

[lliguori74]

Cool video. I hope I never have to do that.

[ibtm]

it lands at 13 MPH----in several crashes, the pilots kept trying to fly the plane, and did not deploy the chute---would have definitely saved their lives!!

[killyoubitch27]

Did you know cirus design is coming out with a jet pretty soon.

[aaronlikesalex]

well i be

[scottyh214]

i think the cute is a good idea, but it takes away the point of having an experienced pilot in the cockpit. when a pilot is in training, they are always taught FTFP (fly the F*ing plane). could the cute save lives? yes absolutely. but i dont think it should be the first resort for a pilot. if you can make a safe emergency landing DO IT.

[dingoklectos]

I agree with you. I petitioned FAA along with 100s of other fellow pilots to make the following mandatory in ALL light aircraft:

1) BRS parachute.

2) PCAS (portable collision avoidance system like Zaon XRX).

3) Terrain awareness moving GPS for IFR flying.

Ofcourse there should also be an insurance law stating that the paracute should be deployed only in dire emergencies like vacuum pump/engine failure in IFR or over mountains/river. Not just deploy it anytime.

Fly the plane first - always

[sanforce]

everyone that owns a cirrus has it insured in case of an emergency. if there is one, you might as well use your caps!

[handbananatonightyou]

@scottyh214, i don't think it's a first resort, i know someone with a Cirrus with CAPS, and apparently landing with chute ruins the plane

[manifestgtr]

yeah but dude if it means the difference between wrecking my $300,000 plane and dying...I'm pulling the fucking chute

[Tampaslice]

Too bad every plane isn't equipped with this feature. Imagine the 777 with a chute, or the A380? Comforting thought for a pilot knowing if the crap hits the fan just pop the chute.

[ritualghost]

thats impossible though, a jet of that weight with even the biggest parachute possible would still decend at a rate that would kill everyone on board when it hit the ground. it would be safer to make an emergency landing

[dingoklectos]

777 and A380 require nuclear parachutes probably to suspend the huge mass and speed (momentum)...most small light jets now have this.

Better for the bigger planes would be Area 51 microwave technology that fights gravity shooting microwave beams from the bottom. Its not a myth - there is already evidence (top secret) of this technology. Only downside is high microwave radiation cannot be applied to ground if plane is flying over houses because it will kill everyone on ground.

[tigerswede3]

I'd like to know more about that technology, but can find anything. Where are the sources?

[TehMG]

@tigerswede3 Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS) is the name of the company that makes these.

[pyromohanzed]

What happens if you left the engine on?

[cingalong]

If the engine is still running, then you'd probably be still flying and wouldn't need the emergency chute.

[pyromohanzed]

Yes PROBABLY, but if you could get it one again, maybe you could get to the strip faster and save time (you might need to control the chords on the chute tho, so maybe that won't work)

[cingalong]

I've never seen how it's mounted, but perhaps there's a release mechanism inside that would allow the pilot to disconnect it.

[semo2010]

@cingalong rockets .. they use rockets to shoot the parachute out. Its very risky to install .. there is a documentary on it here somewhere ..

[Bryancarls]

@cingalong

No release mechanism on it. Part of the checklist for pulling the chute also calls for shutting down the engine. Also in a simple engine failure, with no other mitigating circumstances the parachute would not be pulled and instead the pilot would glide the aircraft down to a landing.

[jakeharvey]

@Bryancarls That's the idea but we're talking about Cirrus pilots here. Spilled your coffee? Pull the chute!

[ericambrosecoon]

The chute deployment pretty much destroys the sides of the fuselage, rendering it worthless.

[drunk2thepowerofsick]

@ ericambrosecoon

bullshit. it can be repaired there is no structural damage caused by the chute itself.

[twobyone]

@drunk2thepowerofsick

Bullshit. Pulling the CAPS will tear up the sides of the plane, and since it's an all-composite plane it is rendered useless.

