Hi,
Just passed my PPL.
Ive heard of quite a few people having crashes in light aircraft and have come to the conclusion that the 2 main reasons of fatalities is due to the aircraft bursting into flames on impact or the impact itself.
I have seen an aircraft i want to buy and it is a cessna with a centurion diesel engine conversion. If i was to put a ballistic parachute onto that then that would make flying alot safer wouldnt it?
In the event of loss of control i could just pull the parachute , and therefore wouldnt die from the impact. And even if i did have a good hard impact , diesel doesnt expode does it?
Matt
Firstly, many congratulations on gaining your PPL - a big achievement, and a licence to enjoy a whole lot of new adventures.
Regarding accidents; whilst I've never been a full-time air accident investigator, I've worked on a lot of accident / safety investigations (and still am), and also quite a lot (20+, I've lost count) of light aircraft designs, most of which I had authority to sign for. I've also been in two light aircraft accidents (one my fault!) and walked away from both. This is basically a preamble intended to say that I think I know what I'm talking about. (Also slightly pompous, for which I apologise).
Firstly, yes Diesel (AVTUR) will both burn and explode. The conditions to make it explode are a little harder to achieve than with petroleum spirit (AVGAS) but it's do-able, so a Diesel fuel system is no particular life-saver.
Secondly, in my opinion a very low proportion of light aircraft accidents are rendered non-survivable by fire, explosion, or entrapment. Non-survivable accidents are almost always rendered so by ground impact, and the fire, etc. is pretty much an afterthought to make life harder for the accident investigators.
Third, the vast majority of light aircraft fatal accidents are caused by either loss of control, or loss of situational awareness at low level - leading to some combination of stall, spin, or flight into terrain (what the airline boys call CFIT). Ground impact is generally the killer, loss of control or awareness is what causes that, and very often it'll happen too low for any kind of parachute (save an ejection seat, which isn't an option for this end of aviation) to save the aircraft occupants.
So, if you are worried about preservation of life on board, then for my money the big issue is avoiding loss of control or situational awareness at low level. Neither a Diesel aircraft, nor a ballistic parachute (although they both have definite benefits for other reasons) will do much for you there.
So what are? Well, here's a few ideas:
(1) More training, particularly on the type
and variant that you buy. Also think about any skill-enhancing ratings (night, IMC, tailwheel) as you go along..
(2) A suitably beginner friendly aeroplane. Statistically, for somebody in your position, a tapered wing PA28 (e.g. a PA28-151 or -161) or a C152 are about as good as you'll get, and should be achievable on your budget.
(3) A damned good headset, reducing personal stress levels, and improving your concentration.
(4) Find out if the given aircraft has any enhanced stall warning options.
(5) Don't buy outright for your first aeroplane, buy a syndicate share - that way you are surrounded by a wealth of experience which will keep you safe and sensible, if you take the trouble to listen to it.
G