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Thoughts on Getting Out ...by Terry Lutz

DeltaRomeo

doug reeves: unfluencer
Staff member
"As you might be aware, there was an accident at Duxford last year, where during a break to downwind the No. 2 pilot, flying a Skyraider, lost sight of his leader, flying a P-51. The wing of the Skyraider hit the belly of the Mustang, jamming the controls. The pilot was forced to bail out at very low altitude. He made it because he was very well prepared to do so.

There was a similar accident a few years ago, where two RVs ran together after the break to downwind. It was in Illinois, I believe, and it was fatal for at least one pilot.

The reason that I am passing this along is mainly for the food for thought among our RV community. Here are some of the things I see as key points:

- The pilot was ready. He had thought in advance what he had to do, and did it flawlessly.

- The canopy came off cleanly. This is something the RV community should work on. I have looked at the comments about this, and I'm not sure that release pins on each side for a slider are going to work because the canopy is still attached to the rail at the back. I don't have a solution for that, nor do I know what can be done for a tip-up. For the slider, it might be as simple as fixed handles on either side so you can jerk the canopy back positively, and hold with one hand until you are out (the other hand going for your parachute D-ring).

- The Mustang pilot hit his head on the horizontal tail as he went out, but he was wearing a helmet. The helmet he had was made in New Zealand. The folks that make them were at Oshkosh last year, and I spent some time talking to them. Good equipment, but at $2600, it's out of range for most of us. The RV community could do the research and find a company that can make good helmets for a reasonable price.

- Final point is about comm cords. If you are wearing a nice David Clark headset or similar, and you have to get out fast, it is going to jerk your head a bit when you come to the end of your comm cord. The standard plugs are not designed to quick release. If you look at the expensive helmets from New Zealand, and at military gear, you will notice a quick-disconnect about a foot from your head. The plugs are commercially available, and one thing we could do as a community is develop a conversion for headsets cords that installs the quick-disconnect. That is one step toward a safer and possibly successful exit."​

Terry Lutz flies an RV-8 and an Airbus A380
 
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The accident report, including photos, is at AAIB Link

Over Terry's piece, there is one specific recommendation that might be considered as a "key point":
Safety Recommendation 2011-083It is recommended that the Civil Aviation Authority considers, where a parachute is worn as safety equipment, whether the provision of an automatic means of operating the parachute would provide a safety benefit.

Re Helmets, I would echo a good idea. One can argue about the various makes / brands, but I would think in practice any helmet, even a non aviation one, is better than none. I use various (Alpha Eagle 900 in the RV with quick disconnect fitting), and apart from the aspect above where a parachute might be fairly useless without a helmet, the helmet is also a potential life saver in accidents not involving abandonment.
 
" - The Mustang pilot hit his head on the horizontal tail as he went out, but he was wearing a helmet. The helmet he had was made in New Zealand. The folks that make them were at Oshkosh last year, and I spent some time talking to them. Good equipment, but at $2600, it's out of range for most of us. The RV community could do the research and find a company that can make good helmets for a reasonable price.[/I]

There is an RV7 builder here by the name of CFrisella that started out as a helmet manufacturer. I've used his helmets for various activities in the past and they are second to none. I don't know if he has a helmet specific to aviation or not though. Hopefully he will chime in and let us know what he has in the department.
 
My gut reaction is that automatic activation of a chute may be as undesirable as automatic activation of a life jacket in the event of a ditching... Last thing you want is for it to try and fire the pilot chute off your back before you leave the plane, and then get caught in something on the way out.

I do have a helmet that I wear for formation, a used Alpha helmet that I picked up second hand. Mostly because it looks Sierra Hotel, of course. :) But I can't argue that it doesn't increase my safety.

As for in-flight egress, I don't own a chute and am not convinced that the tip-up would leave the aircraft in-flight anyway. But others I fly with do have the removable pins on their sliders, and having looked at that arrangement I'm reasonably certain that pulling the pins and then pulling the canopy back an inch before pushing up would start the removal. Once it starts to go, I'm pretty sure the rear attack point would fail and let the canopy depart. That's all only based on a gut feel engineering analysis and an above-average knowledge of aerodynamics, so don't take it as gospel...
 
Instead of jettisoning the canopy...

