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Old September 14th 07, 04:02 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Eric Greenwell
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Posts: 1,096
Default BRS for emergencies

danlj wrote:

Greg Cole fired off the ballistic parachute while it was attached to
the Sparrowhawk.
It was a ground test. He has it on video and it deployed perfectly
with no problems.
The cost is somewhere around $3000.00.

George Young, Sparrowhawk owner # 6


Raspet Labs was using a modified Lighthawk sailplane for testing last
fall, which crashed. http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=3621


The LightHawk is a very different glider than the SparrowHawk, much
larger and slower, with a lighter wingloading. As the other posters have
mentioned, it was a modified SparrowHawk, which Raspet Labs call the
OWL. I was at Windward Performance last week, where I learned they
delivered an OWL earlier this year, and are preparing another one.

It had a BRS chute which was triggered by the scissoring main spar
when the wings folded, and the pilot was ejected through the cockpit
by the deceleration, I think because the ring that causes slow chute
deployment did not function properly..


When I spoke with Greg Cole at the convention this year, he said the
problem was more excessive speed (50 knots above the 123 knot Vne) than
the parachute operation.


Point: the aircraft must be engineered to take the stresses of chute
deployment and the chute must deploy properly. (Nothing is 100% sure
and safe.)


Of course, but should the rescue system be expected to work properly at
speeds 40% beyond red line? In my glider, that would be 206 knots!

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
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* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
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