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Mike Borgelt wrote in message . ..
snip I once saw a movie of the BRS drop test on a C150 simulating its arrival under a deployed BRS chute. I doubt that the Cessna was useable again even though it was a symmetrical level attitude when it hit with no drift. I'd hate to hit at a similar descent rate in a glider. In Oz we've had a few people do hard landings in the last couple of years. Some are considered lucky to be walking but the gliders are repairable. Air bags may be essential. Of course I would expect that the glider wouldn't be reusable after using the BRS...I would only pull the thing is a situation that would lead to me leaving the airplane, should I have had a parachute. In that case, the airplane is a write-off. As I have previously recounted, I have the thing set up to lower the airplane nose down somewhat...one hopes that the forces will be somewhat dissipated by the landing attitude. Of course the risk of injury exists for a successful bail-out as well. It's interesting that in this dialogue folks worry about hitting under canopy IN the glider, and don't discuss the myriad of risks associated with hitting under canopy OUT of the glider. I parachuted in the military and in sport. I have seen more than a few broken bones, broken backs, internal injuries and others. And those were with trained parachutists jumping under controlled situations and the best possible conditions, with prepared...or at least planned...drop-zones. I don't think that to be the case for the typical emergency bail-out from a broken glider. We've had this debate on this board more than once and in each case, it seems to me that we set a double standard...somehow we assume that the guy who leaves the glider and deploys a round canopy for his first parachute jump ever will arrive on the ground unscathed...and the guy who pulls the BRS lever is subjecting himself to an extraordinary amount of risk, because he _might_ hit the ground in a manner that _might_ lead to injury. The reality is that when the decision to deploy either your personal canopy OR the BRS is made, your only other option is very likely death. If I can fly the airplane, I am going to fly the airplane. If my airplane is damaged beyond the point that I can fly it, I am going to deploy. If when I land I am injured, I still firmly believe that I am going to be far better off than if I had ridden the glider to the ground without a parachute. And no question...if I had room in the cockpit/no weight constraints, I would ALSO wear a square emergency parachute for those cases where I AM high enough to choose that egress. I think that I would STILL have the BRS, though, for the collision in the pattern or the like. And I have far more experience under a parachute canopy than 99% of glider pilots. Are your gliding club members smart enough to avoid inadvertent deployment of a ballistic chute in the hangar? At one club I used to belong to the new ASW20B got wheeled up twice in a month or so - in the hangar as people said "what does this lever do?". In the chute case you would hope nobody else was standing behind the wing looking into the cockpit. The BRS system has a remove before flight safety pin. With the pin in place, the BRS cannot be deployed. If some yahoo starts playing with my glider and REMOVES the safety tag/pin and then pulls the handle? I would, under those circumstances, hope he DOES have his face in front of it. He will certainly have exceeded any reasonable "what does THIS lever do" level of curiosity in my book. About 12 years ago we did a precision altimeter project for an RAAF test project. The chief aero engineer of the research and development unit was building an ultralight of his own design. I asked if he was fitting a BRS chute. He said he was designing the aircraft basically to high enough standards that like a FAR 23 power plane it was reliable enough in its structure and control systems that flying without a chute was a good risk. His opinion was that the whole ship chutes at the time couldn't meet their claimed descent rates with the chute sizes used. His first job had been with a parachute manufacturer so I had to take some notice of his opinion. Mike Borgelt One hopes one's glider isn't going to go poof in flight. However, certificated gliders HAVE gone poof in flight. Further, our sport has a much higher (at least theoretical) risk of collision in the air than the usual spam-can. My glider is better built than most of them out there, and I don't carry the BRS in expectation of a wing spontaneously folding up. Nor do I plan on running into someone in a gaggle. But if it happens, I am comforted in knowing that it's there. BRS parachutes DO meet their claimed descent rates. Look at their data. They have tested these things extensively. I would suggest that an aero engineer who had worked for a parachute manufacturer may have had a bias just like any other fellow...and that WAS 12 years ago. I guess that if you are making a decision based on one person's opinion during the last millenium, no matter how experienced, well, more power to you. I prefer doing a bit more research than that. Once again, with all due respect, and no offense intended. Jim |
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Jim Harper wrote:
Are your gliding club members smart enough to avoid inadvertent deployment of a ballistic chute in the hangar? At one club I used to belong to the new ASW20B got wheeled up twice in a month or so - in the hangar as people said "what does this lever do?". In the chute case you would hope nobody else was standing behind the wing looking into the cockpit. The BRS system has a remove before flight safety pin. With the pin in place, the BRS cannot be deployed. If some yahoo starts playing with my glider and REMOVES the safety tag/pin and then pulls the handle? I would, under those circumstances, hope he DOES have his face in front of it. He will certainly have exceeded any reasonable "what does THIS lever do" level of curiosity in my book. THe BRS web site says it is a 35-40 pound pull, a rather stout effort, and well beyond what you need to collapse the gear on an ASW20B. A key lock could be used to prevent removal of the safety tag and pin, if one is really concerned. -- ----- change "netto" to "net" to email me directly Eric Greenwell Washington State USA |
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