All through my RV6 build I have been reading on this forum about the difficulty (impossibility?) of being able to open the sliding canopy in flight if bailing out ever became necessary. As I understand it in flight the aerodynamic forces are such that the canopy will slide back no more than a couple of inches, no matter how much the pilot struggles to move it.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/qq282/whittfic/IMG_0738a.jpg

The attachment shows a view of the fibreglass fairing I have made for my aircraft. I have been pondering the possibility of including some sort of 'air brake' or small drogue chute that could be deployed from this area in an emergency to aid in pulling the canopy back.

I am thinking along the lines of either a small built-in panel that flips up into the airstream to act as a brake, or releasing a sprung loaded drogue, something like that used in a parachute.

No expertise in these matters so only idle musing on my part, and I don't have access to wind tunnels etc for real world testing. This needs the input from the aerodynamic gurus out there to say whether this might work or not.

Clive Whittfield
Auckland
New Zealand
 
All through my RV6 build I have been reading on this forum about the difficulty (impossibility?) of being able to open the sliding canopy in flight if bailing out ever became necessary. As I understand it in flight the aerodynamic forces are such that the canopy will slide back no more than a couple of inches, no matter how much the pilot struggles to move it.

http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/qq282/whittfic/IMG_0738a.jpg

The attachment shows a view of the fibreglass fairing I have made for my aircraft. I have been pondering the possibility of including some sort of 'air brake' or small drogue chute that could be deployed from this area in an emergency to aid in pulling the canopy back.

I am thinking along the lines of either a small built-in panel that flips up into the airstream to act as a brake, or releasing a sprung loaded drogue, something like that used in a parachute.

No expertise in these matters so only idle musing on my part, and I don't have access to wind tunnels etc for real world testing. This needs the input from the aerodynamic gurus out there to say whether this might work or not.

Clive Whittfield
Auckland
New Zealand

I think that the idea many of us have on canopy release for a slider is not to have to pull it back all the way, but to use some sort of removable pins instead of bolts in the side rollers. That way, you can pull the pins, pull the canopy back an inch or so - far enough to clear the windshield lip - and then give it a nice shove straight up into the windstream. My guess is the canopy will be gone quickly. It sounds like you might want to be able to open the canopy and keep it on the plane, maybe to prevent damage to the tail? That's fine, but in my case I'm not worried about damage to the airframe if I decide to bail out, and I plan on wearing my parachute at all times. I come from aerobatic planes where we always wore our chutes even when flying cross country, and see no reason to change now. I'll post pictures of what I do when I get to that point in the build.
 
Fair comment Damon

Pulling pins and pushing up on the canopy is as a good a way of egress as any, providing it is possible to overcome the aerodynamic forces holding the canopy in place.

Like you I don't much care what happens to the VS once the decision is made to exit. My thoughts were centred around an alternative possibility if pushing up on the canopy was not going to be sufficient to help it on it's way. If it will work I'm happy to go with removable pins. I'm curious to know if this been tested by anyone?

Clive
 
I assume we're figuring with tip-up canopies, there's no choice of a bailout, right?

I am not extremely knowledgeable on the subject, but from my reading here I understand the tip ups can be installed with a jettison handle for the front attach points, however there seems to be differing opinions on whether the gas struts would prevent the canopy from leaving. From personal experience I can tell you the blast from the prop after gunning the engine to start taxiing on a grass runway is enough to blow open and smash a closed but unlatched canopy on an Extra 300L.:eek: So my guess is if you can get the airflow in flight underneath any RV canopy, it will be out of your way fairly quickly.

But it's just a guess, to my knowledge no one has jettisoned a canopy in flight from a -6 or -7. I did read a case of a poor fellow who opened the canopy and jumped out of an -8 that I believe was on fire, but unfortunately he was not wearing a parachute.

This is just what I have gotten from searching on this forum. I will be researching it more as I get closer to building my canopy. There are some very smart people involved in aerobatics, and designing and building aerobatic aircraft that I know, and perhaps they will have some good ideas.

I will share them here when I get to that point, it is important to me.
 
Assuming the original scenario that Doug posted, why not include the potential of a whole plane parachute (BRS) as an option instead of trying to exit the damaged aircraft?

I know that this topic was batted around before with mixed positions.
 
@Damon, it's been pointed out before but people seem to forget it... To remove the gas struts only takes a sharp tug in the right direction. I feel very confident that if I could get the tip-up canopy open far enough to get air under it, that the struts would pop free in a millisecond. The aerodynamic loads are going to overpower them by a few orders of magnitude.