Quote from SR20 POH (serials 1268 and subsequent): "CAPS deployment is expected to result in loss of the airframe and, depending upon adverse external factors such as high deployment speed, low altitude, rought terrain or high wind conditions, may result in severe injury or death to the occupants."

[sparkzulzzz]

@drunk2thepowerofsick - there certainly is.. my fren owns one and he told me..

[b1cc2]

@cingalong You're an idiot. Every flight training organization trains engine out landings. The BRS is not for engine failures, it's for a loss of control or spin resulting from many circumstances.

[atd87atd87]

@cingalong wat if the wing breaks and the engine is still on?

[cingalong]

@atd87atd87 Just reach up and pull the chute.

[janrusgo]

@cingalong even if you have lost the engine, the best choice is to make an emergency landing

[cingalong]

@janrusgo Not every flight is over nice, flat terrain. Sometimes, you have no choice where to put down. And not every emergency involves loss of engine. Loss of control, loss of control surfaces, wing etc. can really spoil the fun.

[janrusgo]

@cingalong yes, I know, but if you loose only the engine, and you are high enough, the best choice is to choose a 500ft long place and glide to it. You cannot be sure that the parachute will open correctly, and where you will land. Without a wing I wouldn't hesitate to pull the red handle :)

[twobyone]

Part of the emergency checklist for pulling the CAPS is shutting down the engine. Once you pull the CAPS, there's no way to release it should you attempt to start the motor again. Not that i can see any reason to try to restart the motor if you've already pulled the CAPS. The idea is to get down safely, isn't it? Well, the CAPS does a pretty decent attempt at that.

[pyromohanzed]

I thought of parasailing, that's all.

But I realize you need a chute more shaped like an airfoil, which this clearly isn't.

So, thank you for the comment, it's not a good idea to parasail in this situation.

[jwboll]

maybe a restart to try and avoid some really big ground obstacles. Like cell phone towers, power lines, or a cliff face on the edge of the grand canyon. probably wouldn't have much control though (since the chute had to be opened in the first place)

[twobyone]

Yeah, although steering capabilities with the CAPS would be nice (for last minute adjustments etc), the system isn't designed for that. You'll have a pretty rapid decent anyway, so i'd rather finish the emergency checklist, inform ATC etc than try to manouvre with the engine still running.

The impact shock when you hit the ground can be compared to dropping the aircraft from 4m above ground, which means you can still get killed from the landing.

Still, it's better than the alternative. :)

[murilovsilva]

@pyromohanzed According to Cirrus pilots, you can only deploy the chute as a last resort. If your engine is still running, then you should try to land it. Even if you have lost the engine, you should still try to glide it to a crash landing, without the chute. That's exactly what I hear from Cirrus pilots: you should only consider the chute if nothing else can be tried to save the occupants.

[Paulchac2]

still haven't been able to see the parachute take the plane all the way down

[Paladin261090]

Sailplanes need those! I'm sick of wearing a backpack-like parachute while flying one!

[jwboll]

@Paladin261090

they have them now. look at the Pipistrel Taurus, self launching, 41:1 glide, 2 seat side by side. they are built in Slovenia.

it's on my Christmas wishlist.

[neftedollar]

danger

[pyromohanzed]

zone?

[sandrailfreak]

well the way they where falling was a cause of why the chute didnt fully inflate very fast

[ale7730]

This is a fantastic tool, but I feel that the time required by the canopy to fully inflate is far too long, which makes it useless in a low-altitude scenario, such as an engine failure soon after take off. Now, I'm not a parachute engeneer or expert whatsoever, but I have seen base-jumpers fully inflating the canopy in less than 2 seconds, why can't the same technology be applied to a BRS?

[robghansen]

base rigs are packed any one of a number of different ways to open either fast or slow or somewhere in between, jumper's preference, the trouble with a faster opening at high speed, is that the opening shock is much greater, im sure you could rig this sytem to open with less altitude loss, but im not sure if the airframe could withstand such a hard opening. i know plenty about parachutes, but i know little of this aircraft's airframe, maybe it couldn't withstand the opening shock.

