Cirrus Ballistic Chutes

[North Shore]

A few questions came to mind while reading the thread about the accident near Sundrie, and didn't want to hijack that thread...

What's the performance envelope for the ballistic chute? IS it deployable from cruise? or do you have to be slowed down? What does a Cirrus cruise at?

[bizjets101]

Some info here; http://cirrusaircraft.com/parachute/

http://cirrusaircraft.com/brochure/index.htm page 58 for 'performance'

[flyinthebug]

A few questions came to mind while reading the thread about the accident near Sundrie, and didn't want to hijack that thread...

What's the performance envelope for the ballistic chute? IS it deployable from cruise? or do you have to be slowed down? What does a Cirrus cruise at?

From initial reports, it sounds like the CAPS wouldnt have been effective in this particular accident. Witnesses suggest the aircraft was on fire while in a spiral to the ground. Even if the CAPS had been deployed, I would think the fire would have consumed it (Chute) quickly, hence taking away their effectiveness.

If you refer back to the Sundrie thread, someone posted this information on that thread. Check it out for the answers and links to Cirrus` site.
viewtopic.php?f=54&t=67897
Fly safe as always NS. Cheers!

[P-40]

A few questions came to mind while reading the thread about the accident near Sundrie, and didn't want to hijack that thread...

What's the performance envelope for the ballistic chute? IS it deployable from cruise? or do you have to be slowed down? What does a Cirrus cruise at?

From initial reports, it sounds like the CAPS wouldnt have been effective in this particular accident. Witnesses suggest the aircraft was on fire while in a spiral to the ground. Even if the CAPS had been deployed, I would think the fire would have consumed it (Chute) quickly, hence taking away their effectiveness.

If you refer back to the Sundrie thread, someone posted this information on that thread. Check it out for the answers and links to Cirrus` site.
viewtopic.php?f=54&t=67897
Fly safe as always NS. Cheers!

From what I have read, the lone eye witness account does not mention the airplane being on fire prior to the impact, there was an enormous fireball after the aircraft hit which is mentioned. The witness was only a 1/4 mile a way and noted the plane was spiraling towards the ground. Purely speculative on my part, sounds like a stall-spin accident to me. The last radar tag on the aircraft showed an altitude of 5700' ASL (CFN7 is about 3400' ASL and they were fairly close to the airport) which should allow ample recovery altitude from a fully developed spin (in an aircraft certified for spins of course) if proper anti-spin inputs are promptly selected. The Cirrus I understand is unruly in a fully developed spin and may not recover regardless of anti-spin inputs by the pilot. Beyond the incipient stage you are rolling the dice it seems. We may never know who was at the controls when this accident happened, the flight is thought to have been a "test drive" for perspective buyer's as the airplane was for sale. The SR22 has a particularly poor safety record with 77 fatalities in 54 accidents in the US alone since 2005. 6 fatalities in Alberta involving two SR22's in the past 5 years. Cirrus sent there own investigation team to Alberta to aid the TSB in this accident, Cessna certainly doesn't send investigators out when a 172 goes down to my knowledge. I am sure there is concern at Cirrus based on the proportionately high accident / fatality rate with the SR22, very similar to the PA-46 back in the 90's. I understand the SR22 is not an inherently unsafe airplane as many own and enjoy them, I do know it is not for the inexperienced pilot however. Another interesting anecdote is how many SR22's have gone down without the CAPS being deployed, wonder why ? I am not intending to slight the Cirrus design, just stating what I have read and understand to be true. Please correct me if I am wrong.

[bizjets101]

http://www.cirruspilots.org/blogs/pull_ ... ystem.aspx

[Lurch]

I didn't read the links so I may be repeating, but here's the gist of the Caps deployment

For the SR22, which . was in, max demonstrated deployment speed is 133kts. The SR22, depending on altitude, cruises at 150kts IAS. The chute is deployed from a T-handle that is in the roof above the pilot and front passenger, it takes 45 pounds of force to pull the handle. The handle pulls a cable that is attached to 2 solid-propellant rockets aprox 3"s in diameter and 6" long. These rockets have a mandatory replacement every 10 years, .'s plane was a 2005. Cirrus has recently started replacing the rockets from their older aircraft and testing the reliability of the rockets after the 10 years. Now this is rumour only, but I have heard there have been some failures during these test, every rocket that has been replace is going to Cirrus for this test. The Parachute is 2400sq feet in diameter and attached to 3 kevlar straps aprox 6"s wide. Two of them run along the airplane under the doors and attach to the engine mounts the other one is attached to the rear structure at the aft baggage compartment bulkhead. The Parachute takes aprox 2 seconds to inflate. The deceleration forces should be less than 3 g's. The airplane comes down slightly nose low and the rate of descent is expected to be less than 1500'/min. The ground impact is expected to be equivalent to a drop from 10'. The seats have a honey comb cushion that is designed to absorb impact forces, and the outside shoulder strap houses a airbag that is activated by a accelerometer under the seat.

Cirrus lists the scenarios in which you are to activate the chute is as follows:

Spin
Mid-Air Collision
Structural failure
Loss of control
Landing in inhospitable terrain
Pilot incapacitation
They suggest that you deploy at minimum speed possible, (reducing airspeed allows minimum parachute loads and prevents structural overload and possible chute failure. wings level, fuel off. Straight from the POH

The Cirrus Airframe Parachute system (CAPS) should be activated in the event of a life-threatening emergency where the CAPS deployment is determined to be safer than continued flight and landing.

Warning

CAPS deployment is expected to result in loss of the airframe and, depending upon adverse external factors such as high deployment speed, low altitude, rough terrain or high wind conditions, may result in severe injury or death to the occupants. Because of this, CAPS should only be activated when any other means of handling the emergency would not protect the occupants from serious injury.

Lurch