Reliability. Perhaps you should ask the experts on
emergency egress, in the case of the UK it is a company
called Martin Baker. Ask them how many of their seats
use square chutes. A canopy capable of opening safely
at the sort of speeds involved in ejections is good
enough for me.
If sport chutes are so reliable why do sky divers have
a reserve?

An emergency chute is designed to work even under adverse
conditions. A sport parachute has a completely different
design concept.


At 12:04 06 April 2005, wrote:
OK, given the preference of those who know more than
I do, I have to
ask the obvious question: Why are there still round
chutes? If I order
a National or Softie from my local glider haberdasher...
won't I get a
conical? I'm not disagreeing with the assessement of
thems that knows.
But I would like to understand why we haven't seen
a wholesale
conversion to the square.

Not a troll... though it has the earmarks, doesn't
it?


wrote:
Would that mean that the passenger should have a
round chute
and
just accept their lumps, so to speak?

Colin: Yes, exactly.

OC: as the unidentified rigger said, the square. The
chances of the
pilot being dazed and confused to the point of not
even being able to
find and operate the brake/steering toggles are small,
and if unable
to
do so by injury or unconsciousness, I would still
rather be under the
square.

2NO