The real concern is whether the linkages that snake through the panel and under the top skin to the hinge points will be able to slide out. I suspect they will get jammed up on things too tightly to allow the canopy to come off, and that the degree of jamming will be sufficient to overpower the aerodynamic load. If you pitched the airplane violently you might be able to get it to move enough to release, but you may not have enough control authori to do that.

@Scott, BRS systems are for the marketing and legal department. The structural mods necessary to add a BRS to an RV would kill any baggage capacity you have now. The trade-offs aren't worth it, IMHO.
 
Safety Recommendation 2011-083It is recommended that the Civil Aviation Authority considers, where a parachute is worn as safety equipment, whether the provision of an automatic means of operating the parachute would provide a safety benefit.

--------------------

The German sailplanes come with a large orange ring next to the seat for a lanyard to attach to the chute ripcord. IIRC the idea is for the lanyard to be longer than the length of one wing.

With any reasonable length of lanyard Snowflakes comments would not be applicable.


When mentioned to US parachute folks providing training for sailplane emergency bail-outs they seem to not like this idea.
 
Gil...

I think the "automatic provision" recommendation is for a "study", and my guess would be the result would be "yes" as a benefit for certain types of flying e.g.:
  • Low Level Aerobatics competitions
  • Display Flying
  • Low level air racing.
Certainly the history of ejection seats has been a trend to more and more automatic operation of systems. Outside the above, and a good discipline on minimum aerobatic / formation / bailout heights it becomes less beneficial.

In the Yak world, some people have fitted static lines, and some do not. Did Eddie Goggins' survival in the Aero GP at Malta midair partly rely on a static line or similar?
 
BRS

A friend of mine who is a long time competitor, and is also an A&P and IA is seriously looking at installing a BRS in his Extra 300S expressly for the low level scenario. Also, some of us are not getting any younger, one thing that occurs to me is a BRS deployment is probably going to be quicker than we are starting to move these days!:)

There is at least one RV with a BRS

Here is a link to a thread that has some pictures and a link to the installation page of the BRS:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=61559

I think I will stick to building as best I can a jettisonable canopy and wearing a chute.

Practicing egress is very important, it is something I would try to remember to do every time I flew in my Pitts or Extra. I would also brief my students and passengers if I had any for the flight.

Someone mentioned headsets - it's important to take them off! My scenario ran something like this:

1. Make the decision to COMMIT to jumping - this may be the most important part of practicing - an article I read recently said the BRS in a Cirrus would be far more effective if pilots would make this crucial first step (that is - in their case - to use the chute!), but apparently it is difficult for some. Having a "hard floor" is something we do in aerobatics, that is, if the problem is not resolved by such and such an altitude, you leave the plane.

2. Jettison the canopy

3. Remove your headset

4. Release your seat belt(s)

5. If negative G's don't throw you from the plane at this point (depending on what the problem is) you get out. Actually stand up in your plane and figure out exactly how you will get out, where your hands and feet will go, etc.

6.Clear of the plane, pull the D ring and go spread eagle.

Sure, there are things that can go wrong anywhere through this sequence and wearing a chute may not save your life in every instance, but it is far better to have the option available than not, in my view. But you need to practice it regularly to keep it in memory, your movements fast and smooth as possible, and minimize problems.

I get that many in the RV community don't wear chutes and don't want to, no problem, this is aimed at those who do.
 
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@Gil, you're right, a lanyard would be a good alternative. I hadn't even considered that, I was thinking about the automatic-deployment systems in sport parachutes that deploy if you're descending through a certain altitude at above a certain vertical speed. A 'static line' would be a better choice (at least, until you walk away from the airplane someday without remembering to disconnect it...).
 
Determining Minimum Bail-out Altitude

A well planned maneuvering floor accommodates the use of an ?out-of-control? bail-out should the need arise. The primary cause of unsuccessful bailout attempts is delaying the decision to egress.

The first number to consider computing bail-out altitude is the minimum opening altitude for the typical back or seat-pack chute to ensure a fully inflated chute prior to hitting the ground. If you have specific test data or recommended altitude from your chute manufacturer, great. If you don?t, then assume pack opening should occur no later than 1000 feet AGL to give you a swing prior to commencing your best ?PLF? (parachute landing fall). This assumes that 2-3 seconds is required to obtain a full chute and altitude lost during deployment at terminal velocity will be 200-500 feet. You need to be clear of the airplane and pulling the rip cord no later than 1000 feet AGL. This number, plus any desired margin, can form the basis for a minimum controlled bail-out altitude. In other words, if you are below this altitude it makes no sense to bail-out since there isn?t adequate time or altitude available to do that. This assumes that you are under control. The margin to add to the minimum number is a personal choice, and your chute manufacturer may specify a speed for mast rapid deployment (e.g., 100 MPH), so your personal controlled minimum bail-out altitude becomes 1000 feet AGL plus your personal margin (in additional feet AGL) at a desired speed of 100 MPH. This is MINIMUM controlled bail-out altitude; so higher is better if the situation allows. This also means that if you are under control and below minimum bail-out altitude, then egress is no longer an option and you are then committed to a forced landing.

