On Monday, 22 June 2015 17:59:25 UTC+1, Dan Marotta wrote:
Recently somebody made a comment about my emergency ram air
parachute and whether or not it has a slider to to slow deployment.
I checked with my rigger and jump instructor and here's what he
said:



Your parachute has a slider. The maximum airspeed for slider-off deployments is 65 mph. In an aircraft emergency, you will almost always be deploying at a higher speed than that, so the slider is absolutely necessary. Deploying slider-off at high speed can damage the gear and maybe the jumper.. Your parachute is designed to open as fast as possible without causing damage. It should take about 3 seconds/300 feet for it to open in most situations. Exactly the same as a round parachute of roughly equivalent area.



--

Dan Marotta

http://www.strongparachutes.com/emergency/faq.asp

At what altitude should I deploy my emergency parachute?
Deployment time and distance depend on many factors including airspeed. You should plan on pulling the ripcord by 500 feet. This will give you a safety margin. Generally, opening times are 2 to 3 seconds and altitude loss would be 150 feet (45.7m) to 300 feet (91m). A good practice to have is knowing your "decision deck" or that altitude at which you MUST make your decision to either land with the airplane or leave and use your emergency parachute. Always give yourself a margin for unexpected events.