[ale7730]

That's a good point, thanks.

[pekeqpeke]

the parachute is designed to open gradually because, at initial testing they would tear apart if they inflated completely right away. The ring on the parachute lines prevents it from opening completely until it has slowed down enough for it to open without tearing.. the parachute cant take the stress of opening at that speed, which is why they open slowly, allowing for the plane to slow down gradually

[RoFLKOPTr]

Cirrus' parachute system is designed more to protect the passengers in event of a mid-flight collision or some kind of structural failure than an engine failure. If you have an engine failure on takeoff you'll just have to land it in the dirt (or a house, lol). The parachute is for when a landing is not possible. Also, the parachute opens slowly to make sure it opens properly... a base jumper orients his body for parachute deployment; you can't do that so easily with a plane.

[fiancheto68]

marvelous

[cemm5]

how come they never show a video of it on the ground?. I want to see how it looks like when it crashes with the parachute deployed.

[pulsejet1]

They don't ride the parachute all the way to the ground. The end result is still a broken airplane. They actually look like a plane crash with a parachute next to it. But to date there have been 211 lives saved with these systems.

[dmo224]

what's the rate of descent like usually with the parachute? How firm is the touchdown?

[pulsejet1]

Around 20 feet per second

[daniloivens]

around 1.200 FPM? A little hard, isn't it? Are there reports of any people getting hurt on landing? Just curious.

[pulsejet1]

No, I assuming there's probably some bumps and bruises, but nothing notable. Consider that a skydiver landing a typical 26' round has a descent rate of 16.5 fps while still remaining within weight limitations. This comes out to almost 1,000 fps. And they don't have any aircraft structure to 'cushion' the impact. It's just a little over 13 mph.

[EasternMerchant]

you have got to be kidding me? wouldn't that be faster than jumping off a one story building? Heck I would break a leg by just jumping off a 1 story building!

[Jet3800]

you're mixing up feet per second with feet per minute.

[pulsejet1]

oops, didn't mix up, just mis-typed.

[pulsejet1]

People usually walk away. Like I stated above, a parachutist still lands a round at around 16-18 fps. They don't have any structure to dissipate the energy. Just their PLF.

[mww88]

haha me and my dad do this for fun. no needy parachute for a stall

[gio31brasil]

lol

[savegoogle]

I have to say, that is impressive!

[weipeiwu2000]

Imagine them putting that on a commercial aircraft.. o.O

[llamatube]

not possible

[donhur]

what do you mean not possible...its a video of it happening!!

[llamatube]

that was a reply to weipeiwu2000

[donhur]

lol my bad!!!XD

[Eggs4Eva]

hehe it looks like a jellyfish!!

[xpolaris]

guapa barrena!

[cingalong]

The recent crash of a small aircraft in New York City which killed Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor was reported to have had one of these on-board. Unfortunately, the plane was too low for the device to have been of any use. The fact that the pilot nor the instructor activated it leads me to believe that things happened too quickly.

[sealcove70]

That and they flew into the side of a building

[split4moto]

My thoughts exactly... "Parachute deployed from airplane on 9th floor of New York building. " Yeah, couldn't see that happening..

[dougapepper]

you need to pull that chute quickly, or airspeed will be too high.

[cirrusflyer]

Source: BRS Parachutes (http://brsparachutes.com/) They supply airframe parachutes for Cirrus Design aircraft. This test demonstrates that, even in a one-turn spin, the parachute system would level the airplane and let it descend under canopy to the ground. The vertical descent rate is about 20 knots (in contrast to the glide speed of 90 knots), so the ground impact will be significantly less energy. As of April 2006, 7 CAPS saves protected 15 people, who all walked away from the plane.

[larfus]

kinda seems like it gives you more time to say your prayers before you hit.

[jordguitar]

the chute slows you down to a point where the impact will not be life threatening. i doubt that it will result in you being killed from the impact with it deployed

[rolkill]

IMPRESSIVE