But what about an out-of-control situation? It will take time to get out and clear the plane. During this time, the plane will (likely) be descending, so actual egress needs to start earlier to ensure that you are out in time to pull the rip cord no later than the minimum altitude. We could split hairs defining ?out-of-control,? but the reality is that any situation that is beyond your means to cope with as a pilot has become out-of-control at that point. So what we need to determine is at what point you quit trying to save the plane and only worry about saving yourself?

We?ve already established that we need to be clear of the plane and pulling the rip cord no later than 1000 feet AGL to make sure we get at least one swing in the chute prior to landing, so the next thing we need to figure out is how long does it take to jettison the canopy, release the harness and get out take? Hopefully, you?ve practiced emergency ground egress, i.e., how fast can you un-strap, open the lid, get out and run away bravely?this is a good starting point. After you?ve practiced for a bit, you should have a pretty good idea of the time required to bail-out. This is not like the weight on your driver?s license?be honest when you figure this out! Your time is your time, and you can adjust the math to accommodate your ability. Try it a couple of times with an observer using a stop watch; and then add any safety margin desired to your (average) best time. In our stock RV-4, I can emergency ground egress in about 5 seconds. So adding a 2 second personal margin, we?ll look at the numbers based on a 5-7 second egress sequence. Just to beat a dead horse: don?t take these numbers to the bank, they work for me in my plane; and they haven?t been operationally tested (other than ground simulation). Practice, time yourself, add any desired margin, and base your number on your own capability and your canopy configuration.

Flight test data for our plane loaded within Van?s specified aerobatic limits has shown auto-rotation descent rates of 120-150 feet per second. Based on 5 seconds required to egress plus a 2 second safety margin, and assuming that I am in a developed spin and descending at these rates, I?ll need 840 to 1050 feet of vertical fall to exit the plane. In a perfect world, if the airplane is in a developed spin and egress is begun at 1840-2050 feet AGL, I should get at least one good swing in the chute prior to landing. Now I know at what point to I need to redirect effort from flying to egress, if I?m going to successfully bail-out prior to hitting the ground. Based on your math for your airplane and your ability to egress, after you?ve computed the best-case to worst-case range, you can then pick a suitable round number that you?ll be able to use for your minimum out-of-control bail-out altitude. You?ll need to add this to the terrain elevation and determine the MSL altitude to use for each flight. This is one case where an old-fashioned 3 1/8? diameter altimeter is a good thing?it?s fairly easy to read even when the horizon is spinning. If you don?t have one, you might consider your ability to interpret your instrument displays in an out-of-control situation, and adjust your personal minimum accordingly.

You can see the best place to make a bail-out ?decision? is in the comfort of a 1G, zero-airspeed chair. Compute an altitude based on physics, the dynamic performance of your equipment and your egress skill. Practice egressing until it?s automatic. Know your equipment and understand how to use it. This means reading and understanding the manufacturer?s recommendations and getting appropriate instruction. But most importantly, develop your own ?if/then? matrix, and ?if? you are out-of-control at your computed minimum bail-out altitude, ?then? bail-out, quit trying to fly the plane.

This also means that if you?re out-of-control BELOW minimum bail-out altitude, then you can spend the rest of the time you have available to do the best you can to attempt to recover or bail-out, but there?s nothing to hang your hat on at that point except your skill as a pilot (and luck) because the physics may be working against you. I don?t mean this facetiously; it?s simply another point in the decision matrix that will allow you to manage attention and effort.

