Wearing a parachute for cross country.

[bobmarkert]

Originally Posted by DanH

If I did that to Ms. Patti, I'd have to avoid her for a least a week...

It would probably take me that long to find her in the mountains so I?d be ok!

[Hartstoc]

[quote=As a professional in the parachute business, this discussion of parachute or not amuses and concerns me. Parachutes save lives, airplane crashes kill people. I know of SIX successful bail outs from last year alone. That is SIX guys that were able to go home and kiss their wives and hug their kids. I wonder how many died in RV crashes last year..[/QUOTE]

I’ve heard the saying:”In an emergency the pilot’s(and passenger’s) performance descends to the level of his/her recent training”. Unfortunately, you can’t train for bailing out of an RV the way you can for stalls and go-arounds, as training generally is limited to visualization exercises and mental checklist practice.

This presents a dilemma with regard to parachutes for passengers, one that I’ve not been able to resolve fully. It really depends upon the passenger, and I basically let them decide, after some explanation of what is involved, wether we take the chutes or leave them behind. Leaving them behind simplifies things, taking them complicates the flight considerably. You have to ensure the chute is well fitted and worn properly, decide on a fixed set of upper body garments for the entire flight, and provide the passenger with thorough training on the decision process, canopy ejection sequence, and bailout procedures. Skirts and dresses can be a problem.

I like aerobatics, and never fly my 7A tilt-up solo without a chute. A rigorous self-training for bailout precedes each takeoff, including an attempt to viscerally imagine that everything I’m practicing is in the context of a badly damaged or burning airplane tumbling out of control. “Headsets off, secure upper canopy latch (so the canopy does a back-flip), open main canopy latch, locate and firmly pull canopy release, dis-engage seatbelts, find a way to push clear from aircraft, make visual contact with rip-cord, insert thumbs of both hands if possible and push firmly away”. All followed by a mental review of how to “fly” the parachute to a safe landing.

That is a lot to put an occasional or one-time passenger through. Just conveying a sense of what the bailout experience would be like may amount to convincing a passenger to skip the flight altogether! Just going through the motions of donning and removing the chute for each flight becomes a burden. Then there is the 30 Lb. payload reduction. In the end, flying with two chutes is rare, and my wife is not yet convinced that it is worth the trouble.- Otis

[FlyGuy65]

Mr. Holt, what type parachute do you use in your RV-7?

[Hartstoc]

Originally Posted by FlyGuy65

Mr. Holt, what type parachute do you use in your RV-7?

I use a mini-Softie wedge with the seat back removed. Weighs 15#, It is quite comfortable and results in a slightly more reclined sitting position. I’m very happy with it.- Otis

[FlyGuy65]

Thank You!

[Michael Henning]

I wear mine on all of my flights, to include 6 hour cross country flights. Softies, which are comfortable.

[judoka5051]

"My wife hates flying, I sure am going to miss her!"

[F1R]

I would neither encourage nor discourage anyone from wearing a chute.

It looks complicated enough even with no canopy in this MX video as demonstrated in a few different exit methods and attitudes.

https://youtu.be/RAvFc9rlXPI

Good Luck

PS: FYI, Super Dave Mathieson - the owner / pilot of the MX in the video earned his Super Dave title when flying as a bush pilot. After the pitch and roll control disconnected / fell apart in flight he used his body weight inside the cabin to fly , trim and land the Cessna. IIRC he managed to line it up and land on a runway.

[donaziza]

Originally Posted by RV8JD

So far in this thread I haven't seen the use of pip-pins (quick release pins) mentioned, instead of cutting the canopy rails. Many folks, including myself, have replaced the the two bolts that hold the front roller assemblies to the canopy frame with pip-pins. Here is a link to one of the threads that discusses it.

As far as being able to pull the pins in-flight, "kevinh" (RV-7A) states in the first post of that thread, "From the testing I performed in flight you can slightly lift/lower these wheels with the pressure of your hand, so I don't think these screws are highly loaded."

In the RV-8, the canopy would only have to open enough to clear the windscreen fairing, before pulling the pip-pins and pushing the front of the canopy up into the airstream. Based on the late Jon Thocker's testing of opening the RV-8's canopy in-flight, one should be able to open the canopy enough to clear the windscreen fairing under many conditions. See his thread on the subject.

Note that there is the possibility of the canopy hitting the pilot's or passenger's head as it departs. A helmet would be in order, as Sean Tucker discusses at 3:55 in this video of when he bailed out of his aerobatic biplane several years ago. Even though he had time to prepare for bailing out, and he purposely leaned forward before jettisoning the canopy, the canopy hit his helmet with such force that he thinks he may have been disabled by the blow without the helmet.

Note that If you plan to use pip-pins on the canopy, make sure they stay lubed and free. Some have found corrosion in the roller bracket and the canopy frame tubing, making the pip-pins difficult to remove. It's probably worthwhile to pull and lube every annual.

I've used the pip pins on my 8. If I knew I was going to fly acro, I'd remove them before takeoff, using the front windscreen roll bar and canopy lock handle to hold the canopy in place. That way, I didn't have to worry about the extra step of pulling the pip pins out if I needed to bail out in a hurry. Never a problem. Then one day, I was down by the guy I bought the airplane from. He advised--leave the pip pins in--for fear the canopy might slide back and depart the airplane during acro. So then, he had me scared. What say you more experienced guys?? Is it safe to take them out "before" doing any acro? Ron Schreck,---Jerry Esquanazi--Can you chime in here??

[gmcjetpilot]

I have worn my chute on cross country in my RV-4. Normally only put chute on for Acro, but the worst place for your chute is in the hanger when you need to bail in flight. The reason to leave behind is weight, when I had passenger and bags.

There are so many good "comfortable" parachutes on the market from many manufactures as mentioned... Micro Softie is good... The back pack is probably the best, and you can have a soft cover (lambs wool) that attaches to parachute shell for your back to rest on. You remove the back seat cushion and the chute takes that space. It will NOT be more comfortable than seat upholstery, and it's a bit of a pain to put on and take off.

Most manufactures know AC type and can recommend model. Next step try them. Best place are conventions, like Oshkosh were they have all the vendors and you can try the different models on (and they are often discounted).

There are many things to understand before using a chute for sport aviation. RV14 can jettison canopy if you set it up that way (I think it's like the RV6/RV7 tip up).

She should have at min ground training, know how to pull D-ring, know where the risers are, land into wind and have cell phone on her person (and also PLB even better). She should wear the chute getting in and out of plane, not leave it in plane. This reinforces how to get out with it on. It will be a commitment. It is also not cheap. Doing tandem jump is not mandatory.

The RV14 may inspire her to decide to fly it.... I am a CFI as well. I recommend you give her dual in the RV14 (when you build one or buy one). I think that is a better option to bailing out.

Get a good medical, cardiologist, EKG. and assure you wife you will not become incapacitated in flight, and you will out live her and re-marry a 25 year old.

Keep the Cirrus.

If it makes her feel better to wear a chute fine, but I don't think it's as practical as the other options.