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  #25  
Old September 13th 07, 09:30 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Gary Emerson
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Posts: 152
Default BRS for emergencies

Eric Greenwell wrote:
shawn wrote:
Bob Kuykendall wrote:
One major challenge for sailplane BRS systems is water ballast.


snip

I suppose the savvy glider developer could also embed a steel cable
into the wing skin, and tie it into the BRS harness so that deployment
unzips the wing and liberates the water. That'd be a sight to see.


How about embedding det cord around each wing, connected to go off
with the BRS rocket? Zip the wings off, along with the water
ballast. With just the fuselage to lower, the 'chute can be smaller
too ;-)


Might as well remove the tail boom, too. This would reduce the glider to
just the cockpit with the pilot. Having a known weight, shape, and size
to control would make it substantially easier for the rescue system
designer. It would speed the certification process, because only one
shape would need to be tested, instead of configurations with all
surfaces attached, one or both wings missing, tail missing, etc.

It would be a very safe glider, as most pilots would never get in it!


Just put in an ejection seat and you can eliminate the BRS altogether!