Let?s take this thought exercise a bit further and say that flight test data for your airplane shows that recovery from a developed, up-right spin requires 1 and ? turns and 1500 feet of altitude (including dive recovery). Well, if you are SURE that you are in this spin mode and are familiar with a tested/proven recovery technique that will replicate this performance and the airplane is performing normally (i.e., no flight control malfunctions, loaded in accordance with limits, etc.), you might argue that bailing out at 2000 feet AGL isn?t necessary since there is sufficient altitude to recover. You may be right, but if you?re not and you delay beginning the bail-out sequence until you?ve passed 1500 feet AGL in an attempt to recover, you may not have adequate time to get out and still get even a partially inflated chute prior to hitting the ground. You can, however, tweak your ?if/then? logic just a bit to make it more useful. For example, IF passing your pre-determined out-of-control bailout altitude (feet AGL) and the airplane hasn?t unloaded and airspeed hasn?t begun to increase past 100 mph IAS, THEN bail-out; or IF passing XXXX feet AGL and the airplane is unloaded and airspeed is increasing past 100 mph IAS, THEN recover.

The best thing to do is avoid this case entirely by not putting yourself in this position: any maneuvering below minimum out-of-control bail-out altitude carries inherent risk. A well-chosen maneuvering floor should be at or above your minimum out-of-control bail-out altitude. As your skill and/or experience improve, you can re-visit your assumptions and calculations and revise your techniques. Remember, the difference between the maneuvering floor and your minimum out-of-control bail-out altitude is your time to decide. It?s up to you to determine how much time you want.

Fly Safe,

Vac
 
I have read many of the threads on bailouts. One thing I have not seen offered as a option for tip ups is to break the canopy. With a canopy tool it should take only a moment to shatter the canopy enough to stand up and shove out the remains of the canopy as your jumping. I think this could be done just as quickly as a jettison and avoids the problem of the canopy frame hitting the tail. A couple of quick blows to the canopy with the tool I have and then standup and use your back to push the plexi out seems like a quick and viable option. Am I missing anything in this idea?

George
 
A UK gliding instructor a long time ago taught me that when you have decided to exit and released your seat belts, put your foot on the stick on the way out.

This will probably make the plane throw you out so you don't change your mind....:)

Another glider instructor also said having hull insurance should go along with the chute. If you ever get into a situation where you are trying to decide whether to jump or not, the cost of the plane should not even come into the equation...:rolleyes:
 
I can say from experience that if you pop the top on a tipup when you are going 160 kts the canopy opens up with *plenty* of room to get out. You will also get a corresponding pitch down moment which will help you get out if needed.
 
I have read many of the threads on bailouts. One thing I have not seen offered as a option for tip ups is to break the canopy. ... Am I missing anything in this idea?
I'd say the only thing is the reality of how hard it is to break openings in plexi. You'll either be helped or hindered by the passing airflow, and there's no way to know which. Swinging something sharp and heavy in a confined space with any accuracy would require reasonably smooth flight, i'd expect, and if you have that you should probably be flying the plane and not trying to leave it.

Broken plexi leaves some absolutely wicked sharp edges, too... An acquaintance's daughter and her instructor had to hack their way out of a tipped-over RV-6, and while they were able to make a hole, they were still cut to ribbons getting out. In an emergency, that may be the lesser of two evils. But I wouldn't want to cut an artery getting out and end up bleeding out under canopy... :(
 
I can say from experience that if you pop the top on a tipup when you are going 160 kts the canopy opens up with *plenty* of room to get out. You will also get a corresponding pitch down moment which will help you get out if needed.

That's the best news i've heard in this thread so far. Can you estimate how far it was open? Did it lift one foot? two?
 
I can say from experience that if you pop the top on a tipup when you are going 160 kts the canopy opens up with *plenty* of room to get out.
Walt,

I've never had my canopy come open in flight, but your description is not consistent with many others over the years who have experienced this. The usual account is that the canopy remains open a few inches and is very difficult to close from that position. Can you describe in more detail the circumstances in which this happened?
 
There is an RV7 builder here by the name of CFrisella that started out as a helmet manufacturer. I've used his helmets for various activities in the past and they are second to none. I don't know if he has a helmet specific to aviation or not though. Hopefully he will chime in and let us know what he has in the department.
.
....That would be my very good friend "Chris Frisella" who owns and operates Bone-Head Composites. His specialty is manufacturing the worlds finest Sky Diving Helmets money can buy and not that much money I mite add. They are available with communication provisions, Camera mounts or any other paraphernalia you may require, a great guy and a fabulous product. www.boneheadcomposites.com
Check them out. Regards all, Allan...:D
 
your description is not consistent with many others over the years who have experienced this.

You may be writing about the many folks who have taken off with a tip up canopy with both latches unlatched and yes it stays open several inches at takeoff speeds. I don't know of anyone who has experienced a tip up canopy burst open in flight at ~160 kts. It opens initially by two feet or more and stabilizes at more than a foot. I could not reach the canopy until I slowed to ~85 kts. It would be quite easy to get out especially if you put your foot on the stick shoving it forward as you leave.

If this does happen to you (anyone) just ignore the canopy and fly the plane. This event is very unnerving and is akin to the rapid depressurization you see in the movies, with everything not bolted down getting sucked out of the plane. There is a reason why there are two latches on a tip up.
 
.
....That would be my very good friend "Chris Frisella" who owns and operates Bone-Head Composites. His specialty is manufacturing the worlds finest Sky Diving Helmets money can buy and not that much money I mite add. They are available with communication provisions, Camera mounts or any other paraphernalia you may require, a great guy and a fabulous product. www.boneheadcomposites.com
Check them out. Regards all, Allan...:D

I use a Bonehead Gunner when flying with a parachute, light and comfortable. It also has pockets over your ears for phones. It turns out that adding comms to a sky diving helmet is not straight forward. I currently use a Halo headset - but that has standard plugs so will probably cause some discomfort if I ever did bale out. I also have a motorcycle intercom set up that fits into the helmet (including 'in ear' speakers similar to the halo), but needs the phones signal amplified as an aviation radio expects a 600 ohm load and regular headphones expect 8ohms. Vern Little (VX aviation) used to make an amplifier, but those are no longer available :(. I have a couple of ideas, both nothing that works as yet. The major benefit is that the bike helmet connector is designed to separate when the rider falls off :).

Bonehead.jpg

Yeah - its not an RV
Pete
 
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Honest question. In regards to getting out due to structural failure, with the loss of a wing, tail, etc what type of Gforce would you expect to encounter while tumbling towards the ground?
 
Just a quick thought about lanyards...

If you have a lanyard that is connected to the D-ring of your chute, with the other end connected to your airplane, aren't you tying yourself to an airplane that is rapidly on it's way to becoming a lawn dart?:eek:

Just thinking out loud here.
 
Honest question. In regards to getting out due to structural failure, with the loss of a wing, tail, etc what type of Gforce would you expect to encounter while tumbling towards the ground?
Hard to predict with accuracy, but here's a SWAG- the Gs would be so great as to preclude exiting the aircraft at all. Look at the in-flight breakup history of the T-34 for more information about this. Most of these bailing out discussions start with the premise of removing the canopy (whatever type) and exiting the aircraft under straight-and-level, 1G flight, or at least some form of controlled flight reasonably close to that. The reality is likely to be far different.
 
Due to this discussion, I looked briefly at the idea of a BRS system for the RV-3 kits that Van's will hopefully be sending me soon.

It looks as if the 1350HS is the right model, considering the speeds and the weight. It weighs about 33 pounds and is, in one configuration, about 20 x 8 x 6. I don't know for sure which end faces outward. Its 2009 cost was around $8k.

It wants a double lanyard arrangement, with one end attached at or near the firewall and the other probably at the seat-back bulkhead or aft of there. The lanyard has to go past the cockpit, and getting it to be able to deploy without injuring the pilot, might be a good trick. Especially since it would be desirable to keep it entirely out of the external contour line of the fuselage.

Another issue is that there is no external baggage door which could be modified for a departure port for when this thing deploys, so one would need to be engineered into the aft fuselage.

If it could be made to work, it would offer an alternative to a personal parachute. It would operate by pulling a handle. This is easy compared to opening the canopy, unfastening the airplane - but not your chute, careful there - and jumping clear. It would probably take less altitude, too.

There's one big gotcha, even beyond the installation difficulty, the weight and the price - not long ago a Cirrus collided with a glider towplane here. The glider on tow saw it coming and released and made it back safely with two paying passengers. The towplane was destroyed and the pilot killed. The Cirrus burned, furiously, while descending under canopy. One or more of its occupants either jumped or fell from the wreckage. All its occupants died.

The flaming descent was captured on video, and it was pretty terrible to watch.

Dave
 
This is what I am doing

This is the solution I came up with.

http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j448/jimboscr/IMG_5186.jpg

I intend to wear a parachute when testing or when I do aerobatics. So I have thought about how to get out of the 8 if the need arises. I have used pins through the bottom of the canopy frame to allow me to disconnect the canopy from the rollers. Then with the aid of the extra hand hold you see in the photo I intend to pull the canopy back enough to clear the front windscreen frame and then I will push the canopy up into the slip steam so it will be carried away allowing me to vacate the aeroplane.

Cheers

Jim
 
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